a return to school.

Time goes so fast. It has been 10 days since my last post. :) M was in the hospital for his medwash. Came home last night. I took him to school this morning. I shared the med info with the school. I came home.

Shortly after I got home the school called. The principal told me that they need a discharge summary from the hospital for M. I asked why. The response was so that they could know what behaviors to watch for. I explained that as soon as I could talk to the doctor I would get her what they needed. Her response was that she needed it immediately. Then she told me that if M had any behaviors they would call me to come and get him. This upset me.

I called the doctor. She didn't sound happy and asked for the name of the principal and the telephone number for the school. She also asked me if I had an attorney. I asked if I needed one, and she said I might before we were done.

I then called the superintendent of the school district. I explained what the principal said, and told him that I was not happy that M had just gotten back to school and she was talking about sending him home already. I said that M has a right to an education. He agreed and said he would head over to the elementary school today.

I then got a call from the principal commending me on the doctor and apologizing if I misunderstood what she said about sending M home if he had a behavior.

About an hour later, I heard from the school again. They said that M was really tired and wanted to know what meds he took this morning. I explained what they were. I then talked to the special education coordinator and she said that M was really tired. And that he really shouldn't be at school because they didn't have a reentry meeting for him. I asked why we needed the reentry meeting, and she said it was because they needed to know what the doctor said. So I explained that the doctor had called and talked to the principal. The coordinator said that she would talk to the principal.

I am frustrated because it seems never ending to me that they want to keep M out of their school which is funded in part by my tax dollars.

frustrations with schools

I am a bit frustrated with education in our town. On Monday when I learned that M was coming home, I stopped by the school and let them know. I figured it was common courtesy. I also stated that I would keep him home for two days and then start him back to school on Thursday. Seems that they didn't understand that. Thus, they were surprised or acted surprised when my wife told them that M would be back at school for the last half of the day tomorrow and the first half of the day on Friday. They hadn't planned for his return. He will be back full time on Monday, then out for follow up psych visits on Thursday and Friday.

He hasn't been in school for over a week. First because of the hospitalization. Then as a courtesy to them for them to have time to come up with a plan for M's return. How difficult is it? When I have picked up the boys and had the chance to talk to them, it was my understanding that he was returning to school. Either way he is returning to school. He has a right to an education, it is not M's fault that the school is not ready for his return. Might be time to go beyond the school, and talk to the superintendent. If that doesn't work will call DPI and talk to them.

They sent me a tentative copy of his new schedule, as we/they are structuring M's day so that he will have less opportunity to cause, or find trouble. Don't know why they can't use it. Seems like it would work better than what was in place before M was put in the hospital.

We are frustrated. We had follow up IEP meetings for our other two boys. Got harped on about T's clothing having holes in them. Nothing major about C. Both T and C have autism diagnoses. If T has holes in his clothes, who cares? My wife gave them what for. Said, how do you know if that is all that we can afford or not? How do you know if we haven't worked with him on his clothing? Why is this an issue? If he was showing himself to his classmates because of a hole in his crotch area, I could see it being a concern. So far, that hasn't been the case. (since I do his laundry, I would know) They both have sensory issues, so only wear certain kinds of clothes. The argument that the school gave was that his classmates would pick on him. Since both T and C are in the same class, we would have heard about someone picking on him from C. T has been known to wear two different shoes to school. His appearance is not of great concern to him. They should be happy we can get him to bathe on a daily basis.