Roundup

Sorry, dear reader, for the lack of updating this week but it's been kinda nuts. Geri's seizure set her back in terms of adjustment and behavior, so I've been busy and it's been taking a long time to get her to bed at night. Once she's out, and the dishes are done and the house is clean, I've got nothing left for typing.

Local pediatric neurologists had no openings for our little one until March/April. Uhhh... unacceptable. One office never even bothered to call me back! Unprofessional much? I finally just searched the database for our insurance and found out that there is a neurology department at Children's Hospital in Denver so I called up and got an appointment... this Thursday. It went very well, with a lot still to be done. The doctor did say that she doesn't think Geri has cerebral palsy. That was nice to hear. She does, however, have unusual facial feature that hint at a possible genetic abnormality. The test for that will be very far in the future, though. Her EEG is in the second week of February, and the MRI folks will call next week to schedule that test. So the ball is rolling, and that's a good thing. She's cleared for her surgery on the 1st, and that's a relief.

I'm moving TJ to a different school next year. His teacher this year is talking about holding him back because he is too easily distracted in class by the classroom computers. He tends to stop and stare if someone else is on them and he is nearby. She says that she shouldn't have to watch him so closely anymore and that he is not "adjusting to the classroom environment." OK, valid, he's a raccoon and he's very easily distracted by television or computers. Here's my beef... he's excelling in his work. He is reading and writing proficiently. He completes his four assigned works each day. She has to remind him to stay on task, but he's still completing his tasks. To me, that means something right there. She talked about holding him back, but I'm not sure about that because he's doing so well on the material. If he goes back into the same class next year it will be the same material and he will be bored and then he'll get up to even MORE trouble. So it doesn't seem like a good solution to me. I asked about the possibility of us bringing in those films you stick on the computer screen for privacy. If he can't really see the screen, he can't get as distracted by it. It wouldn't prevent kids from using the computer, it would just help him not be as distracted. I wanted to do this to help the situation in the immediate future, until we can help him develop the ability to stay on task regardless of distractions. She refused, saying that he needs to "acclimate to the environment" instead. I agree he needs to develop in this area, but it's not going to happen overnight. And in the meantime, he gets in trouble for something that he truly can't help.

She started saying how she doesn't get it, he was doing so well before the Christmas break and now he's fallen back. I tried to explain to her that he's had a lot of upheavals at home. Christmas break was when we brought his new sister home, and it's been a tough adjustment for everyone and continues to be. She told me that she was willing to believe that for the first month, but now she doesn't want to make excuses for his behavior. I wanted to deck her. Do you really believe that a month is enough for us to completely adjust and just be back to normal??? The implication that he's had his time and now he should be over it pissed me off so much... See, it's not about how he adjusts to Geri. He can't adjust to Geri because she is constantly shifting on him. She improves, she regresses, she needs less of our time and then, suddenly, she demands much more of it. She cycles all over and, just when we hit our groove, there's a surgery or a seizure and we get set back. All of us, together, get set back. We still haven't found a truly reliable bedtime routine for all three kids. For a while we were keeping TJ up while we put the girls down so we could have some dedicated time for him, but he wasn't going to bed until 9 and it was impacting him. So then we started putting him to bed first and now he goes to bed at 7:30 and he doesn't get all the attention and time we were giving him at bedtime before. So for her to call it an "excuse" when I tell her that he's still in a very difficult adjustment period, that made me very upset. I don't know how I'll look her in the face and be civil at the next parent teacher conference. Previously, I looked at us as a team. Parents and teachers working together for the best possible outcome for the student. That's the way it should be. Her ignorant and insensitive comment just severed it for me. She can, frankly, go to hell. I'd take him out now if I could.

Sigh, that was a lot of ranting and anger. If I'm being overly sensitive, please tell me. Overall, I think this school is a poor match for him. He needs more structure, I think, to stay focused. I'm looking at other schools now, so hopefully we can get this ironed out for next year.

In the meantime, Geri is giving us a tough one tonight. sigh.