Home today from school pretty pissed off. If I ever needed reassurance that thinking about homeschooling Carson was a good idea, I got it today.
Carson and I showed up to school about 10 minutes early today so that we could work on stairs with Patty. When we got to the office she was waiting for us. We started going up the steps and she began to tell me that she had received an e-mail from someone higher up that they had changed the schedule and she wasn't happy about it. She was telling me that she was getting discouraged because Carson hasn't met his PT goal (which is to go up and down stairs freely with no help-I know I have complained about this before). I told her that maybe it is time to amend the goal. I have absolutely no problem with Carson going up and down stairs holding onto something..I actually would prefer it.
After doing the stairs a few times to let Patty vent and try to get Carson working towards his (new) goal we made our way down to Amber's room. (Cue the doom music). We get there and find Jen and the other little boy in the room waiting for everyone else to arrive. So I'm already starting to get nervous because Amber's room is LOADED with toys. Gee, that couldn't possibly be a distraction, could it? And now as I stand here writing this I'm wondering how that little boy knew to go to Amber's room and not the music room because his mom was sitting outside the office and I saw him run down there without any instruction which is now making me think they were notified ahead of time. Hmmm....
So anyway I'm getting off topic here. So the new idea is to have ALL of the therapists in one room and then switch off (or so I thought). When Amber showed up she handed me a questionnaire and asked me to fill it out so I sat at a table and waited to see how this was all going to work.
The first half hour of us being there was a total WASTE. It was Amber conducting preschool singing the days of the week song and the weather-watcher song and what day is it? And what does the weather panda need to wear today? Total crap. I mean in the whole scheme of things not total crap but I'm sorry, Carson isn't there to learn what day it is. I teach him all of that and more AT HOME. He is there to get his allotted PT OT and speech. Which has now been cut significantly. Poor Jen and Patty had to sit and struggle to keep Carson calm and on task while this droned on and on. Now I see why Patty was so upset in the hallway.
Then when that was done LaQuita read a book. Which book? I have no idea because by that point Carson had made his way to me and was sitting on my lap shaking his head 'no' the whole time while I was trying to reason with him and tell him that this was the way it was going to be now. I see why the kid was so upset. For one he doesn't handle change very well (neither do I, if you can tell) and for two, sitting has never been his strong suit. Maybe that is the idea? I have no clue.
After the story and trying to do a timeline with items to match the story (again no clue) they broke off into "centers" where Carson went with Jen and Patty and the other little boy went with LaQuita. Amber mysteriously went with LaQuita and left me alone at the table with my paper which had long-since been finished.
So picture this: When we were in the music room we had full run of the entire room. In Amber's room the were stuck on a 10X10 mat. No place to do an obstacle course or anything. They had just enough room to bring in a stool to stand on and jump off of and do some yoga. Again, with the toys right beside them just tempting Carson to come play. Jen did try to get him to mimic her writing numbers but instead he would actually write out the number and not draw the number. It was kinda funny. They were also passing a pumpkin back and forth and they were impressed at how easily he could pick it up (it was about 5 pounds. But then I told them he can carry a gallon of milk and then it wasn't so impressive).
Somewhere during this time Amy popped in to drop off some paperwork to Amber and didn't even bother to look my way or Carson's. I would like to think that she was really busy but they don't have any other students on Mondays so I don't see how that's possible especially since he was right by the door.
So we switch and Carson goes over to LaQuita (with me) and the other little boy and Amber go to another table. We get out his iPad and she is wanting him to answer questions about pictures she is showing (girl painting, eating etc) again things that aren't on his IEP and things that I'm not all that concerned with him knowing right now. He just needs to learn how to communicate what he needs or wants at the present time. I'll cross the "the girl is painting" bridge in a few years. Am I being unreasonable? Possibly. But to be honest, I don't care. If we push him too hard into something that he doesn't understand or want to do he'll shut down. I know my kid and I've seen it before.
So then giving up on that idea for today LaQuita started asking him questions about himself. His dogs, their colors, how old he was etc. He then in succession wrote: ANGRY. HUNGRY. ARBYS. It was a nice icebreaker, it made us laugh at least considering how mad I was by this point. He then wrote "lopsided" and slung himself sideways in my lap. Goofy kid.
It was the end of our time together. Patty came in and said that she had spoken to Jody (the coordinator) about the new schedule and the concern that not only were they taking time from actual therapy but that it wasn't really geared for Carson anymore. Jody asked that we give it a couple of weeks to get used to it.
So that's what I've decided to do. Give it a couple of weeks and if we're not happy I am making the decision to pull him from the program and seek private therapy elsewhere. I will be home full time by then so I won't have to worry about a work schedule to adhere to. I understand that there will be times in Carson's life where he will have to get used to change. I just don't think this is necessary.
So for now we are home, decompressing. I can't wait for Mike to come home from work to tell him all about this day and see what he thinks about it all. And no, Carson does not get Arby's for dinner. He gets chicken and green beans ;)
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