So right now it's Friday and in an hour it will be Saturday. I'm late getting this together but I'm sure you guys won't mind. Doodle is still not on medication and her regression was driving me up the wall this week. The guttural hums and screams have really tried my nerves. And I've been out of her calm child which helps her sleep at night, it pairs well with her melatonin. I ran out last Friday and had my health food store order it but it still hasn't come in yet. This has not been the best week for Doodle. She broke the bedroom window earlier in the week. And other then stepping on the iPad she's never broken anything before.
Look at it this way. Most children on the spectrum don't sleep. AT ALL! I mean they get like a 5 minute nap and then they are up for 24 hours. It's just the way their brain functions. I went by the health food store today (they weren't having a black Friday sale so it was pretty slow over there). That's the way I like it when Doodle and I go shopping. She's not very patient. Most kids on the spectrum are that way. You want me to wait in line? I'll circle the store for 30 minutes, thank you. Well, the order still hadn't come in. I've got a $20 bill in my pocket book burning a hole in my pocket to be spent on this calm child.
When Doodle doesn't sleep, I don't sleep. Nothing like your child waking you in the middle of the night with a gruntal scream and then the guttural humming. Her father had a bad habit of waking me in the middle of the night over something stupid and now Doodle wakes me in the middle of the night because she is wide eyed and bushy tailed. So as you can see I was desperate!
For some reason just plain melatonin doesn't work. She can drink the whole freaking bottle and still not go to sleep. Last night I was flinging lavender essential oil all over her bed like a priest in the middle of an exorcism. That finally worked but it didn't keep her asleep and it took until close to midnight before she finally went to sleep.
Heartbroken that I couldn't find liquid calm child we went to Michaels craft store and bought a little package of shopkins. She loves singing that song and watching people unwrap the toys on youtube. So I know she wanted one of the toys. Every time she wanted to act up or make that horrible noise that has really put an end to the last of my nerves I would hold up the toy and say if you want this you need to calm down. Even when I stopped what I was doing to help a customer (no I wasn't working) she stayed close to my side. Motivation, you know I love it.
By the time I got home I realized that I has a sample bottle of calm child in pill form. Well, I have a mortar and pestal I can crush two of those bad boys up and try it that way. So that's what I did. I slipped it into her hot cocoa at dinner. She didn't finish all of her cocoa which had me a little bummed so I talked to her Godfather and he helped to get it all down. She scarfed that drink down like there was no tomorrow. And when she finished it she said "Eww yucky". Which tells me that she could taste the pill form.
So as it's drawing closer to midnight, what is Doodle doing? She's sleeping so hard and she's been that way since a little after 7:00 pm. I really don't know what to do with myself now that I've got my nights back. Well, I can tell you this, I wasn't writing on the blog. I wasn't working on my publishing company. I was searching youtube for crafting and gift ideas for Doodle to do for Christmas. Oh yeah my priorities are in tack tonight. Not really. I was enjoying the peace and quiet. And Doodle? Well Doodle is still sawing logs hard!
You guys have a great night! I know I will with getting sleep again.
If your local health food store doesn't carry it and you want to try it, here is the link for it at amazon.
So this is the week for our Thanksgiving. I didn't post on Monday because regression has hit our home. Doodle is now doing the autism flapping. The verbal stemming has increased and I'm about at my wits end with it. And let's not forget the autism obsession. This week it's all about trying to remove another tooth. So as you can see I'm pretty busy trying to keep Doodle out of trouble.
So what are Doodle and I doing for the holiday's? Well, I am working with her to try to get her back on track. Anyone who knows me and knows Doodle, knows that she is not a flapper. And for her to be flapping is not a good thing in my book.
Currently I'm trying to get Doodle out of her regression all while trying to work on my businesses. My publishing company needs to be revised and there are new things being added to the website. But since there is only one of me I'm having a hard time trying to juggle everything.
Well, this post is going to be short today because we have a lot of work to do. I can't make any promises for a blog on Friday because it's going to be the day after Thanksgiving. And well, I'm on a time crunch for this new product line. And it all has to be tested. I don't put anything out without being tested. Better to be safe then sorry.
