Any downsides to home/hospital instruction?

[gcvmom]

We are probably going to request home instruction for the next month for difficult child 1 because of his ongoing GI problems which were likely exacerbated by emotional issues earlier in the school year.

I want to know if there are any downsides to accepting this kind of help from the school district? I was told that we'd have a home teacher come to our house once or twice a week to go over lessons and homework with him and that his doctor has to authorize it for at least 4 weeks. My goal is to get him caught up and bring his lang arts and biology grades to at least a C range (right now he's got an F and a D- respectively). The other classes he's got B's and C's in despite missing a lot of class time the past few months.

Feedback?

 

[svengandhi]

When my son had a broken leg, we did homebound. However, I am a crappy housekeeper so I had H take our son to the library where the tutors would meet him. We did 2 subjects a day for 1 1/2 to 2 hours per. It was fine and I would do it again if I needed to.

 

[DammitJanet]

In your situation I dont think there would be a downside. We supposedly had homebound twice with Cory and it was a joke. We never ever saw a teacher. Never got work, nothing. It was out of sight, out of mind.

Is it possible that you have online virtual school in your area that he could do for the rest of the school year? Or would that drive you batty?

 

[gcvmom]

Sven... my house is a mess, too. Part of it is just life with difficult child's and a difficult child-husband, and part of it is my depression (which is tugging at me a lot right now). But I think that would motivate me to get things picked up, Know what I mean?? So I'm not too worried about that. And the point of them coming here is that he has the urge to use the toilet so dang much that we need to have a bathroom close by right now.

Janet, he doesn't want to miss out on seeing his buddies from lacrosse as it is, and he certainly doesn't want to give up being on the team. It's the one thing he looks forward to and my goal is to get him caught up and back on track by the end of this semester. Lacrosse season is in the spring, so I'm really hopeful we get things under control before then...

I just want to be sure there aren't some mystery consequences to doing this that I don't know about...

 

[meggy1]

My daughter was missing alot of school because of Painfull Bladder System last year so the school suggested homebound instruction until the doctor could get the medication dosage right. Her doctor wrote her for 2 months but she was able to go back after 6 weeks. Most important thing is to work closely with the school and make sure there is alot of communication. Would highly suggest it, in our house it took alot of tension away because we didn't have to worry about if she was going to be able to make it to school and if she did make it if she'd be able to stay the entire day. The teachers were great, got her caught up to where she needed to be so that when she went back to school she was right on track. We are actually in the process of requesting it again since she is having a flare-up of her condition which means intense pain requiring narcotics and having to have immediate access to the bathroom. Good luck!

 

[timer lady]

I cannot think of any reason this would be an issue ~ we've used it when one or the other of the tweedles were in the hospital or in Residential Treatment Center (RTC).

kt is now in an online charter school & it's working out really well (other than she's always here). Her grades have improved, she's not being hassled by other kids & she can focus.

I know of no consequences to doing this; I'm sure that children with cancer need the same type of help. Just out of curiosity can difficult child 1 attend his school virtually. Would the school set up web cams in class rooms & let difficult child 1 attend class that way?

I know you're situation is different but I see no downsides. Just clean the dining room & have food in the fridge & you'll be set.

 

[gcvmom]

Linda, they also have an alternate self-paced high school that's actually part of his campus. It's geared towards kids who have strange schedules because of differing reasons (acting careers is one example that comes to mind). They set their own schedule and only come onto campus a couple times a week to meet with a teacher and turn in assignments. I just don't know if he'd still be eligible to participate in his school's sports or other extra-curricular activities. If he was an outgoing kid who had a circle of close friends that would be a no-brainer for me, but he's so shy and isolated already I don't think that would be good for him long-term.

But we have to do something.

 

[timer lady]

Our local SD has to allow the kids into extra curricular activities no matter the classroom setting. AND that is here in my state. Check it out.

 

[Marcie Mac]

I would only offer to make sure the teacher they send is grade/age appropriate. When Danny was homebound, the district sent a teacher that normally worked with kids around 6 or years old and never one that was I think 14 or 15 at the time. First day she told me he could only have fresh fruit to snack (she actually stood there while I cut up a apple LOL) on when they took a break, and he was not allowed to eat Chips or have a soft drink -only milk. She went over stuff she would be working with him on.

2nd day, she asked him what books he liked to read - she looked thru our bookcases, pulled out Harry Potter, and insisted he read it to her but to use voices that he thought the character woud be using. The day immediately tanked, and she left, never to return, saying he really needed a male teacher. I have no clue what they were thinking sending this teacher. His IQ tested at 145 and his reading comprehension was at college level but I think the SD did it out of spite cause I was constatly battling them

Marcie

 

[1 Day At a Time]

GCV Mom,

The homebound teachers that we had were awesome. difficult child missed six months in the 6 th grade and several months in the 7th grade. His teachers were all good, and they made certain that he did everything the others students were doing - even down to dissecting two fetal pigs on our front porch...LOL.

One of his teachers became very bonded to difficult child. She moved to the high school when he did, and she was his advocate all the way through high school. Her classroom became a respite for him when times were tough.

I never worried about housekeeping one little bit. difficult child was in a hospital bed in our den, and his crutches, wheelchair, and medical supplies filled a big part of the first floor of our house. Everyone understood that we had a "mini hospital" in place at home, and no one ever commented about it.

Valerie

 

[gcvmom]

Thank you all for your replies.

I ran into another friend at the grocery store today who told me a little more about the alternate high school which is housed on difficult child 1's campus. Her 17yo son used it last year and was still able to remain on his home school's volleyball team. So that was a relief to hear.

There is also another alternative program on another high school campus in our district, but it sounds more like a special-ed oriented/SDC type environment. I don't really know and need to call when our district is back in session next week.

It's been funny the past few days because difficult child 1's symptoms have been very minimal. Last week I could have sworn that he was having a Crohn's flare. Today I took him in for bloodwork and he was fine until the doctor came out with our lab slip -- then suddenly difficult child 1 said he felt bad and wanted to go home! I gently insisted we get the labwork finished first. Then I took him to Kohl's to get a new pair of shoes that he needs, but first he had to use the restroom. He was in there about 20 minutes. He looked pale, too. But just the fact that he was fine the past two days until suddenly he has to do something that causes him anxiety and then BAM the bowel problem comes up again.

We'll know more when the lab results come back, hopefully Wednesday. If all the numbers are good, then I'm going to resign myself to this being an anxiety/stress induced issue. We'll push to get him in to see a therapist and I'll get the psychiatrist thinking more about the medications. AND I think I will still apply for homebound instruction for the next month... maybe just until the end of this semester. If we can get him headed in the right direction with therapy, then maybe he'll cope o.k. second semester. Maybe. And the alternative high school will be my backup plan if this doesn't work.

Well, at least ONE of my difficult child's is stable!