Two postings in three days? Unprecidented. Something else is unprecidented, something I thought I'd never see or hear.
A few days ago, David asked me to get him a book: "So I have something to read on the schoolbus?" Something to read? Reading for the sheer joy, the sheer pleasure? That's something I thought I'd never hear from my son. I tried to contain my joy but had tears in my eyes when I told him that I'd try to get him "Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Part 2," as per his request.
It was waiting for him Monday afternoon when he got home from school and he immediately started reading it. And when he came down for breakfast the next morning, he took it with him. As someone who has a child with LDs, you know the significance of this. David might never be a fast reader but I never thought he'd be a willing reader.
Tuesday morning he asked if I was sad that he wasn't reading "Wimpy Kid" with me but on his own. I told him that to the contrary, I was very happy he wanted to read on his own. We would still have our nightly snuggles/reads until he thought he was too old to do so. Right now, it's "The Last Olympian" in the Percy Jackson series, me reading most of it, him reading Percy's dialogue. Generally, it's the highlight of my day. But this reading breakthrough has been the highlight of the year, maybe.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Something to Read...
Could it be that I haven't blogged since last May? I guess that's what happens when your child is getting what they need. Somewhere in the middle of the summer, Peter and I realized how well David was reading when we went through our wonderful nightly ritual of reading together. Before we knew it, we'd gone through 4 novels in the Percy Jackson series, with David reading Percy's quotes with expression and interest.
Our parent/teacher conference this month was a joy instead of dreadful. David's new teachers talked about what a pleasure he was to have in their class, how he contributed thoughtfully to discussions and how creating "The Medieval Times," modeled after "The New York Times" was his idea. This prompted a visit to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle to learn how it was done, crafting their own paper, then hand-delivering it to each classroom before Thanksgiving break. David is reading even closer to grade level, almost 4th grade for our 5th grader.
And this morning, he asked me for "something to read..." on the school bus ride to work. Something to read! I never thought I'd hear that request, that he'd rather read than stare off into space.
Our impartial hearing with the DOE is scheduled for February 2 but I don't approach that with dread either. I hope it will be cancelled and a settlement reached beforehand as it has been for the prior 2 years, even in this awful economy. We had to look at one of their 12:1:1 classes at PS 29, which was so sad and dreadful, kids milling around without much guidance, a holding tank of sorts. The regular teacher was out and some poor para was trying to hold down the fort. Why would they still tell me to come if the teacher was out and they couldn't put their best foot forward? Once again, I was incredibly thankful for MMCL, that my son can flourish instead of flounder.
Our parent/teacher conference this month was a joy instead of dreadful. David's new teachers talked about what a pleasure he was to have in their class, how he contributed thoughtfully to discussions and how creating "The Medieval Times," modeled after "The New York Times" was his idea. This prompted a visit to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle to learn how it was done, crafting their own paper, then hand-delivering it to each classroom before Thanksgiving break. David is reading even closer to grade level, almost 4th grade for our 5th grader.
And this morning, he asked me for "something to read..." on the school bus ride to work. Something to read! I never thought I'd hear that request, that he'd rather read than stare off into space.
Our impartial hearing with the DOE is scheduled for February 2 but I don't approach that with dread either. I hope it will be cancelled and a settlement reached beforehand as it has been for the prior 2 years, even in this awful economy. We had to look at one of their 12:1:1 classes at PS 29, which was so sad and dreadful, kids milling around without much guidance, a holding tank of sorts. The regular teacher was out and some poor para was trying to hold down the fort. Why would they still tell me to come if the teacher was out and they couldn't put their best foot forward? Once again, I was incredibly thankful for MMCL, that my son can flourish instead of flounder.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Milestone - Dav Part Saterday
We hit a milestone today. Not only did David remember to give us a phone message but he wrote it down. On his own. Without anyone telling him to. Legibly. It's the first time he's ever done this. I almost cried. Even though we can't make our friend Dave's party on Saturday (the message). Happy Mother's Day to me.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Midnight Confession
I still feel like I did as a kid, confessing to the priest how long it's been since my last confession. That's how negligent I've been with this blog. It was basically intended as an information source for other parents but I find that when things are going well, I don't blog. I am sort of guiltily posting now because one of David's teachers might take a look. Hi, Bari!
Things have been going pretty smoothly. David is nicely settled into school, after a slight medication adjustment. He's been growing and gaining weight so 15 mg just wasn't cutting it. Also, the rude awakening that there is actually more writing and more work when you reach the 4th grade has sunk in. I explain to him that in a public school, he would be really lost in the shuffle and they wouldn't meet his needs, let alone have yard time to unwind twice a day.
His reading and writing has come along, though he will still try to get away with writing the shortest sentences humanly possible. I was reminded at how behind he actually is when I read some essays (2 pagers!) that a 4th grade class at his old school wrote after interviewing Peter in the classroom. David would have panicked at the mere thought. His "memoir" was a brief paragraph lacking detail and he is currently (painfully) trying to flesh it out in class. Putting things into written word is a mountainous task for a dyslexic; he has to approach it in small baby steps which are huge to us.
David continues to have problems grasping abstract concepts or ideas--had a problem understanding what "predict" meant or "racism" or "descrimination." Maybe because they're not concrete things you can see and touch or hear. It's interesting how his mind works and how his thought processes transpire. If he hears something, like in "Monsters vs Aliens," he remembers it word for word, even if he heard it only once. I can't. But if he reads something, it takes longer to sink in.
He loves tactile learning, making a hurricane in a water bottle, e.g. Loves traveling and recently requested that we take another trip to a National Park like Yellowstone. With this in mind, we're going to Yosemite in July and he's already planning to buy an animal identification chart to make note of what he sees.
