Now, for those of you who don’t know or who don’t have children in school who require Special Education services, what is Inclusion?  In a nutshell, Inclusion is the new movement to take a majority of kids in public schools who have been in Special Education classes [some of them for years now], take them out of the specialized, smaller and separate classes that parents and advocates fought so hard for so  many years to get for these kids, and dump them back into mainstream classes with a support staff member that is supposed to co-teach with the main teacher to help the ’special’ kids.

Why is there a push for Inclusion?  Well, money is the real reason.  It costs less.  If you are to ask a School Administration or Commissioner, though, they will tell you that move is prompted because students need to be with their same age ‘normal’ peers.  They need to see ‘normal’ social interaction, be taught at the same level as all of the other kids, and have the same opportunities as all of the other kids in school.  Separating them hurts them more than it helps them.

But is this really true?

In our experience, no.  Inclusion was the death of us with the public school system.  Granted, we homeschool now and I would not trade that for anything.  It has done wonders for my son and we will never go back to public schools unless we move to a state where you can pick and choose the classes your child takes, homeschool for part of the day, and play public school sports as a part-time homeschooler (because after all, we do pay the same taxes as everyone else to pay for those schools and sports).  But honestly, Special Education services were the only thing that worked for us in public school.  My son has a hard enough time learning in small classes in huge schools.  Do away with that, put him in a middle school class of 30-35 kids and two teachers, and it is a death sentence.  Now he has to deal not only with just trying to learn at the same pace and level as his more advanced peers but also with the commotion and actions and behavior of himself as well all of the kids in the class (many of whom are frustrated and struggling as well) and simultaneously listen to two different teachers.  All in one room.

Disaster.

And doesn’t this move to Inclusion go against everything that caring parents and advocates fought so hard for for so many years with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act, IDEA and FAPE?

Yes, it does.

So, what to do…what to do?  Honestly, I don’t know.  And I no longer have a horse in that race.  But it concerns me greatly for those that do and for our society in general.

I know in our state the drop-out rate in the 9th grade is over 50% .  And that is pretty standard across the county.  And that was before Inclusion.  My guess is that it will increase now as these kids get more and more frustrated and say to hell with it. I know a Special Education teacher at Rye’s previous school told me that due to Inclusion they are now sending many 8th grade kids this year on to the ninth grade to enter Algebra class at the high school with a current 2nd grade math level.   Because they just cannot reach these kids in a class of 35 kids and 2 teachers.   And they cannot hold them all back.

So, what do they do? I don’t have any answers but I know that at this rate things will get worse before they get better and it breaks my heart that people work so hard in this country to make progress for disabled rights and help our future generations only to have it all undone but some bureaucrats that don’t want to spend money on education or mental health services, all in the name of ‘helping’ our kids.

Yes, by all means, thanks for the ‘help’.

And if you think Special Education services are expensive, wait for the bill on all of these kids as they grow up and become adults with no education, no life skills, and no way to adequately support themselves or their families.

Now that will be expensive.

The Good News: After a few days at home, Rye is back to himself.  Perky, animated, grounded.  His usual bouncy self.

The Bad News: The cause of his mental distress was and is his school situation.

This will have to be addressed.

This is the direct result of our state pushing for and insisting on mainstreaming all kids and doing away with special education services.

So, as you know by now, we have a few difficulties with the school Rye attends.  And that would be a gross understatement.  Without going back over it all, suffice it to say this is not the most enlightened, progressive, or proactive public school in the world.  Or, even in our county  (which, by the way, has a huge discrepancy as to the level of education, facilities and services they provide to different schools within the county, some of which are only 5 minutes from each other).  Anyway,  after complaining ad nauseum to everyone under the sun, writing endless emails, and generally becoming a thorn in the side of the county, we are now maybe, hopefully making some progress.  And as of yesterday, Rye now has a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) as a part of his Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

What is a Behavior Intervention Plan?  As of a few months ago, I had never heard of one despite the fact that Rye has had an IEP since the first grade.  Because honestly, up until now and before he attended Fast Times at Ridgemont Middle (lets just call his school this for now) he never needed one.  And, I’m sure even now in a different environment or a private school with small classes, he would not need one again.  Nonetheless, we must live in reality.  Fast Times is where we are now and the classes are huge and the special education support is lacking so this is what we work with now.

