The week from....another reality

Last week was absolute chaos.  Monday started out with Easton being sent to the 8th grade classroom because of misbehavior.  It may be only me, but sending a kindergartener to the 8th grade classroom is not in anyway shape or form appropriate.  So I call the school to find out why this happened.  Their answer:  That is where we send the students who need to be disciplined.  OK what could he have done that resulted in that?  He was taking another kiddos snack, he was not compliant with what the teacher wanted, he did not follow the rules.  He was moving in the line.  I am not sure what would happen if something really terrible happened, but I can assure you that this type of behavior is very characterist of children with Asperger's Syndrome.

So Tuesday, I call the SLP that is the case manager for his IEP and tell her my concerns.  She is very sympathetic, but still stands behind where they sent him.  I told her that I didn't think it was appropriate, and suggested that he would do better if he had someone in class with him to help re-direct him when his behavior seems out of control.  She didn't want to do that because she wanted him to be able to function without support.  OK fine, but what is going to happen, when his behavior becomes an issue again.  When I dropped Easton off at school on Tuesday, I told his teacher that he didn't get a homework sheet sent home with him on Monday.  Her response, "He should have told me so I could give him a new one."  I left again feeling very frustrated.  I don't know how many time I have told them he will not turn it in.  You need to get it out of his bag for him.  He doesn't understand the whole concept of why he has to do the homework, and then why he would need to turn it in.  It does not make sense to him.  He is like that in swim lessons.  He thinks the purpose is to have fun and play in the water.  He has completed Level 1, four times in the past year because he doesn't understand why he needs to show that he can move through the water in a specific way.  I can see the way he thinks "If i am having fun and I am not drowning or dying or at the bottom of the pool, who cares if I can't do a backstroke the way they want me to."  So he again looks defiant, when he really just doesn't care about what others want him to do.

Wednesday cam around and I was a mess.  My nerves were raw and I wasn't sure how I could handle another day of so called misbehavior.  And to top it off, Easton was getting to go home with his best friend Jasper.  I LOVE Jasper.  He just gets Easton.  I have watched them interact, and there is something magical about it.  I know that sounds kinda wierd, but he knows Easton.  It is like they can communicate without all the 'stuff'  He understands Easton's quirks and is able to be his friend no matter what.  Did I say I loved the kid.  So I go to Boise to pick Easton up at Jasper's house.  Hoping that he didn't wear out his welcome.  He was wonderful.  Played well with Jasper and his little brother.  To top it off, he had an absolutely perfect day, according to the teacher.  WOW!  What changed?  Still can't figure it out.

Thursday...not too bad, but I also went and helped in the classroom to see if that might help with his behavior.  He did well!  I was happy and he seemed content.  He didn't have many issues that day.  So I believe that we have this figured out.  Nope.  You would think that I would learn that just as I think I have it figured out, he changes.  OK I think, I will just adapt.  Try to figure out the next best way to motivate him.

Friday...complete meltdown.  He spent most of the class out of the classroom, somewhere else.  I can only imagine what is going thru his mind.  He can't figure out why he is the only kid in class that is getting sent out.  What am I doing that is so bad that they don't want me there.  And mom, I do not like stars anymore.  The teacher had been using stars to motivate him to have good behavior.  He gets 2 warnings, and if he doesn't stop whatever it is that he is doing, he gets a star taken away.  So now he doesn't like the stars, and could care less if they are taken away. 

Did I say I was glad it was Friday?  I don't ever remember as long as my kids have been in school, being glad that it was Friday, and that I didn't have to worry about what was going to happen at school.  We could all finally breath, long and slow.

I found this article in another blog....

So I am a copy-cat.  I found this rather interesting and wanted a place to put it I would remember, so it is here for viewing...


The Atlantic (November 2009 issue) has featured Thorkil Sonne, CEO and Founder of Specialisterne in the article Brave New Thinkers.


“After his son Lars was diagnosed with autism in the late 1990’s, Sonne had an epiphany. Autistics tend to have poor social skills and difficulty response to stress or changes, which makes finding work a challenge (one study suggests that only 6 per cent of autistic adults have full-time employment). but Sonne realized they also tend to be methodical, possess excellent memories, and show great attention to detail and tolerance for repetition — in other words, the might make excellent software testers. With this in mind, Sonne launched Specialisterne, in Copenhagen, in 2004. Thirty-seven of its 51 employees have autism…The firm now pulls in $2 million a year in revenue and serves clients like Microsoft and CSC. Sonne refuses to run the company like a charity: he competes in the open market and aims to make a profit. This makes government support unlikely, but it may lead to a sustainable new model for companies with disabled employees: Harvard Business School now uses Spepcialisterne as a case study in social-enterprise business. People on the autistic spectrum are not super human memory machines, but neither are they incapable of work. Sonne treats them as employees with strengths and weaknesses that smart employers should respect — and capitalize on.” (The Atlantic, November 2009, p. 68).

Mom...tomorrow is the end of the world!

That is what Easton said to me as we were laying in bed.  What do you mean the end of the world, I ask?  I know it is Halloween, but I was pretty sure the world was not going to end.  Then he says, "after the end of the world it will be November!"  Ah, you mean the end of the month!  "Yeah mom, end of the world!"  OK  one of these days I will be able to understand his thought process, until then, I will just have to go with the flow!

The past couple of weeks have been tough for Easton at school.  He was just starting to get into the routine of things, and then fall break comes around.  Two and a half weeks of being home and no schedule!  Fun for everyone, until school starts again.  Easton has major meltdown at school.  He is sent into the special education room 3 times.  Now think about it, he is only there for 2 1/2 hours each day, and he is sent to room 3 times.  What is that?  About once every 45 minutes or so?  Don't get me wrong, Erica is the best Special Education teacher I have met, but come on 3 times in one day?  Give the kid a break!  So the next day, I go into his classroom to talk to his Kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Barnes) to find out what we can do to help him get through the day.  We come up with a plan to give him 3 stars at the beginning of the day.  When he misbehaves, he loses a star.  Great I think!  This will work!  First day: 2 stars - Way to go Easton!  Second day:  3 stars:  OK this is really going to work!  He likes getting stars!  Day 3-5:  ZERO stars!  What the Heck happened?  BUT not only does he come home with a note that says ZERO stars, but the note also says that he lost stars for humming in class.  Now I am getting MAD.  That is what kids with Autism do to calm themselves, they hum and rock.  Why is he getting stars taken away??   You wouldn't take stars away from someone that rocked in class because the had a cast on their foot would you?  Absolutely not!  Anyway, I have an IEP meeting with the school on Tuesday Nov. 3rd, and I am not sure what is going to come of it....UGH!