I know that I said in the previous blog that I was just going to put a hold on Doodle's product line but I'm itching to get it started so I'm going to give it the green light anyways. As a business person it's always best to have your hands in as many projects as possible. I don't know why I have to stay so busy, I guess it's ingrained into my DNA. I come from a family that works hard and used to have a business that started in the home as well. Yeah it was an Uncle who created the business back in the 30's. He had his kids that helped him and though he started small, he made it big. My direct side of the family, it's been a tradition to work for the family. My grandfather worked to maintain the houses that my Uncle purchased. My mother worked in the stock room. When I was growing up I got to work on my hand writing by writing the prices on some of the items for sale. Keeping it in the family.
So staying busy is something I was raised to do and learning about business and building a loyal customer fan base was important.
And on that note, I hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. This afternoon I will be forcing Doodle to ride her bike. This should be interesting as her level of autism with exercise and riding her bike are just about at 0. Starting from scratch. Have a great day!
So as I told you guys on Wednesday I had an IEP meeting yesterday on Thursday. I won the iep but it was at a cost. Keep reading to find out what all happened. It's a long one. As you, who are following the blog knows Doodle has regressed. And it's not a good regression but we all know any regression is not a good regression. But yesterdays meeting left me with so many feelings I didn't know what to do. I was in emotional over load! I think shock out weighed it all yesterday. By the time I left the teacher was in tears. By the time I got to my car I was in tears. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around everything.
At this point in Doodle's regression she's shut down. No one at that school can get her to do anything. Not a single thing at all! We all know where the regression has come from at this point but can it be stopped is a whole other ball game. I really need my miracle workers. They would be the ones that could stop it and bring her out of it because they've done it before.
So here's what went down. The principal was at the meeting only because last week I flipped my wig and sent a message to her after we got back from seeing Doodle's pediatrician. I'm not a happy camper with the work that Doodle is doing in school. The math is not up to par. The comprehension sheets are too advanced for her level. Let's face it until Doodle is taught to comprehend what she reads and I'm taught how to help her with it, she's pretty much at a loss. She learns differently then we do. All kids on the spectrum do. They can't be taught at regular education standards. That's why they have to be taught at different levels and differently then regular education students.
Look I'm going to say this. I'm not a happy camper with my child regressing so badly that she has to have her own para educator. Doodle should be independent because she's always been independent. But now Doodle is eloping. That's what it's called when a child on the spectrum wanders away. She just makes a break for and she's gone! And she only does this at school. Not at home, not while we are out and about together. The first hour and a half was spent listening to how far Doodle has regressed. It was like listening to therapists, teacher assistants and the teacher carve out my heard and starting to stomp it into mush. I will admit I was starting to shut down at this point. I was in a horror movie and couldn't control the plot line.
Tuesday the school sent home progress reports. Doodle didn't get hers and she's not the only student in class to not receive one. When the principal heard that she was not a happy camper either. I wanted to know where the spelling words were that were suppose to come home. The principal wanted to know if Doodle was being tested on spelling words. When I asked about spelling words the teacher gave me this look of why? I simply explained it's always been the way that when a child even Doodle gets spelling and gets tested on it they need to be able to work on them at home to re-enforce memory for the words.
The principal and I were in agreement that Doodle needed to be removed from the class for art because she excels in art. So the principal was trying to set it up in front of me and she asked for Doodle's schedule. It wasn't in the school computer system and the teacher had to leave to get one. She never did bring back Doodle's schedule, she brought back Doodle's new para's schedule.
Doodle's federal file was not on school premises. When I say federal file, I mean her school file that shows her work, that shows the progress, that shows behavior, the notes, everything! It all has to be documented and it has to stay at the school because that's where the iep's are kept. The iep which is a binding corner to corner contract. THAT IS NOT TO LEAVE THE SCHOOL AT ALL!
