The Crew - Miss Fabulous, Lil Bro, Big Sis and Mr. Man

Monday, November 23, 2009

First Grade Woos


(we both look drunk in this photo because we were both almost asleep) *Note - no drinking had actually taken place. :-)

Last week the kids got their mid-term reports.  Big Sis - A's and B's, Mr. C - all Outstanding and one Satisfactory in math, Miss M - struggling and we got the 'your child may not pass first grade' letter.

It breaks my heart that she has to struggle, that learning just does not come easy to her.  I really believe that in part it is due to her early malnutrition.  Her teeth were also very late to come in and they are in turn slow to come out.

I have been struggling to get this child help since she was 3.  When she came to us at two and a half she only said 11 words in her birth language.  We had her evaluated by an early intervention program and they found her to be speech and language delayed.  She began receiving speech and language help twice a week with an IEP since she was 3 years old.  I have always known there is more to it than that.  She has trouble processing information and she has trouble retaining information.  She gets confused and she knows she confused but she can't straighten it out to come out right.  She does not get as frustrated as she used to because she is now more regulated but the struggle is still there. 

In Pre-K and Kindergarten I kept saying I think there is something wrong and they kept saying that she was catching up and that I needed to relax and give her time.  And NOW they are sending me the she might fail letter, not cool!

But I'm on a mission.  I have asked Corey for direction and this post is very helpful regarding learning disabilities and advocating for your child's needs.  And also my Mom has worked in special education for going on 25 years and I am going to be asking her for some direction too.  She is in another state but still can probably give me some tips.

We did not have so many struggles with Mr. C.  His disabilities were more obvious I guess and things just fell into place.  He received the early intervention that he needed and it made a huge difference.  His Pre-School teacher was a gift.  I call her The Toddler Whisperer because she just knows how to get through to the kids on the spectrum.  My friends 4 year old daughter was hardly speaking at all, baby words only.  One month in The Toddler Whisperers class and she was speaking in little sentences, actually tried to answer when you talked to her, and 2 years later mainstreamed into regular Kindergarten and is holding her own.

Needless to say there is more posting to come on the Miss M learning front but that's it for now.

2 comments:

Mom 4 Kids said...

Dad said, "What's up with those faces?" I said, "You tell me, you took the picture." LOL

We were both half asleep. I think Miss M may have opened her eyes for the picture. Right after the pic I put her in bed.

jessica bear said...

I like your picture...and a picture tells a thousand words...:D