,Re:special ed?

[Guest guest]

To and each who answered,

Thank you for your replies! Every step I take with OCD seems like a

new one even though this is the 3rd child, So I svery much appreciate

the input. Hearing others experiencing similar always helps me to get

perspective and calm some of my own worry.

My son had his county mental health asessment(referred by his school)

by which some aspects of school sponsored/county sponsored therapy

may be offered. I think we are leaning towards the school within a

school program, b/c it is very individualized. The asessor got on

fine with my son (!) when often he won't speak- it was her very low

key (vs perky bright kid-oriented style that usually shuts my son

down) that helped. She agreed that my son's OCD was severe but she

also said he is a great kid-he can be so sweet. If they understand

that then I can trust better they really care about him and try to

place him carefully. The county can offer therapy weekly but of

course I said needs to be tailored to OCD (and co-morbidities too)

which they said they can do through experts at Children's Hospital. I

guess I did not know about that group b/c they work through the

county, and we have thus far only sought private treatment.

Anyway it looks worth a try, and the reminder()that nothing is

final gives me added confidence to try something new. What they don't

know (wonder should I tell them?) is that if he gets better I do not

want him mainstreamed at the middle school, we have a tough middle

school here. There are other options like independent study or

charter school if I want to stay in the schol system for added support

(one thing is since my heart attacks I feel more a need to have the

kids settled in such a way they won't be totally adrift if something

happens to me, so partly why I am not as favorable towards all-out

homeschooling). But I'll cross that when I get there. Best to you and

your daughter ,

nancy grace

>

> 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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