Re-cap of week

[Got2Sleep]

Hi ..I know I have not really been around much since getting out of day treatment. Things have been well...rough to say the least.
Monday went okay, he actually transitioned into school very well. Monday evening was rough as the teacher said he basically shut down and refused to participate. Not really be defiant, just had no concentration to do it.
Tuesday was a bad day all the way. When I got back to work after lunch(I work at his school) I walked into the office and guess who was there? Yep..Mr. Bradon and 3 friends. I just walked out. His teacher met me and said WOW! Seems they had been playing a game of show me yours, and lets show the entire playground our privates during lunch recess. Needless to say, the principal was not happy and they all got swats. This put him on level 1(our new system implemented at day treatment) so he basically had no electronic privileges, and could only do quiet activities alone.
Wednesday was a short day, and well..I worked all day and left him with Dad to see how it goes. Of course Dad rentedgames and they had a fun day. There were a few rough spots, but overall good. He did have a verbal IQ test done today and failed miserably..they say it is not valid as he refused to cooperate.
Thursday I had his first appointment with insurance appointed counselor. WHAT a joke. We have seen her before, and so this was basically a bring her up to speed appointment with only her and me. After spending an hour telling her what has been going on, she informs me she has no openings until possible end of May!!! HUH??
Thursday afternoon was his IEP for next year. All his team from this year plus the principal and school counselor for next. We do grade level schools here, so he will move to a whole new setting. The counselor had no clue what Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified was and isn't sold on BiPolar (BP) as a diagnosis for someone so young! Then the placement they recommend is in the most popular teacher of the schools class. Well, I am not so sure about that...I don't want him to be the "bad kid" in class. Of course in light of his recent IQ test, he might go to Special Education before then anyway! ARGH!!!!
Friday, I got a call at 8:30 to pick him up. He was to go to hippo therapy and they did not feel comfortable with his behaviors. He was lethargic, drooling, had no blood pressure and basically out of it. I picked him up and we did a blood draw and he continued to get better as the day went on....who knows what was up with that?

The weekend has been bad. Yesterday morning was tough and even though it is nice and he can play outside..he has to fight. If his brother says outside, he wants inside. If brother goes out alone, he yells. He was so aggressive and oppositional ALL day! He tried to bust a window out with a pole. Had a sharp piece of something trying to cut things, and then ran directly into the path of a car while hubby was trying to get him inside.

Today has been a disaster since the moment he got up. I wanted to go to the park but it is rainy. He has wanted to eat anything(even things he cant have) all day. He has hit, kicked, spit, and thrown things all morning(it is 10:30!). I have tried to do the sit-outs, but they only infuriate him and make it worse verbally.

So, we are back, and evidently he is back full force!

 

[tiredmommy]

Goodness. I'm sorry to hear how rough things are. One thing that really stood out in your post was about the counsellor not knowing about Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified and not being sold on the BiPolar (BP) diagnosis in one so young. That's a bunch of baloney. The team is supposed to take a look at the evaluations, their results and the recommendations and then ACCOMODATE your son.
Also, have you been able to get through The Explosive Child yet? I know it helped to turn out house back to a home rather than a battle ground. Sometimes it is better to lower your expectations in the short term so as to help break the cycle of defiance. Try to pick no more than three issues at first and enforce only those for a few days or weeks. Then pick a few more to add on.

 

[Got2Sleep]

I have read and re-read it often. Thanks for the suggestion though! We are right now working on a point system with 3 goals. 1. Follow directions with-1 reminder 2. 6yr old behavior 3. Have good sit outs(which is a time out and we talk about using his coping plan) THIS is our biggie..he hates time outs and usually leads to a bigger explosion.

As for the counselor..I have already decided that I will go to director of Special Education and REQUIRE that they get some training in place before next school year!

HUGS and thanks for your opinions and help!

 

[flutterbee]

Sounds like quite a week. I hope you find some time for you this week.

As far as the counselor goes, maybe tell him what I plan to tell everyone at our next IEP meeting. That unless he/she carries a medical or mental health degree, have met difficult child in a clinical setting and carried out the appropriate evaluations/tests then their opinion as to difficult child's diagnosis is irrelevant. It isn't their job to determine the diagnosis. It's their job to provide an appropriate education in light of the diagnosis.

Hot button topic. Can you tell? :wink: