about us
about us

Bear With Me

I'm working and working on reviews and giveaways that need done. I have a lot of stuff going on at home with the kids' and their school with meetings. Please be patient and know that I'm not gone. Please keep checking back for new stuff!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Am I Overreacting/Overprotecting??

Head Start has ended their school year, their last day was Friday. I have a picture of Jeffery in a cap and gown (I'll scan it and post when I get a chance). Jeffery has been in the same class for 2 years, same teacher, same routine, same bus, same everything....2 school years. Next school year is going to be all new. Which worries me. Why? I'll explain.

Jeffery has a few issues...


  • He can't stand a lot of loud noises. He covers his ears for the slightest noise that *he* thinks is too loud and tells us to turn it down or to be quiet. 
  • He needs to stay with a routine, here ate home we do the same thing everyday at the same time...if we change it, it's meltdown (makes it difficult to go places)
  • His speech is still quite delayed. There are some things that even Jeff and I can't understand. When we can't understand him he gets mad...cue a meltdown. The speech is even more difficult for strangers to understand, Jeff and I (and a few other people who are around him often) can make out what he says about 90% of the time.
  • He has a lot of impulse control. If you do something he don't like, he don't hesitate to hit, scream or kick...either someone or something.

Now, for Kindergarten next year, here is everything that will be new.


  • Teachers (who won't understand him all the time)
  • School
  • Routine
  • Classmates (who also won't understand him)
  • Bus (this one will have kids all the way up to at least 5th grade)
  • Rules (Head Start was pretty laid back, and in Kindergarten they sit down more and focus on learning)
I know Jeffery very well...I know his behavior, his speech and all that...I can predict that this will be a hard transition for him. We're taking all the precautions, he's going to a Kindergarten prep like class in July, get him used to the new school, classmates and the teacher(s). But, my biggest anxiety is the bus ride. In July it will only be kindergarten kids on the bus, when school starts that bus is going to be LOUD, and I highly doubt any kids or the bus driver will understand him if he complains...not like the kids will quiet down anyways. He's going to have a meltdown before he even gets to the school, which can cause issues with the bus driver being distracted because Jeffery is hitting kids or throwing things. This will be Jeffery's 1st impression of Kindergarten (or "the BIG school" as we've been calling it, getting him ready) he's going to hate school and not want to go anymore! I don't want his 1st impression to be so bad.

So, when we went to do Jeffery's IEP for Kindergarten, there was a special education teacher and a Kindergarten teacher from the new school, they put in their opinions of things...and some were good, some were quite odd since they have never met Jeffery. When I brought up putting Jeffery on the special education bus, I got tossed under the bus (haha....see what I did there?) They were having none of it. Said they wanted to see him on the regular bus to see how he did, and if there were issues, then they would put him on the special education bus.

Am I wrong to want to avoid issues? What would you do in this situation? I'm going to talk to his current worker today (we're doing Jaylin's IEP today) and see what she thinks, now that the other 2 ladies (who never met him) aren't there to say anything. Oh, I should add that I don't think he should be on the special education bus the entire year...I want him to get used to everything first, I don't want to overload him...I think maybe halfway through the year we can try him on the regular bus.

5 comments:

•´.¸¸.•¨¯`♥.Erin.♥´¯¨•.¸¸.´• said...

I think you'll have to find the balance between protecting him and encouraging changes - who knows maybe he'll do fine with some new things and not others!

You know what's best for him in the end.

Aimee said...

I personally don't think you are over reacting at all. You're his mom & know him best. Sad when the so-called experts won't even consider the opinions of the parent. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with the situation.

debbie said...

I don't blame you at all. Always go with your gut reaction. If your son doesn't do well with changes, as my son has a terrible time with them, I completely understand. One thing I wrote in my son's IEP, that I was allowed in 2 weeks early to walk around the school. Go to the class (inside if you can). Go to the bathrooms, show him which door he will use to leave. The cafeteria, playground, everything. By doing this, my son saw where he would be, could memorize where to go, and some of the stress was reduced. I really reccommend it.

jamaise said...

One thing is for sure - you understand your child, and chances are the school won't. I used to work in the school system and there is a lot of labeling and we as parents put a lot of trust into schools because they are the professionals. But just like any other situation, there are only a few gifted doctors, police officers, therapists, teachers etc. Most are simply doing their job. That is why I chose to homeschool - my youngest sounds similar to your son. Melt downs at every trip to the store and most places outside of home, lots of behavioral & sensory problems. I knew in school they would eventually want to medicate. I wasn't comfortable with that and so I took him completely off of wheat - the gluten free diet. It was like night & day after about a month. No more melt downs - he is still him , & still rotten, but no more extremes. I could put him in public school at this point, but I love him most and I want him to not only learn to master academic skills, but I want him to learn the things that are most important to us - our family - like manners, our beliefs, cooking together, growing things, how we treat people - all of that stuff that is individual to a family. It's working for us. Sorry for the novel - look into gluten free - it's easy nowadays.
And trust yourself - you gave birth to him - you are tuning into your child, your flesh & blood - trust that instinct.

Forget Shyness Reviews said...

I don't think you are overreacting. I think that schools too often try to mainstream kids in every way possible, just to save THEMSELVES the additional work or making exceptions, etc.

& I agree that if his first impression of school is bad, it could be really damaging to his entire outlook on school and cause way more problems than you would otherwise have. You obviously know your child and if the insanely loud bus is going to ruin his first day then I'd say fight to get him put her on the quieter bus.

 
Home | Favorite Products | Giveaways | Reviews | Review and Giveaway Policy | Contact me | Image Map