One big transition that's been weighing on me has been the transition from Elementary School to Middle School. I called the Principal at the Middle School and asked him if we could meet and discuss the transition and what would make it easier on Liam.
Meanwhile, Liam was feeling sort of down one night and asked if I could come and snuggle with him. He started crying and told me that he was being punished at school for using a silly voice. He told me that he hated doing it, it was a bad habit and he just couldn't stop. I asked him if it was a tic. He said, no, it didn't "feel" like a tic, but he really couldn't stop. His teacher has been reprimanding him for it, and some of the other children have been doing it, and Liam's been getting blamed. He said one day, he thinks a chair squeaked and he got reprimanded. My "mama bear" instinct totally kicked in, and I emailed the teacher and cced the Principal to explain that Liam was not able to control it and the reprimanding needs to stop. She said that she asked him if it was a tic and he said no. The difficulty comes into the equation in that hardly anyone with TS JUST has TS. Liam also has OCD, and tends to fixate on things when reprimanded rather than redirected. This is hard for me as his mom to understand and recognize, it must be very hard for his teacher who is dealing with a classroom full of kids, all with different needs. While I respect that, my concern is for my son, not the other kids or the teacher.
My first meeting was with the Principal of the Middle School and the 6th grade team leader. My husband came and we discussed transitioning in general and Liam's specific needs. I was put very much at ease, and feel so much better about the tranisition. They have a sensory break room with a swing and a yoga ball and some scooters. I feel that this is going to be a good break for Liam when he feels he needs to "bounce" and the swing will probably be helpful as well. We talked about the rest of the staff. The last thing I want is for Liam to get punished in the cafeteria or by a substitite and we talked about my concerns. We also talked about the best way to deal with his behavior- planned ignorance and redirection. His seating- not in the front, not in the back, to the side and near the door. Discrete break signals. And where he could go to let out his tics- the bathroom is where Liam will probably feel the most comfortable. They were supportive of Liam coming in whenever he needed to over the summer to put his anxiety to rest, and the Principal suggested that we plan to come a few days before the official orientation for an orientation just for Liam so that he feels more confortable at the one with his peers. We discussed the Teen Ambassador coming in to do a presentation for the older kids who have not been with Liam in a few years and won't know what to expect. I left hoping that the team leader is Liam's teacher, loved her. And the principal was fantastic too.
I've had a very nice relationship with Liam's current Principal. She's been very supportive of Liam. I have had a love/not so love relationship with his teacher this year. It's been a tough year. I want to push him, but also know how tough it gets for him. We decided to leave the 504 plan as is, and I asked her to be very cautious about reprimanding to try to not get Liam fixated on a behavior. I also asked her to email me with things like him being impulsive and blurting things out with each individual instance so that we can try to work on those rather than a general comment of "he's impulsive". She did have some great ideas for Liam, including having him work on his keyboarding skills over the summer so that if he's having a rough time writing he can type. She also mentioned a film program that he might enjoy during the summer, so we're going to look into that for him.
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