Hi all.

A quick update on my last post - I'm sure to have lots of questions once my brain starts functioning again, bit numb at the moment.

We had DS8 reassessed in the school holidays because of various issues that were coming up at school. His results came back with a WISC IV FSIQ of 130, which we found a little odd given he has been accelerated a year into a GT class since 6 months into school. (Age 5.5) Anyway for us the more concerning part was a self-concept test with lots of low averages and a thought that he might have dysgraphia.

So we did some searching and calling around and found a local group that specialises in SLD's and also runs a school for kids with SLD's. They were able to fit him in for an assessment with an occupational therapist yesterday. Long story short she has assessed him as dyspraxic.

Mixed feelings:
a little relief - you've known something is not right and been dealing with it anyway you can.

a little angry - we paid a lot of money to the 'best' local OT two years ago - she spent an hour observing him at school and declared a 'small' problem with his hand-writing but that was it. What I saw yesterday was so different and so enlightening too.

a little overwhelmed - want to react as I have done to date but like today when I heard that DS had been sent out of class twice for 'untidy' hand writing practice and for being too slow in getting his poem written I didn't handle it as calmly as I might have last week. Obviously a little more stressed than normal and now my DS has a disability probably a tad more protective than usual, coupled with the fact that I really don't like his relief teacher, for me she is way too rigid with the kids and unfortunately he has her every Tuesday! I just know she sees him as lazy and unproductive. His class is a pilot for self regulated learning, the downside is they are meant to be self motivated and organised, the upside is they have their own laptops and do typing lessons and write a lot on them. I briefly touched on his difficulties and that accommodations would be clearer once we have the report from the OT. Her immediate response was well he shouldn't be in this class then.... oh and good luck with accommodations!

So if I'm here a lot on Tuesday nights having a rant please be kind or I may fall off my keep-fit wagon and return to the old vino

Well here goes - seat-belt's buckled I'm changing direction on this exhausting journey so will be looking for lots of advice and BTDT experiences. There is sure to be questions as I research and get more back from the OT.

I'm shattered - off to bed, will be back to share some of the fascinating things I saw yesterday, good to know if others have seen the same things. Thanks for listening.

Jedsmum

Wow, sorry to hear the teacher's reception of this information was horrible. Nothing like someone saying 'Aha!! got you!' as you offer them some very sensitive information.

I have definitely been in the over-protective, not so "smooth" mode a time or two, in fact still feeling a bit silly for over-reacting the other day to being told ds isn't currently eligible for some more testing. (long story).

Well we have 2e with our ds10, but the second e is subtle and he can do well enough that there are no accommodations deemed necessary by the schools (that might be what the 'good luck' was all about). Our Dr. did warn that eventually accommodations might be deemed necessary as our ds' work dips below the usual A's....way below. I have yet to see this happen, but he said middle school is usually the time frame he would expect impact to begin to show. But that doesn't mean right now he isn't frustrated and sometimes discouraged.

Not sure what 'relief' class is, is that supposed to be for gifted/advanced kids?
Have you taken this to the principal/school counselor/regular teacher yet? Hopefully a group of folks will be able to come up with a more respectable response. I do hope you have good luck, but I mean that in a good way.
You've taken a VERY important step in finding out what is going on with your ds, you are doing a good job!!

Hi Chris1234

Fortunately his 'relief' teacher only has him on a Tuesday - basically she relieves his regular teacher one day a week as she is also head of the year group so gets time out of class to carry out her other duties. It is just my rotten luck that of the few relief teachers there are in the school we get her and we don't have a good history with her at all.

I emailed his regular teacher this morning and hopefully she will be a bit more sympathetic. I love the idea that you guys have school counselor's - nothing like that here.

I also going to look into 'One day school' as specially school that gifted kids can go to one day of the week to give them GT experiences and peers. I've never used it to date because school was doing just fine but know I think I will see if they operate on a Tuesday and then I may be able to get him away from a potentially toxic situation.

So much to do - so little time. Countdown is on to giving up work and then hopefully I can volunteer to support him in class if need be.

I'm curious about ds10 - is it organisation type problems that they need to have more of middle school? We have 2 more years (maybe if we don't move first) of this school but I'm not looking forward to the next step up.

Well its the beginning of the day - they have school 'fun' sports today so lots of frustrations to come. Will so look forward to 3pm!

Just wanted to send hugs your way. I have no expert advice except lots and lots of love, which u have anyway.

