Yesterday we had our first PT conference at the spec ed school DD8 attends after a hard fought battle for out of district placement. She is doing amazingly well. I mean really, truly amazing. They see her as the sweet, hard working, eager to please, incredibly smart child we have seen all along. With proper supports for her LD issues, material being presented in an appropriate way and the freedom to use her amazing strengths there has been no sign of her school based anxiety. None. We finally have gotten the migraines under control and hopefully will be able to start backing off the meds which were almost tripled in the last couple of months.
I asked if there were any concerns at all. A resounding "none" from teachers, literacy specialist and SW. I asked about math. All last year I kept insisting she had hit a block in early first grade and hadn't budged. The district kept insisting she was making progress and was on grade level. Surprise, surprise. Spec ed school's intake testing showed her stuck in early first grade just as I had been saying. Remarkably once she got access to appropriate apps on the iPad she broke through that block. After 6 weeks DD herself reported "I've already learned more math at [new school] than I did all last year at [old school]." PT conference bares that out - she has just about completed 2nd grade math and is now moving onto 3rd grade. Not bad for a kid with an identified math LD huh? Not only is she sailing through the 8th grade reading comprehension group she is also making amazing progress on Assistive Technology and is adding extra work herself in other areas of interest. She recently did a PowerPoint on the pilgrims "just for fun". I actually see a light at the end of the tunnel which may lead to her being functionally independent in the not too distant future. In the past that light tended to turn out to be an on-coming train. Dare I let myself actually feel optimistic?
I mentioned that at the public people called her lazy, said she was just trying to get out of doing her work, etc. They were shocked and said she is the last kid they would EVER call lazy. They can't even imagine someone seeing her that way. I asked about the neuropsych's label of ADHD-inattentive (which DH and I flatly reject) and placing her below the 1st percentile in attentional ability. Again total shock. "No way" was the response - in fact they see hyper focus when she is working on a task. They could not believe anyone could see her that way.
So I feel totally vindicated. All last year when I would come to this board and say I felt as if I was losing my mind, that nothing the district or the public with that horrible principal was doing made any sense? Apparently I had good reason for it.
I will continue to hold my breath, cross my fingers, stand on one foot or any other silly superstitions required to keep this on track. I just wanted to report for those of you still in the thick of the battle that it can work out. If my DD shows anything it is that *getting* the kid and all of their issues makes a huge difference. There would not have been any way for my DD to adjust to the standard program as the public wanted her to. She is just not neurologically capable of it. When things are presented to her in the way she needs? Wow - what a difference!
