I wanted to share this story I saw on the news tonight.
See it HERE It's about a Chiropractor treating Autism.
I have heard of the diets and such but never them being treated by a chiropractor.
Bridgette is this something you had heard of?
Guess I learn something new everyday.
Okay on to my "meeting" if that's what you even want to call it. We get to the school at 8:20 the secretary looks at me and said "Your here about Caleb." And I reply "Yes."
And she says you have a meeting at 8:45 and I so no I was just told to be here in the morning to get him back in class and she says no right here it says you have a meeting with her at quarter of 9. And I say well she just told me to come in the morning she never gave me a specific time. So she says well she's in a meeting with another parent right now (Who now that it dawns on me it was a parent also from Caleb's class so that might be the girl he hit with a pencil, Why that's a big deal I'll explain that in a few)
Okay so there's another little girl sitting on the little couch in the office so I sit down next to her and Caleb who's not Going to sit with all girls (the horror) he sits on the floor at my feet. And as it is first thing in the morning his meds have not completely kicked in yet. And he starts messing with his nose not picking it but doing everything But that LOL. So I grab a tissue from my pocket (Yes I keep tissues in my pocket don't all m0m's? LOL) And Caleb just starts shredding it. You know that's fine if it's going to keep him occupied and calm shred away. At this point I notice the little girl sitting on the couch start to tear up, So I look around and no one else is paying any attention to her, So I ask her what's wrong? And she loses it just starts crying. I automatically jump in mom mode and give her a hug and tell her everything is going to be okay.
I look around the office for a teacher an aide and they all look and just keep walking on by and I'm sitting here thinking Are you kidding me? You all know I'm not her mom I shouldn't be the one sitting here hugging her. And I look at the secretary and kind of mouth She's crying, She asks the little girls what's wrong and she doesn't respond. And another secretary says Why is she in here? And they go off on there side story about how she missed her bus and her Dad dropped her off at quarter of 8 and someones going to have to call him because he has to know the kids aren't suppose to be in the school before 8:30. As I am sitting here looking at them like are you kidding me?? Are we just going to ignore this poor little girl?? So I kind of slide her over (at this point my coat is all wet and I have tears rolling off my sleeves) And I ask her what's wrong and she just shrugs so I just start asking her about her mom her dad and she just Blabbed. Her parents are divorced and her mom remarried but her stepdad is in Italy with the Army and her Dad might be getting remarried and she'll have a stepsister but she's not sure on the stepmom, And just kept talking. The poor girl was just afraid sitting in the office all by herself and being ignored upset her and she just wanted someone to talk too. At this point I'm sitting there thinking What the hell is going on in this school? They're just ignoring this poor little girl.
So after all that another therapist came in (I actually like her Brett went to school with her but the school feels there's a conflict of interest because Brett went to school with her but yet he hasn't seen her since High School but whatever) And she says she's going to take Caleb down to class and I say okay and point to the little girl next to me and said Can she go too? She asks well why is she here. I respond with Oh because she got dropped off early and had to sit here. The therapist looks at me like I'm crazy but tells the little girl to go on. So I continue to sit and wait for the Principal.
Finally she comes out and out with her walks another parent (Like I said above the parent from Caleb's class) And she says she can see me know. I walk in and sit down. And she states she doesn't have much time. But The other therapist is going to sit with Caleb today because other parents are worried that there child might be in harm and that Caleb is a threat to the other kids and she has to do this to reassure the other parents. Are you freaking kidding me? My Child's a threat? Excuse me? Um if you didn't push him the other day it NEVER would have gotten to that point. Did I say all that? No. Did I want to Oh Hell yeah I wanted to throw freaking pencils. (Sorry bad joke) But I mean come one really? Then she says But I am going to have the other therapist call you on Monday and were going to set up a meeting with all of us her the therapist his teacher and myself. Since I can't guarantee this won't happen again. And I was like but if it's handled the way I have stated before it wouldn't come to this. And she said right which is why we are going to have this meeting. WTF? And I say look it's because his bipolar meds aren't working to par now that will be taken care of. And she says and I'm not kidding you she says "Well if there not working can't you just stop giving them to him?" And I snap right back with Are you crazy No do you know anything about mental medication you don't just stop it because it's not working completely. And she says Well that's why I want you to go to the nurse right now and let her know what medication Caleb's on. And I said She knows what type of medication he's on. And she says Well just to make sure can you please go down there? And I said But it's not like he's given the medicine down there the meds have nothing to do with the nurse here at school. And she says can you please just promise me you'll go down and let her know. And I said Whatever and walked out.
I go down to the nurses were I explode to the nurse (Have I mentioned how awesome she is?) And say you know she's in there spouting off to me what she needs to do and what can be done but how about she educates herself on bipolar and ADHD before she tries to fix things. The nurse agreed with me and then sat with me and let me vent for awhile. Then she asked if I could email her some websites or get her some printouts to how to deal with a bipolar child. And I said Of course.