I'm on the site looking for solace myself as I had tough day homeschooling my 2e kid (CAPD, shades of dysgraphia, all related to poor bilateral integration). Need to chill so it doesn't spill over to the next.

About organization- it's been highlighted to me that this is eventually an issue, so good on you that you're focusing on it now. I haven't tried anything much yet as DS8 is suddenly doing well with writing (a month into homeschooling, he started wanting to record all observations). But I am getting him to think of mind maps and how it connects to the central theme. On a daily life basis, I'm also implementing a lot of order in the house, his work room and in practical habits. I keep reminding him about completing cycles, eg, when he leaves a room, to switch off the electricals as part of completing a cycle. Or to leave the plates in the sink etc. He's a big picture person, so helping him to see how everything fits into the fabric of life as part of a greater, unseen "organization" will hopefully filter into his subconsciousness for all other things.

Good luck till 3pm!

Don't let that one teacher get you down... we get a conclusive 2e diagnosis for D15 right after she was accepted to THINK at Davidson last summer. D went to THINK (with a lot of fears on my part that she might not succeed, I guess now that we had a "name" for her 2e-ness). They were very supportive, and she did very well. Just some proof that needing accomodations does not mean that he is not gifted, or that he can't succeed with a gifted curriculum!

Yes, organization, speed and just plain old listening seem to be stressed much more in middle school. I think most boys are a bit lacking in those areas at that age so I figure he will grow into it, but keeping him encouraged is a battle. Where other kids might not get too hung up on 1 missing paper, it can throw off his whole day.
Oh yeah, and he isn't even in 6th yet!

I agree with not letting 1 teacher get you down, but it is hard. We've had BRILLIANT teachers, well ok, 1 brilliant teacher for ds, and several so-so and a couple really not good ones.

Oooh, I really like the cycle image, gonna use that! thanks!

Jedsmum,

Not much advice but I can commiserate. DS5 took te WPPSI at 4.1,was identified as gifted. His K teacher and I had a conference yesterday regarding her wish to retain him next year.
Why? Because of severe processing disorders in sensory and language. He also has a functional vision problem that makes it impossible for both of his eyes to focus on a word that is close up.

Armed with his DX i'm fighting for accomodations, they think he should be retained. I have no idea if there is a middle ground for this one, i'm feeling another round of homeschooling coming on.

Be demanding, stomp and fight!

BWBShari,

This is how I would approach things if I were in your situation, aside from pulling him out and homeschooling, which is pretty much what I did!

I would remind them that retention is only appropriate if the problems he is having would be remediated through further instruction in the same grade.

Sensory and language processing disorders, convergence insufficiency, and other functional vision issues are not due to insufficient academic instruction, and will not be improved by retaining him in grade. Repeating phonics instruction will not help him be able to see the words to read them. Keeping him in a bright, noisy, K classroom will not help reduce his sensory processing issues. None of his issues are the result of starting school too soon, and they won't just go away because you make him wait another year to advance.

Appropriate therapies from the relevant specialists might improve things eventually, but until then, accommodations and modifications would be a more appropriate way of ensuring that your child has an appropriate education that he can derive educational benefit from. He will not derive educational benefit from repeating material that he already knows.


If you can "broken record" that through the whole meeting, they might get the idea.

Best of luck. You are in my thoughts.

BWBShari

The one thing I'm quite relieved about is that he was accelerated a year before all his 'issues' really surfaced and now I don't think they will go back on that as he can and does operate at that level despite his relief teacher clearly stating he shouldn't be in that class! At K level (yr 1 over here) we had the pysch who did his testing come to the meeting and basically she said move him up a level or he'll be removed from school - so they did...

From all the reading I have done in the last few days the message I'm getting is that they should be at their academic level with accomodations for their disability and not the other way around, so I'm going to have a few of those quotes with me when we finally have the school meeting. Although I really don't think that will be my problem, they have known what he's like and it was the principle who recommended him for the class so I don't see that changing but wether we get any accommodations for him will be a different matter. At the moment he has a teacher aide 1/2 a day for his severe allergies but that is supposed to stop in June as he should be 'self managing' by then. His OT is going to say in her report that with Dyspraxia he won't be so hopefully that will help the funding issue.

Wish you luck - whew its tough....

That's the same thing I keep reading, which makes sense if you think about it.
There's a mother here who has mentioned her son's dyspraxia recently. �Hopefully she'll see this thread and offer some personal suggestions. �Besides that here's the Database link. �I just looked it up. �They did all that work compiling resources and they know what they're talking about.� http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10571.aspx.

