Splat Goes Life.

One thing very big with Jack's school, and with the school before, is that every day is a fresh start. A new day. Whatever happened yesterday is forgiven. Natural consequences, discipline, etc. should be meted out the same day and not held over. When they are, they lose their impact. This doesn't mean that past events are not talked about later on. Friday morning, I went in before school to have a meeting with the principal, Special Ed. director, Intervention Specialist, teacher, and mental health specialist. (Everyone's a "specialist" these days). The goal was (according to the principal) to make sure that everyone was on the same page about how to best serve Jack, and really, how to best dish out consequences and/or rewards for behavior. I didn't think we came to any real conclusions though, or decide to handle things any differently than we have been. The IS and the mental health specialist planned to meet with him later that morning to show him how ma...

It's been a while between updates, because sometimes, the thought of sitting down and rehashing things makes my face twitch. LOL Jack went back to the clinic in October, which was a tad later than what the Dr. had in mind, but that ultimately ended up being the earliest appointment I could get. His EKG was normal, but his blood work showed an elevation in liver enzymes, two low liver counts (he's anemic like his mother), higher cholesterol levels, and he also had higher-than-normal blood pressure when we went to the appointment. He also weighs 122 lbs, which really isn't very much less than what I weigh. All of this is due to his meds, because they cause him to eat. His diet isn't great because he is so picky about food (which is partly a sensory thing), and I'm now looking into meat-free versions of his favorite meat. Sigh. The Dr. did leave him at the same dose of medication he's been on since the end of 4th grade, because it seems like the school is bet...

Jack was approved for the Level One waiver by the county. Not because he is so high functioning, as we barely qualified for another couple of years of services, but because he's such a pain in the butt. (You think I jest.. but it was a list of every horrible, no-good thing he did in 3rd grade that got him re-qualified). One of the things the Level One waiver could potentially help Jack with is sensory equipment- things like a weighted blanket. Up to the day we got approval and filled out the required million forms, etc, all we had to do was get a therapist at school to fill out a request form for a certain item Jack could benefit from at home, and then wait for the county service coordinator to pass it on. The school OT feels Jack needs a weighted blanket. He gets a lot of use out of the one at school, and he seems to like it- that's pretty much what they're looking for. A reason to pay for it. So I got the required form from the OT, and then passed it along to the s...

A month has nearly come and gone, and for the most part, it's been a relatively good month. Jack has gotten a lot of kudos from his Intervention Specialist regarding his general attitude (which we've also seen an improvement in here at home). He has not had any real physical aggression (til this last Friday), and has even made an effort to restrain himself from acting out. He still argues about school work, and is missing several assignments (and never brings home everything he needs for homework, or studying for tests), but his teacher has been very motivating. So there have been some negatives, but nothing serious, and there have been a lot more in the way of good behaviors. Then Friday hit. That morning, Jack was anxious because he couldn't find his 2DS, which he had just bought with birthday money. He likes to take his game system to school with him, so that he has something to do on the bus. He is allowed to have it as far as his teacher is concerned, but can on...

Sometimes I really hate when my kids say that. In this case, I just jinxed myself. Yesterday, I was thinking to myself while cleaning that maybe this is the school year when my kiddo is going to make a real turn-around. He has had his really rough moments- locking his teacher out of her classroom, slamming the door in her face, calling her an "Onion Head"... the usual things we've grown accustomed to. :( But then there have been really great moments, like him being a real leader in a group of students. There have been instances of other boys (some of them new friends) coming up to him to ask about a particular game that is popular among their age group. Moments when the teacher pulled Jack out of class to tell him just how impressed she is with him. Jack made up with the boy he didn't like, he has had a better experience (so far) with the bus driver.. his number one enemy here is himself. Yesterday, he left his classroom because he was getting upset. This is t...

So, our summer was.. decent, for the most part. We kept Jack on the same medication and dosage that he'd been on since before school started. As expected, there wasn't any reason to change it. In fact, I wanted to lower it, but whatever.. There were only a few incidents that I would consider "blow ups", one of them having to do with a discussion on behavior this coming school year. I think another had to do with a problem at a neighbor's house, and then another probably was just an off week for him I half expected our summer to be taken up with boys running in and out of my house all day long. First off, thank God that's not what happened. Second, I feel bad for Jack because I imagine that's how he expected it to go, too. One boy apparently told the others "let's get Jack to make fun of himself". Of course Jack didn't want to play with him after that. Another boy was just too damn bossy, and Jack told him as much. He never came ba...

I wasn't sure how things would end up by summer vacation.. they weren't good, but at least we got through it. Jack ended the year with 1's on all "characteristics of a successful learner". (A 3 is the best). I think he may have gotten a 2 for organization, but that's probably a stretch. The teacher didn't actually see much of him this last "quarter", because Jack spent most of his time in the Intervention room. We're due to go back to the University clinic on the 20th, and Jack's dad and I are pretty certain this Elavil is worthless. We have zero interest in him continuing on it, given the fact that his behavior is ALWAYS (95%+ of the time) worse at school. He doesn't care to learn, doesn't care to make friends, doesn't care to be nice. He would rather live in a dream world, where his stuffed friend Pika is actually alive and his bestest buddy. The fact that we're seeing a specialist (that we're thankfully not payi...