Blame the parents

It couldn't possibly be the fault of untrained educators that my son has had so much trouble in school. It's not their fault that known triggers are ignored to the point that he is so frustrated that he pushes a table and injures a teacher. It's not their fault that he is allowed to be bullied because no one ever sees it. It's not their fault that special education laws are regularly violated. So it must surely be my fault, the one who attends every IEP meeting, tissue in hand, hoping to slow the flood gates while trying to explain over and over again how they are failing my child. It's my fault that no matter what, I will advocate for this child, knowing all the potential locked within him by an unconcerned school district. It's my fault that I will never ever give up on him because he deserves someone who believes in him.

So the outcome of the court proceeding is sort of mixed. The case has been "retired" which means that if he has no more trouble (brought to court) for a year, it goes away. The judge also informed me that if she sees him again, he will be removed from my home. I don't understand how that makes any sense. He doesn't have this kind of problem anywhere but at school, where I can't control what happens, but they want to take him out of his environment where I can control his behavior. Yes, blame the parents.

School news

School is back in session, so I guess it's time for an update. Adam is now at the high school as a 7th grader. It's not exactly what I would have wanted, but I agreed to it for a few reasons...  I had to get him out of that horrible situation he was in at the middle school. He is too old and too big and too smart to be in the elementary school. And after meeting his new teacher and principal, I felt like they would be more willing to work with him instead of sending him home every time he has an issue. The teacher has called me a couple of times and has been able to talk to Adam and calm him down for the most part. I'm hoping this is the breakthrough I've been waiting for.

Tomorrow is the day

we go back to court and I convince the judge that Adam is not a bad kid, he is just autistic and needs teachers trained to work with him. Hopefully, the report from his counselor will help. His teacher this year has been more helpful than those in the past, so we'll see what happens. Send all the good juju my way.

Adam: I don't interrupt. I start conversations.

Adam: I have really long monkey arms.