Where Do I Begin?

Simon and first grade… so, as I have mentioned in previous posts, Simon is having some school struggles. He has been having a lot of trouble getting work completed, staying focused, organized, on task. His teacher and I have been communicating regularly since the second week or so of school. In addition to the focus concerns, we both had some concerns about his handwriting, which has been slow to come along and is fraught with reversals, mixed capitals, weird spacing and poorly formed letters. 

Ultimately, we ended up getting him tested, all the same testing Ben had.  Just like Ben, it showed high iq but VERY low processing speed. And, the ultimate result was not particularly surprising, ADHD (inattentive type... meaning no actual "H").  I cringe just writing that because I feel the collective eye roll. But I will tell you, if you saw the numbers and graphs that reflect my kids' abilities and how they process things, the incredible impact TRUE honest to goodness clinically documented ADHD would be clear.  On paper like that, it's kind of astounding. 

In addition to the ADHD, Simon also seems to have dysgraphia, which is a learning disorder with regard to writing and the ability (or inability, rather) to jump through all the mental hoops requires to get a letter from his head onto a piece of paper. 

Looking back, I actually think Ben had this issue as well, but he worked more of it out in Kindergarten than Simon did. The curriculum at our old school had the kindergarteners writing sentences almost from day one. Ben's K work mirrors Simon's current work in its progression. And, now that Simon is being pushed to write more and being pushed to do it correctly and practice, practice, practice, we are seeing HUGE improvements already. 

The special education people at school want me to start letting Simon dictate, but Tom and I both feel strongly that he needs to learn to write and form letters correctly right now, even if it's 100 times harder for him than the other children. What we saw with Ben was that once that part was down and committed to muscle memory, though his handwriting still wasn't fabulous (never will be), it freed up his brain to focus more on WHAT he was writing and by third grade, it all came together. At this point, his accommodations say he can dictate or type if he wants to, but he never chooses to!

Simon was given an IEP based on a "cognitive processing disorder affecting written expression"....  not the ADHD. (for which they basically don't give IEP's… sigh)  Thankfully, this means he will now get some accommodations with regard to both issues and he will have specific goals that the school is required to help him meet.  This means extra help in the classroom will be available to him through the first grade assistants, the special educator…etc…. a little more one-on-one attention will go a LONG way, so we are thrilled!  Also thrilled this gives his teacher some support because she really has a lot on her plate with him when you figure in the 19 other children vying for her attention. 

We are currently working to get him help from the school OT, but the guidelines there are kind of ridiculous. They consider him as meeting the standards for "average" with his writing (insane) and therefore probably can't qualify him. Not going to go down without a fight on that one though…. 

The good news is that, though we were concerned for awhile about it, his reading actually is just fine! He's reading about a mid-first-grade level right now and progressing steadily. His teacher said his reading comprehension is AMAZING, something you wouldn't think would be true seeing as how he is completely distracted half the time.  She also told us anytime he presents something or speaks for his group, she is blown away. So he has a LOT to offer and tons of potential we just have to figure out how to maximize and unlock! 

Anyway, so we are well on our way to setting things right. SO thankful for a wonderful teacher this year who is so fully invested in helping him and helping us figure him out!  :)