And the only work the teacher could produce for Doodle was just the work she's been trying to teach Doodle this week. And yes the papers had been balled up and ripped. Some where ripped into many pieces. That shows me right there how frustrated Doodle is. And that's not even the worst part. When the teacher said she was teaching Doodle on second grade level (there went that knife to the heart again) I wanted to just lose it. The last time she was on second grade level she was in the second grade. She's in the 4th grade now. I also informed everyone at the meeting that she's slid into palmer grasp. Palmer grasp is the way that a toddler holds a pencil or crayon in their fist and writes or colors with it that way. Not the way that a normal child is taught how to hold and write with a pencil, pen, crayon or marker. For me palmer grasp is another sign at home of a regression. It's the small ques that can't be overlooked. And how I've noticed that her hearing sensory has gotten worse. That everything is much louder to her now especially when walking into the school from the parking lot and the buses are parked in the drop off area.
Doodle is not a stupid child. She's very smart. So smart she tests higher then half the school. That's how intelligent she is. And this is all thanks to my miracle workers. They got her to that level. They saw potential in her even when I couldn't. So there was no science work to show, no social studies, no spelling. Only reading comprehension and math. Our pediatrician had recommended that I buy some work books and get Doodle back on task at home and I showed them all at the meeting that she was capable of doing the work. Though it was only a math book and thinking projects book I had purchased at the time. I now have a reading comprehension book but I got that after the meeting yesterday.
I've fought hard for Doodle and was able to slack off while Doodle was with her miracle workers. It was by their grace they taught me so much. How to work with her, what my rights were, what I need to be looking for in work and other progress. When it came to really learning about my roll as Doodle's mom they taught me a lot. And I can't forget one of my best friends who taught me even more about iep's and the way they are to be handled. She taught me about my poker face and expectations and how to turn an iep meeting around. She taught me how to stand my ground and not take no for an answer.
There was so much that went down in that meeting it's really hard to say it all and remember it all. To say I was horrified is an understatement. The principal took full responsibility. She sent everyone out but myself and the teacher. Doodle's teacher tried to say there were grades in the system and the principal shut her down. That's when the vice principal showed up and I saw first hand there was not a single grade for Doodle in the computer system. And that's when the teacher tried to blame Doodle's teacher from last year. I see what see did there. Doesn't want to take responsibility for her actions and what she's done wrong. When I left the meeting the vice principal was left with the teacher. And the principal walked me out.
This morning I found out that one of the students in Doodle's class his mom works in the office and the teacher went after her. Asking if she thought that her child wasn't being taught by her either. She informed me she told her flat out the progress that her child was having prior to him being placed in the school has stopped and he has regressed as well. And no she didn't think she was teaching her. We both noted there are no grades for our children. No progress reports to go by. Both of our children have been in therapy for a long time and every single day we took them to therapy we always got progress reports on how they were functioning and where they were going to go from there.
So for anyone who thinks that a regression can't be figured out is in the wrong field. It can be figured out and when it does you can bet someone is going to end up getting fired. I sent Doodle to school today and my biggest worry (yes, I know, I'm not suppose to worry) is that the teacher may retaliate against Doodle. I will know when she comes home if that has happened. She can't tell me but her actions speak louder then words. I did bring this up to the principal and she assured me that Doodle is going to be safe at school today. Doodle's teacher has been reported to her supervisors and if things don't change in a very short amount of time a new teacher is being brought in.
And the only reason I sent Doodle to school was because back where we used to live I got a lot of flack from my best friend when she and I discovered that the kids on the bus were being verbally assaulted on the school bus by the bus driver. I called Doodle's school and the transportation department. So did my best friend. Our children acted different getting on the bus and when it was time to come home and they got off the bus. My best friends' son would try to tip his wheel chair over while on the ramp to get to his Momma. Doodle cried and screamed and it took hours to get her calmed down. Now this is when Doodle was with the miracle workers. So getting homework done was a challenge because of this bus driver. Which is why strict routine is so important. I pulled Doodle from riding the bus. I informed transportation that I was refusing to allow my child to be on the bus while this guy was the driver. My friend did not pull her son. I drove Doodle every morning and afternoon. I told the bus driver that I was working in another city and it was just easier for me to get her and get back to work. Yes it was a partial lie. 2 days a week I worked in several cities and it was easier then trying to make sure that I made it back to the bus stop in time. The rest of the week I worked from home.