Anyway, back to the BIP.  The Behavior Intervention Plan is a federal legal document (as is the IEP)  that is included as a part of a student’s IEP.  The function of this plan is to identify behaviors that the student has as a result of their psychiatric diagnosis that interfere with his or her learning or the learning of those around them and then to help the child in a positive manner correct and replace that behavior.   It is also used to help the child stay in school for the full day and this helps with learning as well.

The most important thing about this plan:  It protects your child from inconsistent and/or improper correction or punishment from teachers or administrators.

And if you have a special needs child in a public school, this is something that should concern you. Particularly in middle and high school.

The Behavior Intervention Plan is a federal legal contract enforceable under federal law.

The BIP is based on a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) that is performed by one’s school psychologist [note: the term psychologist is used loosely here because for public schools the psychologist is rarely a PhD but rather a master's level therapist, which in any other circumstance would not have the title psychologist].  The school psychologist observes the child over a series of days and different classsroom settings, talks to teachers, talks to administrators, and develops a plan of problem/targeted behaviors and then develops a plan for the teachers to positively and proactively help the student change these behaviors a little bit at a time.

Now, I’ll admit, having the luck we’ve had with this school so far, I was really hesitant to see what was going to become of these observations and discussions and how objective the school psychologist was going to be.  Luckily in the meeting, though, I found I was pleasantly surprised.  She seemed reasonable and neutral in her bias and that was nice.

So, why is this plan worth having?  Well,  it makes is so the teachers and administrators to have to follow a pre-determined and mutually pre-agreed upon plan of correction for undesirable behaviors and to help the child replace those problem behaviors with constructive, positive behaviors.  It keeps you child out of unnecessary and/or overused time in ISS (suspension) and from being randomly punished for behavior related to their diagnosis.   And this is something we personally have had a big problem with in our school.  Teachers over-punishing for small behaviors and punishing in whatever manner they see fit, without any positive anything coming from it  except anger, frustration, lost time in the classroom and an increasingly hostile environment.

Now, will this plan work?  Will the teachers and administrators adhere to it?  If previous and present adherence to the IEP without this new plan is any indication, the answer is no.

But we will hope for the best.  And prepare for the worst.  In the case of the worst, we will file for due process.

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Please note:  If you have a child diagnosed with ADHD and/or Bipolar Disorder, your child qualifies for an IEP with a note from your doctor stating the diagnosis under the category of Other Health Impaired (OHI).

Today is back to school day here at the homestead.

I’m excited and nervous all at the same time.  Excited to have some time to myself.  Excited to get back into a routine.  Excited to not be on 24/7 kid duty. However, I’m nervous as well.  Rye’s school is not the pride and joy of the public school system.  They don’t have great test scores, they don’t have a lot of money or great equipment, they don’t have famous alumni or even a great track record of following IEPs.  There is something really complex about IEPs that they can’t seem to get.  Apparently the concept of Federal Law is a real mind bender.   But alas, Don and I are a united front this year and we have an advocate to help as well.  If the school can follow the IEP, we are good.  We are happy.  Blissful, even.  If not (and God Bless Them, they have already tried to not follow it with regard to scheduling before school even started), we are going to be on them.

On them, on them, on them, on them.

Have a good day at school, Rye!

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D’jew find jew anything, Mae?

Yea,  sissy, I found me a really nice Bible.  Who’d've thought?  Right here in this store.

And it’s beautiful.