Okay that was the end of my wonderful time at the school. So I do my crap around the day and Caleb gets home and as it's report card time I pull out his report card expecting Great stuff as always And BAM it's a slap in the face the way they grade them is differently then they did for us
NE: Not evident the student is not demonstrating this particular skill at this time
B: Beginning The student is Beginning to acquire skill in this area.
D: Developing the student is demonstrating consistent growth in this area further exposure over time should lead to mastery.
S: Secure The student is consistently demonstrating success with this skill.
He get Mostly freaking B's and a few D's Nothing like what she said at the parent teacher conference which was only 2 freaking weeks ago!! He even got a few NE's!! Like WTF? Did she grade him after the episode on Wednesday? Because this was NOTHING like she was telling us when we were there. Then her teacher comments are priceless. It's reads like a if your child has ADHD this is what you can look for.
And I quote
Caleb is an excitable second grader whose enthusiasm runs ahead of him; he can become very noisy at these times and gets off tasks for a brief time.
Caleb's reading and writing levels indicate that he is very capable; however, he gets busy watching others and cannot complete his tasks on time. We are working together on self control and staying on task.
Caleb is still having difficulty getting organized. He forgets to bring his materials to school or often cannot find his supplies. He is willing to clean his desk daily with me so that he can find these items that he will need.
That's it! Like are you kidding me?? The more I read the comments the angrier I get! This is going to be a fight with this school and I'll be DAMNED if they win. I'm half tempted to in the comments section of the envelope I have to sign and send back write "Do you think my child could have ADHD?"
I mean come on are you kidding me???
So I'm livid I have a meeting to go to next week and Brett's going to be out of town in South Carolina to be exact! SO I'm having my mother in law go with me so I can have an advocate!
Any advise anyone??
So yeah I decided to gather some links and send them to
The Therapist his teacher the Principal and the nurse because she asked.
And I blind copied Brett and my MIL.
Sugject:Links for helping handle Caleb
These links all explain how to handle Caleb so things
do not escalate to where they did on Wednesday.
Techniques for Dealing with a Bipolar Child
Bipolar Tips for Teachers:
What to say (and what not to say) to students with bipolar disorder:
*EDUCATING THE CHILD WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER
This is a PDF file
*Helping Children with Early-Onset Bipolar To Learn
“A guide for Teachers and Administrators”
“A guide for Teachers and Administrators”
ADD/ADHD in the Classroom
TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS
TIPS FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS
How to Work With Bipolar Kids in the Classroom
It seriously took my maybe 5 mins of Google searching for those! The teacher KNEW he had bipolar and ADHD! I told her BEFORE school even started I feel she should have educated herself better! Everything these sites say NOT to do with a child in his frame of mind that's EXACTLY what they DID do. And it pisses me off the more I think about it. I know I have rights as a parent and I plan on using them.
Okay I am off going to head to bed I think.
*hugs*
2 comments:
Hey Steph...a lot of parents use chiropractors for their autistic and ADHD children. Chiropractors tend to be more homeopathic in their views, which plays into what we believe as well.
In fact, a chiropractor wrote an excellent book about the dangers of vaccines and their effect on our blood. It's called, "The Sanctity of Human Blood."
It's not a protocol I've really followed because Parker isn't as severely affected as some kids, but I know it works. I have mom's talking about it in my groups at times.
In fact, we have many mom's who are dealing with both ADHD/Bipolar diagnosis' like you with Caleb. Many of them, after diet, supplementation, and various therapies have their kids completely off prescription meds.
When you have a free minute, can you send me info about Caleb? His eating habits, his bathroom habits (bowel), whether or not he gets eczema or red patched on his cheeks or ears...things like that?
As for the school district...you have to demand an IEP, Steph. I cannot believe they've let Caleb go this long without one. You and Caleb have rights and they're totally not being met at this time.
Check out Wrightslaw.com.
Do not let the school intimidate you. They're dropping the ball big time and blaming it on you for not providing them with the appropriate info. That's bullshit.
I've had some major fights on my hands with Parker's old school district...you probably remember from my AOL journal. But I did fight them...and I did get what I want. They'll walk over you if you let them. So be prepared when you go in, be armed with facts.
I'm sure Caleb is also covered under IDEA.
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
Prepare yourself for a fight. Often times, attorneys will represent you for free...you might want to check that out too. If you come armed with an attorney and such, they'll know you mean business.
Legally, you can also tape any meetings you have to use against them later.
And I would advise putting EVERYTHING that happens in writing. I wouldn't talk to them on the phone. I'd let them leave you a message then e-mail them back. That way everything is documented.
These are some of the things I've learned the hard way...but it is affective.
Good luck!
Bridgett
DAMN STEPH I AM SQUIRMING IN MY SEAT FOR YOU! *BIG sigh.... I am scared for Caleb because his teachers aren't prepared to deal with him the way they should and it's apparent. And so frustrated here.... XOXOX
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