So you can see this was my first leveling up (leveling up is in the iep world how well you get results) as I was stopped while walking to get Doodle at school by the previous bus driver that he wanted me to meet the new bus driver. The guy that was taking his place because he was "retiring". I liked the new bus driver. He treated all the kids like they were his own. Super great guy. Doodle and her friend improved once routine was back to normal and they weren't being verbally assaulted by a bus driver anymore.
And then there was last years incident at the school Doodle currently attends. You can read that in the blog post called wrong things said. That was a nightmare but I will fight for my child and I will not have anyone speak down to me. I've dealt with Doodle and her autism for 9 years. The only thing I will change is the way I teach her. I've trained a lot with her miracle workers and know how to properly correct her in every avenue, which is why there is not much of a regression at home. But she's not progressing forward at home either.
Stay vigilant. Stay strong. If you see behavior changing at home call an iep meeting. If you think somethings not right about homework, call an iep meeting. Get all involved from the principal to your teachers supervisor. Take control and get your child back on track. Though it's only the 4th month Doodle's been in school we are still catching it early. Things are going to change and Doodle is going to be getting back on track. If not my advocate is still pretty much aware of what all is going on right now. So all it takes is a simple let's roll.
Yes I have yet another IEP tomorrow. I've already started taking my notes. Last year I was an iep pro to the point where I had over 20 ieps last year alone! This one is about the work that they are giving Doodle. It's not up to par in my personal opinion. How is it I can control my child and the school can't. I didn't have this problem last year and I certainly didn't have this problem the year before last. But here I am with my child back on what I call kindergarten math.
And according to the teacher she put Doodle on second grade math. That's not second grade math. 5+0 and 2+1. That's not going to cut it. My child wants to be a doctor. And darn it a doctor she will be and I will push anybody to make sure she gets to accomplish her dream.
One thing the teacher made mention to me while I was signing the iep meeting form was that Doodle has run out of books to read. Seriously? She's run out of books to read and didn't bring home a reading award? The little boy next door who has some trouble reading brought home a reading award. Where is Doodles? She got reading awards last year and the year before that.
So who is at fault? The school, the teacher or me as the parent? I can attest that I make Doodle do her school work that she didn't finish in school. And I will make her do her homework. And everything gets turned in the next day. Though I haven't seen spelling homework in a long long time. Since the first two weeks of school.
Now I have informed the principal when I brought up my concerns to her that I will be more then happy to provide the school with everything the publishing company comes out with. And that includes worksheets. I'm sending the publishing company in a new direction to help home school parents and teachers as well. But this phase won't be ready until after Thanksgiving holiday and that's if Doodle cooperates while she's on break.
I've got a huge push before Thanksgiving to get more books on the publishing company. So I might end up going quiet for a bit. I have the holidays to worry about and the timing of the books for when they come out. So you can image that it's going to be a bit stressful for me. Never fear I might just go off regular schedule and post when I can. Just to let you know.
So last Wednesday was my last post. Couldn't write on Friday because we were in the emergency room. I had barely gotten into my work when the school called. But this is what has led up to the school call so bare with me and please excuse me for not posting on Friday. I will admit that I sat down and was getting ready to start the blog on Friday and let it just post as a late late blog but then the news of Paris being attacked there was just no point in me writing as I stayed close to the news. Friday was bad for me but it was nothing compared to what they were going through in France.
Wednesday was a doctors appointment all the way back to where Doodle and I used to live. I love this pediatrician and she knows Doodle since the day Doodle was born. She's seen Doodle through it all including her diagnoses of Autism.
When Doodle was first diagnosed I did not cry. It was a relief that now we knew how to get her the help that she needed. Our pediatrician told me the words I didn't want to hear because well Doodle had been progressing. But the words that brought tears to my eyes were she's acting like a child with autism and I think she has regressed. We do need to get her re-evaluated. That's one thing about Doodle, it used to be that no one would know she had autism unless I said something. Now it's just like a slap in the face. I don't need to say anything anymore. It's apparent, she has autism. All that work just flushed down the toilet! And by who? Well, it would be the people who have her for 8 hours in a day. The school system.
