More timely update

I'm trying to stay more on top of this blog so I can let everyone know how Logan and Ryan are doing. If I can update weekly I will be a happy camper but no promises!!

Logan has now been switched to the class and teacher that I had originally wanted and I'm so thankful! He's got a great teacher in Ms. Clark and a great aide in Ms. Nicki. Ms. Clark attended the IEP meeting last May and I was SOOOOOO impressed with her. To say I was disappointed when he didn't get her is putting it mildly. She incorporates speech therapy into the class work as she has a background in speech. She has been working with Autistic children for a long time and knows how to deal with behavior issues while still getting them to work. I did try to see how things would go with the new teacher and aides but as you read in my previous post things just weren't working. I had been thinking that if the one aide would stay around that he could deal with that class but then I saw things start to deteriorate and knew I had to do something.

My Tuesday was spent taking them to speech at the hospital and then to school. I wasn't impressed with what I saw when dropping him off so I made an effort to get back there before his lunch so I could observe un-noticed. Well, you know what they say about plans...... I made it to school ten minutes into his lunch time so I headed to the cafeteria. I observed for a few minutes there un-noticed and I can say no further eval was needed. I did, however, make a point to hang around until after they'd been back in the classroom for at least 20 minutes. I observed them in the classroom for another 20 minutes and headed to the office. I debated on making this a face-to-face meeting with the principal or just talking to him on the phone. He rarely takes a phone call but will call back a few hours later. He sure takes a lot of meetings!!

I stopped in the office and surprise, he was in a meeting so I stuck around for 20 minutes waiting to see him. After explaining what I saw with Logan's regression and having to explain why he can't tell me what the problem is, we got down to the nitty gritty. I wanted him moved to another teacher who could put her foot down and make him do the work that he's very capable of doing. After another few minutes listening to his excuses (we're moving the child who is hitting/scratching/biting to that classroom so you aren't fixing the problem by moving Logan too) why it wasn't a good move (in his opinion) Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have a strong teacher (strong leadership skills) then won't that cut out the discipline problems with the scratching, biting and hitting??? I got him to agree to talk to the teachers and let me know by the end of the week. I left the school that day feeling like I'd accomplished nothing and felt like I had let Logan down yet again. I just knew the battle had just begun. That it would be a long and painful one but, in the end Logan's issues would win over the class count or whatever it was he (the principal) was using to be against the switch.

The next day I received a call from a dear friend who informed me that Logan wasn't with his regular class and was with the other teacher/aide. That person said he looked happier than they had seen him so far this year and the aide was working with him as she should be. What a great weight lifted from my shoulders! They are sending little daily logs of how his attitude was for that day, how he worked and a few other notes so I know how his progress is each day. The other teacher didn't do this unless I wrote a note asking for specifics and even then I might not get an answer. I'm not trying to knock this other teacher. I got the feeling that she has experience with general education but doesn't have much experience (hands on) with the spectrum children. She has lots of great ideas "on paper" but getting them to actually transition over to hands on work in the classroom needs a lot of work. Logan doesn't have the time for this transition to work itself out. He has regressed before and it took quite a while to get him back to where he was improving again. He doesn't have the time for practice with a new teacher. (I was assured at the end of last school year that all new teachers for these new Autism classes would be experienced with the spectrum and all that entails. It's pretty clear to me that isn't exactly how things turned out. Things that make you go HMMMMMM......)

For the past three days Logan has been very happy in the morning while getting ready for school. (Yes, he's still tired but he's no longer nasty and fighting me when I'm trying to get him dressed) He's happier when he gets home and he's actually asking for what he wants (i.e. I want juice, please, thank you.) He's not scratching or hitting and he's giving lots of kisses without being asked. Maybe the short period of regression is already fixed, if not, it should be a short time before he's back to where he was this summer. Phew, what a week!