Our CSE meeting yesterday with the DOE was postponed indefinitely. It isn't as dreadful as we'd imagined, sitting down with a roomful of surprisingly caring people who flesh out his educational objectives and try to ensure he's getting what he needs, even in a private school. Though they can't say, there's no way he'd get even a smidgen of this sort of care or smart approach to teaching kids with LDs in a public school. And that's kind of sad.
Things have been going pretty smoothly. David is nicely settled into school, after a slight medication adjustment. He's been growing and gaining weight so 15 mg just wasn't cutting it. Also, the rude awakening that there is actually more writing and more work when you reach the 4th grade has sunk in. I explain to him that in a public school, he would be really lost in the shuffle and they wouldn't meet his needs, let alone have yard time to unwind twice a day.
His reading and writing has come along, though he will still try to get away with writing the shortest sentences humanly possible. I was reminded at how behind he actually is when I read some essays (2 pagers!) that a 4th grade class at his old school wrote after interviewing Peter in the classroom. David would have panicked at the mere thought. His "memoir" was a brief paragraph lacking detail and he is currently (painfully) trying to flesh it out in class. Putting things into written word is a mountainous task for a dyslexic; he has to approach it in small baby steps which are huge to us.
David continues to have problems grasping abstract concepts or ideas--had a problem understanding what "predict" meant or "racism" or "descrimination." Maybe because they're not concrete things you can see and touch or hear. It's interesting how his mind works and how his thought processes transpire. If he hears something, like in "Monsters vs Aliens," he remembers it word for word, even if he heard it only once. I can't. But if he reads something, it takes longer to sink in.
He loves tactile learning, making a hurricane in a water bottle, e.g. Loves traveling and recently requested that we take another trip to a National Park like Yellowstone. With this in mind, we're going to Yosemite in July and he's already planning to buy an animal identification chart to make note of what he sees.
Our CSE meeting yesterday with the DOE was postponed indefinitely. It isn't as dreadful as we'd imagined, sitting down with a roomful of surprisingly caring people who flesh out his educational objectives and try to ensure he's getting what he needs, even in a private school. Though they can't say, there's no way he'd get even a smidgen of this sort of care or smart approach to teaching kids with LDs in a public school. And that's kind of sad.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Old Friends, Bookends
I can't believe how much I've neglected this blog and have long I haven't updated it. I guess it's like an old friend, someone/thing you take for granted, don't in on, until you need it.
I suppose my neglect is a good reflection of how smoothly things are going for David and MMCL. And with getting reimbursed by the BOE. In November, we went in to the CSE office so I can update our family history with caseworker Charlie Rubino, possibly one of the nicest guys on the planet. You can tell he really cares about kids and getting them what they need and his work. While I did that, poor David had a barrage of tests so that he'd be up to date. Even though we still had more than a year for his tri-annual neuropsych exam. Six tests in the space of two hours and the poor kid was spent. He was more upset about missing school than anything else. A rainbow sherbert sets him right. (Look mom, there's milk in it!, he tells me, reading the sign, when I tell him it's filled with junky sugar. I'm happy and shocked he's begun to spontaneously read signs without being forced.)
We were finally reimbursed for the 2007-2008 school year in October of 2008, about 5 months after we signed the stipulation agreement letter. By that time, we'd already halfway paid for the 2008-2009 school year and were many grand in the hole. We paid our attorneys for this year promptly with part of the funds and they started trying to recoup funds on the current school year right away. A few offers bandied back and forth and in December, we agreed on a number, signed the stip forms. The end of January, all the forms will be submitted, so with any luck, we'll be reimbursed around April, when the 2009-2010 tuition payments will start.
I remember how we felt 2 years ago, when David was accepted to MMCL. A combination of euphoria (he's finally getting what he needs) and terror (but how the heck are we going to pay for it?!) Basically, almost all of the salary from my p/t job goes to pay for it. But we consider ourselves lucky. I couldn't imagine the alternative: David in a public school, lost in the shuffle, still saying he's the worst kid in the world because he can't read and really down on himself.
So, all goes smoothly at Casa Brown. Because when the little guy's happy, we're all happy.
I suppose my neglect is a good reflection of how smoothly things are going for David and MMCL. And with getting reimbursed by the BOE. In November, we went in to the CSE office so I can update our family history with caseworker Charlie Rubino, possibly one of the nicest guys on the planet. You can tell he really cares about kids and getting them what they need and his work. While I did that, poor David had a barrage of tests so that he'd be up to date. Even though we still had more than a year for his tri-annual neuropsych exam. Six tests in the space of two hours and the poor kid was spent. He was more upset about missing school than anything else. A rainbow sherbert sets him right. (Look mom, there's milk in it!, he tells me, reading the sign, when I tell him it's filled with junky sugar. I'm happy and shocked he's begun to spontaneously read signs without being forced.)
We were finally reimbursed for the 2007-2008 school year in October of 2008, about 5 months after we signed the stipulation agreement letter. By that time, we'd already halfway paid for the 2008-2009 school year and were many grand in the hole. We paid our attorneys for this year promptly with part of the funds and they started trying to recoup funds on the current school year right away. A few offers bandied back and forth and in December, we agreed on a number, signed the stip forms. The end of January, all the forms will be submitted, so with any luck, we'll be reimbursed around April, when the 2009-2010 tuition payments will start.
I remember how we felt 2 years ago, when David was accepted to MMCL. A combination of euphoria (he's finally getting what he needs) and terror (but how the heck are we going to pay for it?!) Basically, almost all of the salary from my p/t job goes to pay for it. But we consider ourselves lucky. I couldn't imagine the alternative: David in a public school, lost in the shuffle, still saying he's the worst kid in the world because he can't read and really down on himself.
So, all goes smoothly at Casa Brown. Because when the little guy's happy, we're all happy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