One thing that is burning my butt faster than you can blink is the fact that Doodle's teacher told me last week that she just didn't want to deal with all the meltdowns so she's been giving Doodle kindergarten work. Kindergarten work for a 4th grader who wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Doodle is just a drop in the bucket away from being as autistic as she was at the horrible school when she was in kindergarten. And as most of you know that school got wiped off the map.
So it's very much apparent that Doodle has regressed. So it's no shocker when the phone call from the school came on Friday mid-morning from the school nurse. "Hey, it's the school nurse again. I know you're tired of hearing from me." And the first response out of my mouth was. "I already know about the ear infection. She's already got ear drops and is on antibiotics."
"No that's not why I'm calling today. There's been an accident."
"Accident?"
"Doodle was spinning and wouldn't stop and she spun right into a pole. She's busted the skin above her eyebrow and looks like she's gonna need stitches."
"Please tell me your kidding."
"I'm afraid not. I need you to come up here and get her."
Now I can walk out of an iep meeting all day long like a boss. But this, this just makes me want to put a foot in someone's rump. When I got to the school I was told that Doodle was spinning and acting wild and refused to listen when they told her to stop and she smacked right into a pole. And well the accident report from the school states differently.
Doodle did need to get stitches. But because of her autism they decided that surgical glue would be better. And that was after I had taken her into Urgent care. They didn't want to deal with it so off to the emergency room we went. There were no observations to make sure that she wasn't going to pass out or check for a concussion. But the medical field down here isn't anything like where we come from. This is not our first rodeo with head trauma. As Doodle had busted her head open when she fell on concrete when she was 3.
But the good news is at this time my lawyers' interest is peaked. And that's always what you want. I still haven't gotten her everything from the iep meeting. And it looks like I have the school accident report to get in to her also. It really does help to have an advocate working on your side. And I'm thankful I contacted my advocates when it came to the school board not abiding by the iep. Of course there is a lot of words being thrown around, such as we never got that, it came in too late, and we will do it all now.
I'll admit it right now as an entrepreneur with a child on the spectrum I'm tired. Heck I can barely get any work done thanks in part to the school not doing their job with my child and either calling me in or sending her home. But I am great full because if I had a regular 9-5 job I would be out of work with no job to fall on. So my convenience is a blessing. But my business is suffering. And it's suffering hard!
So at this time there are a few things that will need to go on the back burner until I can get at a point where I can mange them all again. That would be Doodle's business and a few other things. Doodle does come first but her business will just have to wait. I might just sell off all the products for Christmas and be done with it and start over again from scratch after the new year. It's just something I will have to pray on. And with that it's almost time for me to go get Doodle from school. Since I was trying to work and every time the phone rang I could be heard saying, "Please don't be the school. Please don't be the school".
You guys have a great day.
My poor little baby.
This image was shared from my favorite radio station Way-FM
Okay so it's pretty much a given. You have a better chance of getting hit by a car then you do at getting what you want when the school board is in your IEP meeting. That's always been the case for me. School boards are the worlds worse for helping parents get their kids the best. Seriously, at one point in time Doodle went to a horribly crappy school. The teacher just babysat. That's all they did there. And then Doodle was transferred to a school were she learned to read, write, do math and her speech came in. This was a dream school. And the school board said she needed to go back to the crappy schools. Um, no that's not gonna happen.
Well, it happened but in a different way. We moved 400 miles away, due to what was out of our control. So here I am battling this school board with a child on the spectrum that is regressing to the point she is self harming and she's throwing chairs in the classroom. Yeah, my dream life. There's been a large shift. It used to be that Doodle was horrible at home and great at school. Now she's bouncing chairs off the teacher cause she doesn't want to do any work including speech and she's pretty much golden at home. The school just threw too much change on her and the regression that slowly started last year is picking up speed this year. That's right school and school board. Children who can't handle change at all, you just keep throwing changes at her. I can only do so much but I'm not a miracle worker when your being difficult.
But hey, the good news is I didn't get hit by a car today but I did leave the IEP meeting today getting everything I was asking for. So here's the break down.