I keep seeing a post about a 2e newsletter. �That should be some cheer and wisdom sent right to your inbox. �
I'm sorry to hear that you first trusted someone who dropped the ball. �I'm glad you found when you did. �definitely definitely talk through the advocacy process here. �It's not just venting, it's brainstorming. �You just never know what someone may help you with, and you don't know who you're helping by sharing your story. �
And now that you say it that way, I looked up dyspraxia. �It's a physical disease. �What is the lady suggesting, that you send him back to kindergarten so he can practice writing enough like education is going to cure a medical condition?

Aculady,

You pretty much nailed my argument!

lol - that raised a smile. I guess I'm just going to have to educate the educator, I'm sure there are plenty here that have had to do that. In fairness to her she probably doesn't have a clue about it but unlike many I'm betting when I ask her what she knows about it she will not have bothered to even google it. Like you when I was given the term the first thing I did was get online and into the library and try to find as much as I could but somehow I don't think she has much interest in my child to find out. (note to me: I must find out why she does relief teaching and doesn't have her own class).

Thanks for the link - interesting reading - doing way too much of that at the moment, I think my brain is getting close to burnout

Hi all - thanks for the words of support and encouragement.

Well I did say I would come back with my observations of the OT session. I found some things totally baffling and interesting at the same time and some comments she made have made me look at things differently since. Here goes, pour the wine, grab the chocolate:

First exercise was to take small rounded top pegs from a very small plastic container and place them in a board. First with the right hand then with the left. Although he was slightly faster with the right hand he was a lot more awkward, twisting his body and moving his arm out to get the pegs in the holes. He is right handed but his movements with his left looked much more 'natural'. We both picked up on this.

Second exercise was copying down some writing, copying shapes, drawing within 2 narrow lines and cutting out a circle. Although his writing wasn't too bad he talked all the way through about how bad he was at writing/drawing and how hard he was finding it. The scissor exercise was ok. Her comments at the end were that he was clearly upset by the exercises and wanted to do them well but knew he couldn't and also she found it interesting that a right handed person would normaly draw lines/shapes left to right and he did the opposite. And the end of this he was also desperate to move and wanted to know when he could do the gym stuff.

The next set really freaked me out. She sat him facing her hands on lap and said you need to copy exactly what I do, pretend you are my mirror so if I move this hand (right) you move this (touched his left). She then carried out a sequence of events touching ears, nose, shoulder etc and then some clapping routines - no matter what the routine, which hand she started with, wether it was simple of complicated he would watch her, pause and start with the opposite hand to the one he should have, every time without fail. As she said later, it was actually more complicated for him to do that and he didn't miss a beat just did it opposite. ??

The next stage was walking a line and balancing, hopping and jumping which he actually did pretty well on. Then came the ball catching/throwing bit... well lets just say its just as well we are not in America as he is not going to make the little league any time soon.

We had a break and she called me in to go over her observations. Apart from pointing out the things I've already mentioned she asked about his ability to get dressed, brush his teeth, tie shoe-laces etc. How clumsy he is and problems with his speech. Funny how now she has mentioned these things I'm 'seeing' more than I did before, probably because those things have always been part of who he is to us.

At swimming today he tried to put his swimming shorts on over his clothes and now I think about it he does that sort of thing all the time, a few days ago he came into breakfast ready for school with his shorts missing! I still have to brush his teeth despite lots of practice, (I admit I hate sending him off to school with his blue T-Shirt covered in white blobs). Drinks come in cartons or we have to closely monitor before they end up on the floor, drinks a lot of water because it won't stain Always in trouble for breaking things (glass candle holder last night (practicing his head stands on the sofa) "sorry mum it was just an accident" - going to put that one on his headstone if I outlive him, which with his accident rate....

Always bumping into people - watched a great game of tag yesterday at school, his teacher did well, set him off to chase first before he ran out of puff and the ones that were tagged could be released by someone crawling through their legs so no tantrums for being 'out' - all going really well until he bumped heads with one of the girls so it still ended in tears. One day!

On a lighter note - major success story - he came first in his group for the sack race at the 'fun' sports day today. Got a 'medal'- first award he's ever got and his face was pure delight. (sob - tears of joy). He also did really well in his swimming lessons, no dramas. And .. the ENT Dr reckons he'll get in for another set of grommets in about 6 weeks

Yee Ha - go to bed happy tonight.