Back to School

So I got a call from the team leader of Liam's grade (who we had met with towards the end of last year). She set up a meeting with me to meet with his teacher and his science teacher (He only switches teachers for science and electives).

I went to the meeting yesterday. Much to my delight, Liam's older sister (who can do things specifically designed to terrorize her brother, as all older sisters only can) was very nice about Liam's luck of the draw this year. I told her who Liam's teacher was and the response was "Oh, she's really nice, EVERYONE loves her." I was very happy to hear that. Liam thrives with the kinds of teachers that kids love- which isn't neccessarily the same as the kind of teachers parents love, though often they're one in the same. I was a little nervous at first because the team leader is so friendly and nurturing and I thought she would have been a perfect fit for Liam, but the teacher he got seems just as wonderful.

I got to the school and we went to his new classroom to check it out. I was happy to see that his teacher had it arranged with the desks in small groups of 4 (which will remind Liam of how his 4th grade class was set up and put him at ease).

We sat and talked about all of the things that were on the list from the last meeting. All three of the teachers had Special Ed. degrees in addition to their regular teaching degrees and started out in Special Ed. which is fantastic. I was also thrilled that they really seemed to understand that the tics are not the primary issue with Liam, that that can be a problem, but it's also the impulisivity, anxiety and OCD issues that can be really tough with him when it comes to school. They also seemed to understand that handwriting and neatness should not be the be all and end all of how a student is graded (thank goodness!). When I mentioned that before he was diagnosed in third grade his teacher sent him home with hours of recopying every night because it wasn't neat enough and his letters were not formed properly, they all winced. (YAY!) We worked on a plan for sensory breaks that include a yoga ball in a room close to his room that's supervised and where he's accounted for. We also discussed ensuring that others in the building know about his TS so that he is not punished for making noises or fidgeting. His teacher was beyond thrilled to learn that he's very open about talking about it and willing to do a presentation for the other kids.

We set up a time for Liam to go in next week for him to meet his teachers,get his schedule, walk around the building, check out where his locker is and where the room he will be taking sensory breaks is going to be. His orientation is tonight, which he'll be away for, but I'll be here.

Overall I have a very good feeling about going into this school year. I'm really happy with our new therapist and think that will be a great match as well in terms of getting him adjusted to his new school.