And So It Begins...

I'm not rushing into being in love. I'm finding 4th grade hard enough.
- Regina, age 10, as found at http://www.brownielocks.com/teachingquotes.html

Today is the day - the first day of school.

I've raised my concerns, and met all parties involved. For the record, I think Helena's teacher will be okay. The case manager too, though she is getting her feet wet in a new position (did I mention she does bring 5 years special ed experience to the table?).

The first day is always chaotic at our school. Most parents opt to bring their kids to school that first day, to make sure their children know where to go and to meet the teachers, usually for the first time. So traffic is always a nightmare, even when the entire school is not under construction. The first fall we were here, we timed it to arrive 20 minutes before school started, and ended up 20 minutes late.

You know what they say" "Fool me once..."

Since then we have timed it to arrive about 30 minutes before school, and have had a much easier time. This year, we increased it to 45.

Things actually ran smoothly, as is usually the case when you have to actually plan around something. The police were directing traffic, and plenty of school officials and construction workers were directing people and traffic on the school grounds. Kids were taken to their classrooms safely, letters about the children's diet were passed out, and the school psychologist, with whom Helena gets along with well, assured me that things will be okay.

Umm...okay, I guess.

There's still no swing on the temporary playground, but the swings at the K-2 playground are still there. Maybe, just maybe, Helena can have a little swing time???

I pick them up in two hours. We'll see how the first day really went...

Construction clipart courtesy of http://www.webweaver.nu/

The Least Wonderful Time of the Year

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

- Mark Twain

This week is one that many have already experienced this year. It is a week that some parents embrace with joy, and some children embrace with dread. Same is true for some teachers.

It is the first week of school.

It's one of the worst weeks of the year for me.

Once again, I have to entrust my ASD daughter to people who may not necessarily understand how to deal with an ASD child.

Yes, they may have had a child with autism in their class before (and that's about the extent of their special needs training), but do they really understand how to handle them? Do they really understand Helena's specific needs, which of course are different from any other child?

• In Helena's first full year of school (pre-k), we had to battle to get an aide for her. We were told that we were asking for "the Cadillac of services" and that "she would just be the quiet one in the classroom." This from the Director of Special Education for the school district!!! In other words, we'll pull her out of the class for some therapy, but we're not going to help her in the classroom. They relented after we threatened legal action. She also came home with some artwork made with pretzels, after we repeated explained she was on the GFCF diet. They didn't seem to get that even though she didn't directly eat a pretzel, she did handle them, and then she puts her fingers in her mouth, and then...sigh!
  


• Things went a little better when we moved to Montana, when Helena was in the middle of Kindergarten. But then they assigned her to a first grade teacher they said would be wonderful for her. And maybe she is a wonderful teacher. But she runs her classroom with little structure. And what do ASD children need? STRUCTURE!!! Helena was miserable, and she lashed out at anything and everyone. We had to put a behavior plan into her IEP.
  


• Second grade went better - more structured classroom, better aide. And third grade went ok too, despite transitioning to a new building, with yet another new aide. But when she had an incident in the classroom, we suddenly all discovered that her bahavior plan was no longer in her IEP!! The teacher and the aide panicked - they had no idea what to do!
  

So now Helena is in fourth grade, and school starts in two days. Here is where we stand:

• We just found out today (that's right, two days before school starts) that Helena's case manager no longer works at the school. We have the name of the new case manager, and hopefully we can meet her before school begins.
  


• Helena has met her new teacher, but we have not. Again, hopefully we can do this in the next two days.
  


• But this is the worst of all:

This is the playground for grades 3 - 5 at Helena's school. Or should I say, was. Back in May, they started construction on all parts of the school. They are adding classrooms, changing traffic patterns, and building a new administration building. A newsletter sent home from the superintendent proudly talks about how work is on schedule for a better school. The contractor talks proudly about how much dirt they have moved and how many sewer lines they have laid. They see progress...

All I see is no parking, constant noise in my daughter's building from all the construction (oh yes, she is noise sensitive), and most importantly, no swings. They will let the children play in the grass field across from the building, but there is no playground equipment there.

Do you know how important swings are? Helena loves them! It is the one playground apparatus that really calms her down, and the only one she looks forward to using. Now that is gone...

The least wonderful time of the year? Definitely. And even more so this year.

Then again, we haven't signed the IEP yet.

I think I'll slip in a provision that Helena needs to swing every day...

lend4health: A Great Idea Worth Supporting

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

- Author Unknown

My friends, I would like you to meet Tori. She is a mother of two. Her son is diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder/Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SPD/SFD). They started the GFCF diet last year, and found that is not only helped her son, but their older daughter as well. In fact, the GFCF diet is how I met Tori, as she commented on my recent series at the GFCF Experience concerning the GFCF diet in school.

But this post is not about the GFCF diet, nor Tori's children. It is about what Tori wants to do for those in need.

Tori has started a program called Lendforhealth, which she blogs about here. Parents of special needs children know that biomedical treatments are often recommended by DAN! doctors as a way to improve their child's condition. But visits to DAN! doctors and these treatments are expensive, and are rarely, if ever, covered by insurance. Even for parents with moderate income, the costs may put this option out of reach.

Lendforhealth is looking to help families of special needs children by providing community-based interest-free microloans to cover the costs of doctors visits and biomedical treatments. Tori works with the applicants to verify their references and their need and set up loan repayment terms. She then posts this information at the lendforhealth blog, and asks for lenders to help fund the loan.

And who are the lenders? YOU!!!

Via Paypal links established by Tori, you can help fund a specific loan, in any dollar amount up to the loan amount. Once the community has completely funded a loan, Tori will draw up a contract with the lendees and fund their request. Once the loan is repaid in full (terms of repayment are posted with each request, and you can also track the repayment progress at lendforhealth), the money will be returned to you via Paypal.

All loans issued through lendforhealth are interest-free.

Having lived through DAN! doctor visits and biomedical treatments with Helena, I well understand the costs involved, and the importance and need for this service. Please visit lendforhealth and consider helping a family in need.

Tori, thank you for your inspiration and for providing this much needed service. And friends, thanks for being the angel that may help a child and their family remember how to fly.