Re: CHAT: Judith and Alison

[Guest guest]

Judith,

Happy Birthday to and . Can you believe it has been

four years??? I do understand about 's behavior. Max was the

same way. By the time he was five, we had to give in and give him

medication to help him focus and stay with his peers in his special

ed class and for mainstreaming in a regular kindergarten for part of

the day. I'm not saying you have to do that for , but it may

come to that for his benefit. I hope not. As for , I know

the mixed feelings. You want her to do well and not need special

services, but the convenience and umbrella that it offers are so

good! Just make sure that YOU think she is ready. Don't let them

push her out because they are trying to cut back on the money they

spend on special ed. I know this firsthand because they are trying

to do that at the school where I teach. The principal says that

there are too many kids who are classified and she wants the numbers

cut due to expenses. It does not affect my class because my kids are

so language impaired, but it can affect others. There is so much

pressure from the No Child Left Behind Act, too. The ramifications

of this law are not even fully realized yet. We teachers see

problems ahead, but who wants to listen to us????

Alison, I cannot believe that the school nurse is not allowed to

replace the button. We have never run into that before. In fact, the

school nurses have always asked that we keep one in school just in

case so they could replace it right away. We were fortunate that

Max's never came out in school, but at least we had peace of mind.

Now Max is begging to have the g-j button removed for good. We have

not really used it for months. When Dr. H. gets back and we see her

March 9, I'm going to ask her to pull it.

Jodi Z.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jodi,

In some ways they are right. Becca has really matured the last few

months. Academically she is right on target (except for things

involving writing). She is already reading some words etc. The

problem is, on a day when she is " on " she will probably test out.

However, she is still prone to crying, etc. when tired or when she

doesn't want to do something or thinks she can't do something. Also,

she does not transition well and tends to regress when out of school

for vacation. It's really just a wait and see game for now. Also,

this is the preschool telling me this, not the school district. The

preschool has nothing to gain by pushing her out, since the school

disctrict pays for it.

As for , I think right now he is just still exploring life. He

is able to do so much more now, that he wants to enjoy it. I am

concerned that he isn't getting enough academics (I know, he's only 4

lol) since his class is doing the types of things that Becca's class

did last year. In many ways, acts his size (2) rather than his

age (4). The good news is, unless the integrated class is full, we

can wait until September and make a last minute decision.

If I have any questions, I will email you directly.

Judith, Steve, (RSS) and (non RSS) 4 year old twins