Last week I got the call from the dream school where Doodle's fantastic teacher started her career at. I was informed they never received Doodle's request for an evaluation to be placed on the waiting list. I did a little snooping around and found the offender who messed up at the school board. I contacted my advocates and followed everything they told me to do. Up until my IEP meeting today I watched my emails as you can see the person in question was beginning to become flustered with the emails she was sending to me. It's funny because every email this woman sent me I just forwarded it to my lawyer (that's what an advocate is). Last I was told in the emails was that I would not be able to get a behavior specialist at this meeting for today.
I never responded to any of the emails that she sent me. I just copied what she put and then pasted it to the message to my lawyer. That's it. But hey, guess what I had in the meeting. The behavior specialist I requested in my original email to the teachers, therapist and two school board members. Yes, the one person I was sent a message about that said because it was such short notice they wouldn't be able to bring the behavioral specialist in to the meeting. And I got one.
Not only did I get the behavior specialist but because of Doodle's new aggression and regression with self harming and her not wanting to be throw off schedule to the point where it breaks out in a flat out fight at school it pretty much sealed the deal that when Doodle gets ready to transition to middle school she's headed to the new school! Yay!
First things first I kept my poker face on. I didn't budge on anything and had tons of notes. Notes that the advocate said that I would need for the meeting.
And big apologies to everyone that I didn't get to post on Monday. After I had finished my work Monday morning I sat down to finish my notes for the meeting today and the next thing I know I was getting a call from the school that Doodle was flinging chairs again and they needed me in the classroom to calm her down and get her back on task to getting her work down. So needless to say I was at the school for the rest of the day. Doodle got all of her work done, I got to practice on my calligraphy and it was pretty much a win win for everyone. All but you guys who missed hearing about us on Monday. Sorry it couldn't be helped. Once we got home from school, we had homework of course. And it was regular schedule for the rest of the night. I had a meeting via messages with my computer guy later in the night and well there was no time for blogging on Monday.
And here it is Tuesday night, I'm writing the blog because Doodle and I will be on the road on Wednesday for a very important Doctor's appointment that she needs to be at. So we are traveling 400 miles to make the appointment and then 400 miles back. Just to get in with a specialized doctor that the school board won't be able to ever say no to whatever he writes as Doodle's prescription. So that means if the doctor writes a prescription for Doodle to get into the school tomorrow, they have to do it or people lose their jobs. Now that's my kind of doctor. That and he's going to re-evaluate Doodle's autism.
So you guys have a great day! We are traveling as you read this right now.
So you know those IEP's you have where someone at the school board thinks they're God and rejects the IEP altogether? I'm having one of those weeks.
Last year I had an IEP with Doodle's previous teacher and her therapists' to get Doodle placed on the waiting list for this special school that is geared the same way that her fantastic teacher taught from so many years ago. Two nights ago I finally got a call back from the principal of this school, which was a shocker to me because I wasn't expecting a call at night from a principal, especially since Doodle didn't attend this school at all. I was informed that she had never received any paperwork for Doodle to be evaluated so she could be placed on the waiting list. But she would request it again if she couldn't find the paperwork.
So I did what any parent would do, I contacted Doodle's current teacher to let her know what all had been discussed on the phone as she knew about the IEP from last year and she had been trying (unsuccessfully) to follow up. What I discovered was there is a Resource teacher at the school board who took it upon herself to disregard after the fact the IEP. Now if you are not aware of this, you need to be. An IEP is a binding corner to corner contract and once all involved sign it, it can't be broken, disregarded or dismissed.
So what's the next step. That would be my advocate. Which I promptly called the next morning and they contacted me back the following day. I was never given a written notification as to why Doodle was never allowed to be evaluated. I sent an email to all involved including my daughters teachers supervisor and the Resource Teacher at the board a letter stating that I needed a letter from the school board regarding a decision made after the fact of an IEP as to why Doodle being evaluated was denied. I also stated that they had 30 days from the time of my email from me to get that to me. And in my last paragraph I stated that there was to be a board certified behavior specialist at my next IEP meeting that is to take place on Tuesday this coming week.
