Lamb and Frog

Note: If you’re looking for a knitting-related post, keep looking. I will be documenting bureaucracy-fu with the Albuquerque Public Schools over the next few days.

Note: This is the short version. The entire situation is extremely complex and really well documented. So well documented, that I’m considering writing a book about it (actually, Kentucky Julia basically dared me to and I had a “Devil Went Down to Georgia” moment and took her bet). Stay tuned. The bet was supposed to start after Labor Day, but that was before all this hit the fan.

Fall 2007

Early last fall, Stinky was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication by his pediatrician. From mid-September until mid-November I attempted to ‘work’ with his school to get him evaluated for special education services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It took a letter from a lawyer to get him evaluated, despite an independent diagnosis from a neuropsychologist (the school would not accept this as ‘proof’ of his disability for the purpose of providing him special education protection and services), a letter from me, and a history of academic and behavior issues in kindergarten and first grade.

He was finally evaluated. Testing indicated that he was extremely sensitive to noise and has emotional issues, but he was not learning disabled. Bill, I, and the school met to develop an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) in mid-November. The school followed the parts of the plan that were convenient for them and ignored the rest. I spent the rest of the fall and winter attempting to get them to follow the whole plan and researching possible transfer schools.

Winter 2007/2008

Stinky’s behavior and academic performance improved on medication as documented at the parent/teacher conference for the second tri-mester. In mid-February, I met with the principal of the closest, non-overcrowded, non-failing school I could find. The school was only minutes from the boys’ daycare and was great. I delivered my completed transfer request to the School District on February 22nd and prepared to wait until early May for notice that the request was either approved or denied.

Spring 2008

Stinky started to have problems again. I realized that this happened around the same time last year. I wondered if it was just spring fever and end of the school year excitement/edginess. I wondered about his anxiety level and wondered if he was picking up on that of others.

In mid-April, I sent an e-mail to his teachers (general and special ed) indicating that I thought his medication was going out of balance again and that I would be scheduling a ‘med check’ with his pediatrician as soon as possible. The next week, on the first or second day after the new dosage, he had a full-out meltdown. I immediately got him an appointment with a child psychologist.

The following week, when I am at the school picking up the paperwork documenting the meltdown, I hear he is having another ‘bad day’, but when I go to his class to pick him up, he’s not there. No one is quite sure where on campus he is, but they know he’s with a staff member. At that point I have a meltdown “Find my kid!” and withdraw him from school for the year (May 6th).

The next day I got word that his transfer had been approved. At this point he has seen the child psychologist and a child psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD twice each. Both have said that he needs medication management and an appropriate (non-chaotic) classroom environment, but not behavioral therapy. The psychiatrist mentioned, since we have a family history of being, uh, rather volatile (?) if we don’t get enough sleep, that Stinky might have sleep apnea or allergies that were preventing him from getting a good night’s sleep, thus making it harder for him to maintain at school. In other words, “spring fever” might be allergy related.

Summer 2008

The ENT said no sleep apnea, but Stinky had two episodes of SVT in July. His cardiologist put him on a medication to keep his heart rate from elevating beyond a certain threshold. One of the side effects is that, because he takes it at night, it takes the edge off of his ADHD meds (which are a mild stimulant) and helps him sleep better.

School started at the home school in late July. We watched the boys’ friends get started and begin adjusting to the routine and we waited…