I’m trying to stay positive. I don’t want this blog to become overwhelmed with negativity. I’m trying to work with the bureaucracy of two different school boards. I’m trying to find the best fit for us while deflecting ridiculous demands.
The demands go from the ridiculous to the sublime.
The school wants Mr. Sensitive to repeat Kindergarten instead of going on to grade one.
Another year of repeating Kindergarten for Mr. Sensitive, when there is no research to support retention and most policies support promotion with age-appropriate peers? What’s going to happen to him when he’s ten years old, and still in Kindergarten because he can’t read? It’s called a learning disability, folks.
And you know what, I’ve worked with people with learning disabilities for about fifteen years now. It’s not so hard. Accommodate for reading (or whatever area of weakness the person has), continue to provide age appropriate academic learning in whichever way they learn best. Try to target the weakness to build some strengths. Done.
The school is refusing to provide extra support to help Mr. Sensitive learn to read next year, or any psychoeducational assessment that could pin point his area of difficulty.
The last psychiatrist I spoke to about this thinks that’s crazy.
But the bottom line is we know most of his strengths and needs already. And we’re working on them with the supports we can get.
Now for the sublime:
The school and supporting agency recommend a wheelchair for Little Miss Adorable to sit in while she travels in an accessible van to and from school in because nobody wants to lift her up.
She weighs less than a bag of potatoes.
She still fits into her toddler car seat. And honestly, that’s where she’s safest to ride in a vehicle in anyway.
So we’re supposed to come up with thousands of dollars for a piece of equipment that will be used for a few months until she learns how to walk independently? Even if the government gives us funding, it’s a ridiculous waste of time, money, and equipment.
We have gone from the ridiculous to the sublime, with the kids along for a ride.
