A few weeks ago I posted about my disastrous homeschooling experience with my 8yo son, who is defiant and quite obsessive and whose interests seem to be narrowing. I believe he has a specific learning disability (as a result of brain inflammation due to an autoimmune condition) that makes everything harder.
So I requested an special ed evaluation from the DOE (big NYC bureaucracy)-- overall a very smooth experience-- nice school psychologist lady takes him into a room, I sit down for a brief interview with their social worker and then wait for my son.
She comes out after a couple of hours, gushing that he is the most amazing child she has ever seen, funny, charming, and delightful in every way, and whatever I am doing [which, mind you, is... NOTHING!] is obviously working. She even showed me the achievement scores on the spot: broad reading was grade 10, broad math was grade 7.
So I'm not getting any special ed services, am I? I ask. (I was hoping the DOE could send a tutor)
Nope, she says.
Can I get a letter from your office stating he needs to go into the 5th grade or something, instead of 3rd?
Nope, sorry.
So I walked out feeling good, since we haven't done a lick of schoolwork in many many weeks and it's reassuring to know he isn't "falling behind," but... what am I supposed to do with this kid? Our family needs HELP.
Also, it was a bit surprising, I had heard these evaluations were quite thorough and the testers were very experienced, very good at finding hidden problems... if anything I've been afraid to let these testers "label" my child. Ha.
I will be offered a formal meeting in a few weeks to go over the results of the evaluation... any ideas on how I can legally compel them to view either my son's autoimmune condition (which makes germy schools quite dangerous) OR his giftedness as a "special need" that they are required to meet?
