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I really like the idea of a weekly packet or something that allows us to do what we can, without the pressure of having to get it all done.


Unfortunately, this classroom teacher is proving to be very inflexible.  I know for a fact that a lot of other special needs kids have reduced workloads without punishment for it.  


Why does this process have to be such a battle?  Why won't the teacher at least acknowledge the extreme difficulties we are facing as parents in this situation?  She thinks things have to be her way or no way, period - end of story.  She claims recess is her only leverage, but isn't her approach very negative?  Couldn't there be a more positive way of helping him, like a reward system or something?  I am so tired of explaining to every teacher every year that ADHD kids are not choosing to be non-productive and non-compliant.  They are experiencing neurological challenges many children do not have to deal with.


It is my understanding that we and the school can agree to make changes to the IEP without having a formal meeting, however, because we are experiencing this disagreement, I'm guessing we'll have to move forward with an IEP meeting.


The teacher is treating the issue as a problem of motivation - that difficult child is "not as productive as he could be" and is "wasting time", read lazy.  I wish this were just a problem of laziness.  She believes the threat of lost recess time will motivate difficult child to get his work done faster.  difficult child has great difficulty focusing and staying on task.  This is due to his severe ADHD, not laziness.  I don't believe it's his choice to be so hyper, distracted, and off task.  I believe children do well when they can.  I would like to see more one-on-one assistance for him to help him stay with a task and finish things.


But he can't meet her expectations of him.  And he knows it.  He has told me that he doesn't think his teacher likes him.  The other day at school during recess, he jumped through a deep puddle on the playground (which he wasn't supposed to do, of course), and got really, really wet - feet, socks, boots, pants, etc.  He said that she told him he would have to suffer for his bad choice.  We were never called to bring dry clothing or anything.  He had to sit like that the rest of the day!  In fact, he has dry pants and underwear in his backpack every day because he sometimes wets his pants, but he came home soaked.


I'm at the end of my rope!  This teacher is young and probably not very experienced, so I don't think she fully grasps the reach of an IEP or protection under IDEA.  It looks like we'll have to push the issue in a formal meeting.  


The crazy thing about this is I don't think the request to eliminate homework and preserve recess time are that unreasonable at the first-grade level.  I'm really surprised at how much resistance we're encountering.


StressBunny


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