Wee very off...ideas for school?

[Shari]

Wee is off his rocker. Completely.

He is entirely out of character, even for him. He is getting repeatedly stuck on things, he has no patience for little ones (normally he loves babies), he is just entirely not the same kid that we deal with on a daily basis.

I see now why he didn't not make it thru school at all last week. Only now he has a cold and its worse.

There is no point in sending this kid to school as it is. He will not make it.

He will already be out Thursday - Monday because the SpEd teacher will be gone. I hate to not send him, but I just know it will not work.

I am toying with the idea of calling SpEd now and asking her input/ideas. Until he is stable again, I think the only way we're gonna keep him at school is to put him in the resource room.

I can keep him from exploding, but I have toed the line 10 times so far this weekend. And I was not sure that I was goinig to be able to de-escalate ANY of those 10. If I can't keep him from blowing, there's no point in sending him to the school staff.

 

[smallworld]

Shari, I'm really sorry. I know how hard you're working to make things work for wee difficult child.

When was the last time he was seen for a medication check? It certainly seems as if one is in order.

I think calling the SpEd and working with her is right on target. It's better than just sending him into school and letting everything fall apart.

Hang in there and hugs.

 

[Shari]

Its time for another SW. I am going to go ahead an increase his depakote again...we had reduced earlier this winter because he's as bad or worse on too much as he is on too little. Maybe its time to titrate up, and I've been given the ok to do that. Of course, will shoot an email to DevPed to verify, but that's my plan there.

He hasn't been to a week of school since November. And its not looking like he'll be there this week, either.

I have also been toying with the idea of taking him somewhere warm for a few days. Someplace he can get out and play in the sunshine outside all day long. I was thinking of taking him when he's not going to be in school, anyway, and just seeing if that doesn't help expend some energy and change his focus. I don't know...stupid idea?

 

[smallworld]

You know, maybe Depakote's not the right mood stabilizer for wee. My own kids got more irritable on it. They've done much better on Lamictal. I've also heard that some kids with rage behaviors do very well on Trileptal. I'm just throwing ideas out there for you.

Have you ever thought about taking him to a facility where he can have a comprehensive workup and then get stabilized for several weeks or months? I have a place in mind, but I'll have to PM it since I'm not allowed to mention names publicly on the board.

 

[Shari]

We tried Trileptal but its been several years, but it made him even more hyper and aggressive.

But its worth discussing.

And he's been on Depakote since he was not even 3...who knows what he would even be like without anything now. May-Nov of this year was so good.

He has never been inpatient anywhere. Honestly, we don't have anything like that even available here. At least that I've found. Please pm any ideas you have. Thanks.

 

[totoro]

You know this time of year historically K starts falling apart.
We have to watch her because we still don;t have her medications figured out, but she starts amping up as well, so we have a few things going on!
February, the start of it is when she starts sliding.
I think you should look into the medications as well.
We have warmth here! We have the space!

 

[Shari]

Wee starts Nov/Dec every year. Did this year, too.

 

[GoingNorth]

I start in Nov/Dec as well. In my case it seems to be related to changing day lengths and the clock change.

 

[timer lady]

Does your SD have day treatment resources available? I mentioned in another thread that it can be a godsend in situations like this.

There are 8 kids to every class with 3 staff. They are understanding of medication situations & help the children learn new different coping skills.

Just something to consider.

 

[Shari]

How do you really nail what the school has and doesn't when they aren't up front about it? There is an alternative school in the next district but its like a big hush-hush secret. Been there for years but most people don't know about it.

As far as I know, there is no day treatment program in our district...but again...I don't always trust what I'm told.

 

[smallworld]

If this school keeps sending wee difficult child home, they're not educating him. They need to come up with another plan, and you have every right to ask what other alternatives exist out there. And then you have every right to visit those alternatives once they are offered to you.

It seems clear that you need an advocate to help you negotiate with your SD. Have you found one yet?

 

[Shari]

Yeah we had one.

We had to pick a single "issue" to work on and we picked getting him full days.

Well....the school agrees to allow him to go full days now. When they can handle him, he can go all day.

 

[smallworld]

You need a new advocate.

Most good advocates work on the whole package, not just one issue. Try calling your local NAMI chapter to see if the staff there can recommend a good one.

 

[Shari]

I will call. Thanks.

 

[flutterby]

No additional advice. Just (((hugs))) for you and for wee difficult child.

 

[timer lady]

Shari, the day treatment program kt attends is through our SD; saying that is was a well kept secret. There were school SWs that didn't know about this program.

I started going up the chain until I called the superintendent of special education.

Good luck, sweetie. I remember when wm was this age & so off.

 

[SRL]

Have you ever thought about taking him to a facility where he can have a comprehensive workup and then get stabilized for several weeks or months? I have a place in mind, but I'll have to PM it since I'm not allowed to mention names publicly on the board.

Shari, I agree with smallworld on this one--I don't read your every post so maybe I'm missing something but it just seems like a lot of wheels spinning with little forward progress being maintained. A facility to get him stabilized then hiring an advocate to help make sure that the transition back into school is handled in his best interest.

If after he's stabilized he can't handle school and needs a therapeutic day setting then the district has to provide it even if it's not available in your district now or contract it out. It's the law. I know one family in our district who forced the district into creating a program for their son and he was the only student the first year.

Another thought is to explore any medical aspects that might be still unturned--mri, ekg, genetic testing.