,Re:special ed?

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Oh, this is a hard decision to make, there doesn't seem to be an easy

answer. & nbsp; What does your son want to do? & nbsp; Does he want to home school

or does he want to try to stay in school-- for social reasons, to have friends,

etc. & nbsp; Does he feel at all excited about starting back to a classroom or is

he stressed out about it? & nbsp; It sounds like when he is stressed (feeling

over-whelmed with school work/activities, etc. he shuts down and avoids trying)

and if this is the case, do you see him able to move forward if he is in a

classroom?

This was a huge problem for us too. & nbsp; Like your son, our daughter had to be

assigned to a special ed classroom in order to get the kinds of accommodations

(extra time, extended deadlines, etc.) she needed to cope with the anxiety of

the school work. & nbsp; But then she experienced the very real problem of trying

to focus and concentrate on her work because of the very real issues that all

the other kids in the room were dealing with; there might only be 6 other kids

in the room (as in my daughter's room) but many of the kids were very loud with

their issues, required heavy supervision and help, etc. & nbsp; Because of her

OCD, our daughter was already extremely sensitive to sound, light, movement

around her, etc.-- and the special ed room had all of that times five, in a

relatively small space. & nbsp; And then there was the problem that the special ed

teacher, although very kind and experienced and she read everything I gave her

on OCD, she just didn't

really get it and she wasn't able to effectively help our daughter. & nbsp; After

three years of this-- regular classroom, special ed classroom, etc. -- our

daughter just left school as it wasn't working out for her. & nbsp; Looking back,

it was always trying desperately to somehow have our daughter " fit " & nbsp; into

the special ed programming the schools had, but that programming was NEVER

geared to OCD and so it never worked.

Do you think that the two types of programming they are offering your son are

uniquely tailored to his special learning needs? & nbsp; Will he learn better/more

happily in their program, rather than at home? & nbsp; Do you know who the other

students in the class will be and what their needs are and how this might impact

on your son's ability to move ahead? & nbsp; Have you met the teacher who will

actually be with your son, and is he/she a kind, caring and receptive person who

will flex when needed? & nbsp; And is it a social environment that will benefit

your son and bring him friendships? & nbsp; Is your son lonely at home? & nbsp;

Which will be hardest energy-wise for you-- home schooling your son, or working

to keep him integrated, happy and moving ahead at school?

, good luck with your decision, and remember that nothing has to be

final.... If you think it is worth a try, you can always pick the best of the

two options, enroll your son and give it a shot.... if he is unhappy and

spinning his wheels after a couple of weeks, you can bring him home. & nbsp; Just

set it up that way from the beginning maybe... " Let's try this other way of

learning and see what you think, see if you like it, you probably will as there

will be many friends there, etc.... and then you and I can talk about it as it

goes along and see if it is working for you... " & nbsp;

Take care,

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