Re: and Update

[Guest guest]

Hi B.,

No, they can't figure out the source of Becca's upsets. She gets

upset over nothing, but they can't find the real source. The school

psychologist believes she was born this way and it was exacerbated

by having a twin with RSS. Hopefully the psychiatrist will be able

to help us more.

PDD is pervasive developmental disorder. It is in the autism

spectrum. Dr H is finding more and more RSS kids have PDD

tendancies. is very repetitive in his play, and doesn't play

with other children although he loves being with other children.

Judith, Steve, (RSS) and (non RSS) 5 year old twins

[Guest guest]

Judith,

Max, too, was diagnosed with PDD tendencies. He was on Risperdal

for awhile, but when Tourette's was confirmed, we had to take him

off of the Risperdal because it can cause a tic that will never go

away. We just could not take the chance.

As Max has gotten older, he has become more flexible and gets along

much better with other kids. This has taken YEARS of psychotherapy

and a lot of work on our part and on that of the teachers he has

had. I'm sorry to say that the private school we put him in was not

the best for his circumstances, but there was no other place for him

at the time. He had so many emotional and medical needs that we

just had to do it.

I understand your concern about not being

integrated/mainstreamed. There is one assurance that the likelihood

of this happening is great: No Child Left Behind. Each student, no

matter what his/her needs, is to be integrated into the mainstream

environment as often as possible. My students are with me for most

of the day, but they go to " specials " with their homerooms (music,

gym, art, etc.). They also go there for any birthday or holiday

parties, assemblies, and whatever else the whole class is doing that

is different from the everyday activities. Some of my kids are

mainstreamed for science and social studies with an aid in the room

for extra support. Sometimes there is also a special ed teacher in

there for in-class support.

I have two other students who are with me only in the morning for

math, reading and LA. They are with their homeroom for the entire

afternoon.

These options should be in place for , too.

I have to admit that the younger years were much more difficult for

us with Max and his education. He preferred to be alone, although

with peers around him. He rarely, and still rarely, sees other kids

outside of school. He would much rather be in his room doing his

own thing. One way we have gotten him out in the world is to enroll

him in extra-curricular classes. We tried karate, but he was just

not strong enough to keep up. Other kids his age were advancing and

he stayed at the same level. His true love now is acting. He loves

his acting classes and he loves writing. We are going to enroll him

in a playwriting class this summer to supplement the acting

classes. Is he good at acting? No, but who cares? He loves the

teacher, gets along with the kids and has a good time. That is all

we want.

Don't give up hope for . He is going to do okay. It's just so

hard and scary when he is at this age. There are so many decisions

to make.

Jodi Z