Today was very frustrating. My son, Austin, came home from school with yet another detention. This poor child has ADHD. He is not a neuro-typical child. Yet, he is being treated like one. When too much is expected from him he acts out and gets frustrated. And, his teachers don’t understand why he is doing this.
I am not trying to make excuses for my son. Nor, am I excusing his behaviors. I will be the first one to dole out proper discipline and I require that of other authority figures in regards to my son. However, Austin is not a neuro-typical child. He has a neurological disorder that requires some accommodations. Yes, he should be treated as much like a neuro-typical child but, he needs to be given certain accommodations as discretely as possible.
Here is a prime example of what I’m talking about…
Austin had a spelling packet that was due today. The whole class had a week in which to finish this packet. With him forgetting to bring it home, not enough time during school, and becoming distracted; he still managed to finish the packet. Or, so he thought. When it was time to hand in the packet, a student that sits next to him was kind enough to tell him to check it over to ensure that it was done. So, that’s exactly what he did. While going through the packet, he realized that he had missed two questions. It only makes sense that he would answer those two questions. However, as he did this, his teacher came around to check on each student and ask if they had their packet done. When asked, the student must tell the teacher whether their packet is done or not done.
When the teacher got to Austin, he was finishing the two questions that he had overlooked. And the operative word here is overlooked. In his mind, he had finished the packet and he was very proud of himself. Unfortunately, that pride was shot down immediately. His teacher emailed me later that day and told me that she saw him write two answers but Austin still insisted that he had finished the packet. In his mind, not a neuro-typical mind, he had finished the packet. And, on top of that, he had finished it on time. This was an amazing feat for him. He believed that he had finished the packet. But he had merely overlooked two questions. It wasn’t done on purpose. It wasn’t done out spite. He had simply overlooked two questions. I explained this to him and told him how proud I am of him. That made him smile and I got a big hug out of too! That, in turn, made me smile.
Needless to say, but I’m going to say it anyway, I’m headed to school first thing in the morning and try to work this thing out. Austin needs an IEP (individualized education plan). He needs to have sensory breaks. He needs to be treated like everyone else as much as possible. But, when it comes to him having to take a sensory break, it needs to be treated as discreetly as possible. He never asked to be born with this disorder. He’s dealing with it the best he knows how to and I’m very proud of him!
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