This is the second day Marcus has been back to school after his suspension. What a journey. We finally had the superintendent's hearing on Monday morning, followed by the CSE. It was Marcus's first time at a CSE meeting and I was pretty impressed with how he handled it. He was able to apologize to the two women he had hurt during his meltdown. I felt like they were looking at me like "there's the mom of this kid." What I mean is that I felt like I had done something wrong to have a kid who would hit them. It was hard to "read" their faces; I had the distinct feeling that, while they accepted his apology, they didn't particularly like it.
I think we came up with a good plan for him to get back to school. I was pleased that the school seemed committed to setting things up for maximum success this time. We all had to take a step back and realize that we underestimated how difficult it would be for Marcus to transition to high school. The new plan has him in a self-contained classroom (exclusion in exclusion) instead of traveling between classes. There is an empty classroom next to this one that they set up for Marcus as a space to chill, calm down, and get some sensory stuff. The goal is to have him spend more and more time in his actual classroom but starting with having him be at school without incident. So far we have one day down. They also shortened his day temporarily so that he arrives after the bus hubbub and leaves before it starts.
A very cool thing is that his former clinician volunteered to come work as his one-to-one aide. How much does that say about how lovable Marcus is?! I am so grateful to Joe for doing this. It really gives Marcus a fighting chance to be successful.
Cautiously exhaling...
I think we came up with a good plan for him to get back to school. I was pleased that the school seemed committed to setting things up for maximum success this time. We all had to take a step back and realize that we underestimated how difficult it would be for Marcus to transition to high school. The new plan has him in a self-contained classroom (exclusion in exclusion) instead of traveling between classes. There is an empty classroom next to this one that they set up for Marcus as a space to chill, calm down, and get some sensory stuff. The goal is to have him spend more and more time in his actual classroom but starting with having him be at school without incident. So far we have one day down. They also shortened his day temporarily so that he arrives after the bus hubbub and leaves before it starts.
A very cool thing is that his former clinician volunteered to come work as his one-to-one aide. How much does that say about how lovable Marcus is?! I am so grateful to Joe for doing this. It really gives Marcus a fighting chance to be successful.
Cautiously exhaling...
Just caught up reading the last months worth of entries. I had NO idea. And while much comes through the writing, I am going to guess that much of this experience is inexplicable. Transitions/new school years can be rough- thank you for sharing and thank you for the authenticity.
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