This was the conversation I overheard in the Goodwill store yesterday.  Don and I were in a town south of us that I would definitely consider to be the deep South.  It looks like it’s been lost in time, and that description would be generous.  We like to shop for books at the Goodwill store there because the store is large and bright and welcoming and hardback books are $1.00 each.  And you’d be surprised what a great selection they have.  Apparently these ladies felt the same way.

This week has been a long one over here.   But things are looking up.  Rye seems to be really decompressing now that he is out of school and will be for this coming week as well.  His whole body and psyche seem to be relaxing.  It’s nice to see.  This is not to say, however, that he will do no schoolwork this week.  I am going today to buy workbooks so that we can work on math and reading comprehension every day this week.  I need to see where he is and get him caught up on what probably is a great deal of material.  I have a feeling I’ll have my work cut out for me.  But that’s ok.  I’m ready.

In other news, I am starting my consulting business back up.  I started this business a couple of years ago and had good success with it but then had to put it on hold due to some extenuating circumstances.   I am uber excited to start it again.  It’s time.  I have missed it.   Substitute teaching is nice but I’m ready to go back to being my own boss.  And go back to having adult conversations.  And client visits.  And client lunches.  And checks made out to me.  And all that jazz.   And in all honesty, I see a decent amount of homeschooling  in my future with Rye as I’m not holding my breath on the school to do the right thing so this will provide me with a good balance of adult world and child/teen world and ultimately a much better income.  And I can do it part time.

As far as the school situation goes, we are making headway and are getting an IEP meeting scheduled.  I have a special needs advocate from a non-profit agency coming to the meeting with me that knows the laws and this county’s schools inside and out.  This will be a huge, huge help.  She has helped me before and is an angel on earth, as far as I’m concerned.   This will happen in the next week or so.

And, that’s about it for now.  There is much to look forward to over here.

Onward and upward.

When underwater, the world above is muffled.  The sounds are hardly detectable.  The sight is blurred.  And the weight of the water pushes on the body like a gentle, loving embrace.

Rye is out of school now until the school can come with a better plan for him.  Being a victim to physical assault and gross disregard for and refusal to follow IEP plans are issues that one must not ignore.  And as he wound up and up and up with the situation at hand, I finally decided he had had enough.   I placed the burden on the school system after all that they have done to him, and yanked him out.

Yesterday the healing process began.  Tensions were still high as he had his defenses up and was ready to fight the fight.  Today he is realizing he has been rescued.  It is sinking in.  He is exhaling.

And it is unrecognizably serene here at the homestead.

I can’t remember the last time the atmosphere in the house was this relaxed.

It is calm.

Well, I’ll tell you, it seems like it’s always something.

Rye was physically assaulted by a teacher this week at the zoo of a school he goes to simply for saying no to said teacher.   We have tried to communicate nicely with the school, give the teacher the benefit of the doubt, and were hoping for some communication back that would resolve the issue.  We were hoping that the school would deal with it with maturity since they profess themselves left and right as wanting to teach their students respect.  But no.  No such luck.  Apparently the teachers and administration there all want to be treated with respect but don’t feel the need to model that same behavior.  And apparently the students are reprimanded and punished for using physical force among each other or with teachers but the teachers are not held to the same standard.  So, now we’ve had to call the sheriff’s office and we need to file a charge.  Otherwise they sweep the whole thing under the rug, never mention it again, and I am left to mitigate my child’s fear and anxiety about going to school and feeling like the school has no rules to protect him.   urghh.

Pathetic.

Ironically, that same day another one of Rye’s teachers, a special ed teacher, got frustrated with one of the students in that class and threw a complete tantrum in front of the class.  She threw her supplies, including her glasses, up to the ceiling in front of the students and ran out of the class and down the hall screaming that she could not take it anymore and wanted to quit her job.  Apparently it was quite a scene.  Lovely.

Quite the education they are getting over there.   The place is a complete zoo.

And the students are the ones losing out.

It’s sad.