The woman with the God complex was the first to respond. She stated that this special school is over crowded. Well, heck the school Doodle attends now is over crowded and not to mention Doodle's class. 14 kids, 1 teacher and 2 para educators. That's a lot of children to keep up with especially when one is having a bad day and that just flows right to all of them!
I've also been informed not through this resource teacher but from a credible source that Doodle is being denied access to a continuous learning school. One that is geared to children on the spectrum with behavioral issues. Okay, on a serious note here, I don't notice Doodle having behavioral issues other then the incident that took place on Monday and that was because of something that was out of my control (no, I'm not a control freak) and Doodle was having a hard time dealing with being angry over it. Emotions are something children on the spectrum have a hard time with.
This womans' response via email is not complying with my asking for written notification to be mailed to me. And I don't care what the excuses are that someone at the school board gives. Schools are crowded I get it but no child should be denied to be on a waiting list at a school that could better met Doodle's needs regarding her education. So as of this time I'm letting my advocate handle as much of this as possible before they basically jump out and say surprise! I love a good surprise when I'm in on it. You never want a school or the school board to surprise you, it's best if you have surprises for them. And that's how I roll.
So since I'm not sure how to go about handling this situation it's best if I am just the puppet and the puppet master is revealed later. When you need help, true help in battling a school board, take the help. Seriously, take the help. For the benefit of your child, always take the help.
Well, as this all develops I will keep you all posted. Have a great day!
Yeah, that's a nice post heading. If you don't know what's going on read the previous post Aggression and Autism and you can get caught up.
** Update on the whole situation from Monday's post: After I posted the blog Doodle attacked another student and the teacher. She was punching another classmate screaming, "no dad, no dad, no dad!" One thing that is obvious of the attack on classmates is that they are all boys that she went after. **
Well, on Saturday I was quiet aware that Doodle had yet another school project due this Tuesday and this one was dealing with a gorgeous gobbler. The kids make a turkey and turn it into the school. The party last Friday wasn't a big hit. I spent a lot of money on it and only one parent turned in their $5.00. But that wasn't the kick in the pants. Some parents showed up and complained that the class didn't have a roasted chicken or pizza at a Halloween/Fall party. Get real people. These type parties are for candy and I didn't even give the kids but three pieces of candy each but they did get lots of toys. And the kids got cupcakes. There are only 14 kids in the class but I wanted to make sure that the kids got what they wanted. If they wanted 2 cupcakes they could have it in the flavor they liked. 15 chocolate and 15 vanilla along with chips, cookies and plenty of drinks (no soda's).
I think this started off my bad weekend, was that party. For the next party Doodle won't be there at the school so I don't even need to worry about it, but I was planning to just pick up two hot and ready pizza's and that be it. That would be my $5.00 and the other parent's $5.00. I wouldn't be no where near out this time around. But I wanted the kids to be happy considering I can't stand for my kid to come home with tons of candy. And I did know that if all the parents paid their $5.00 I still wouldn't get back all my money and I was fine with that.
Any ways, yesterday the kids for Doodle's grade turned in what the school calls gorgeous gobblers. Doodle's teacher was all excited about Doodle doing this project. I, on the other hand am not thrilled over the pumpkin story book project and didn't feel like doing the gobbler. Luckily for me I work at a fantastic store! And going through the isles before I left work on Saturday, they had already been placing out the Thanksgiving stuff. I picked up a small craft pumpkin in a bin and a cute little 5 minute craft for a pumpkin table display.
All I had to do was glue the sticks to the holes and Doodle could do the rest. Which is what she did. It came out great! I barely did anything. Fastest project I've ever had to deal with and I still look like mother of the year material. Though I'm not quiet sure what to do about Doodle and her new aggression.
But this is what I have leaved from a dear friend of mine who is a nurse. I need to get Doodle's autism reevaluated and then get her on medication. I'm not a big fan of medication as bad behavior can be corrected with positive and negative re-enforcement.
Monday, Doodle lost iPad privileges for the night. She also had to spend a good portion of her time at home in her room under my watchful eye. After that we headed to my work to get some art supplies. Drawing is sometimes Doodle's coping mechanism. I let her draw and paint for an hour possibly less while I worked on my calligraphy. As the fine arts instructor at Michaels craft store it's something that I'm suppose to be able to do. I've always wanted to learn it and now I'm getting my chance. I'm loving this awesome opportunity.
So now that you are all caught up as myself and the school prepare for an emergency iep review to deal with this new situation that Doodle has found herself in. I'm spending the rest of the day scoping out special schools geared towards Doodle's autism. Friday's blog will deal with an issue that cropped up Tuesday night regarding an iep that took place last year. This one is going to be interesting! Have a great day!
This is the finished product
the "two supplies" needed for the gorgeous gobbler. $6.99 for the little decorative pumpkin and $5.99 for the kit
I glued the tooth picks into the holes so they would hold up longer.
And Doodle put it all together how she wanted it to be.
Done. Now I'm mother of the year for helping my child with her gorgeous gobbler and basically Michaels Craft store supplied me with what I needed.
Well, we've had an uneventful weekend which has led to Doodle feeling the emotion of anger. And this anger has turned into aggression. Needless to say the child that used to be so happy has attacked two students today at school. Which is one of the reason's why this post is sort of late in going out. I knew she was upset on Saturday night when I got home from work at Michaels Craft Store. And Sunday I saw the anger hit a sour note. She was slamming doors, refusing to listen and throwing objects around the house.
I did give the para's and teacher a heads up this morning but they and myself did not expect this kind of behavior. This morning I was called to come to the school. While on the phone with the counselor who called for me to come in I was informed that Doodle punched one of her classmates. And before I even got off the phone with her she said she was just given a note stating that Doodle threw a chair in class and knocked out another one of her classmates.
What could have caused this you ask? Long story short. Doodle's father came into town. He didn't get in until late late Friday night and he left super early due to an emergency the following Saturday morning. Now children on the spectrum have a very difficult time articulating their feelings. And anger has never been an issue we've had to really deal with. Doodle last saw her father in April, so she couldn't understand why her daddy couldn't spend time with her. I blame the whole situation. Doodle is taking it out on everyone, which means she's blaming everyone.
So what's to be done? Sunday I took Doodle out to lunch, just her and myself and had the it's okay to be angry but it's not okay to throw things. It's okay to say that your anger and it's okay to tell the person that your angry at that they have made you mad. After that we went into my work to pick out a project to do together. This morning I've requested a special social story from her teacher that I learned so much from. Because, well the school system here really isn't in the autism know how here. They don't know what to do and they don't understand. And in all honesty there is no way to prepare for an explosion like what transpired this morning at her school. I headed down to the school with her favorite stuffed toy Ojo and my bottle of frankincense oil. I talked to her teacher and got to see Doodle ride the emotional roller coaster. She seriously went through so many emotions in less then 10 minutes it was scary! I then left to go to Michaels craft store picked up some kentic sand. Kentic sand helps calm Doodle. To me at home, it's my go to miracle worker. I also brought back with me Doodle's calm child. This is the stuff that helps her melatonin to work at night. Doodle was happy and calm, laughing and reciting all the things that start with the letter P in the alphabet.
I'm not sure how the rest of the week will go. It's one of the things that I'm really dreading right now. As this is not the Doodle that I know. This is not like her typical behavior and I pray that it doesn't lead to a regression. That would be devastating to not only me but to Doodle as well.
Before I left the school I was informed that they are going to be holding an emergency meeting with resource teachers and specialists either later this week or next week, that Doodle is now considered a danger to her classmates and she is being taken out of her current school. So at this point I'm disappointed and just about desperate.
But on a somewhat positive note here are the pictures of the craft project that Doodle and I did together. The craft was on clearance for $2.99 which mad me pretty happy and it's what Doodle wanted. You guys have a great day!
Doodle opened the packaging in the car which is why there is a picture of the empty box.
This project was super simple to piece together. I took all the pieces out of their board packaging, assembled the thing and let Doodle decorate it.
Here is what it really looks like pieced together as Doodle is decorating.
Here is the finished product. I think she did a fabulous job. Clean up was a breeze and there was no glue involved, which means there was no mess. Yes there is a bottle of glue in the picture but that's to do with Wednesday post.
