School Report

I asked Gabriel's teacher how he was doing in class--here are excerpts from the letter she sent home.

"We have really noticed that he does not have any classroom routines or ability to follow routines in the classroom, along with a lot of energy, so we are really working on Gabriel following rules, routines, and a schedule rather than just wanting to run around the room. We are working on having him sit with the rest of the group. ...We are doing this in all areas of the classroom, because unfortunately he cannot be left unattended (-sitting without adult assistance-) at this time. We are also working on following through with an activity or attempting to participate for a few seconds with an activity. ...He requires full hand over hand because he does not make any eye contact to look at the activities we are doing. He becomes upset and aggressive when we do hand over hand with him because he does not want to participate and would like to get up out of his chair and run around. We mainly want Gabriel to be able to get through the day not having an adult holding his hand the entire time. We would like for Gabriel to have joint attention and the ability to know when it is appropriate to move around the room and when it is not appropriate. ...As for his social skills, he is very much in his own 'world' right now. He does not make any type of indication that there are other peers in the room. The peers assist in helping with things, they say hi to him, but there is no reciprocation at this point from Gabriel. ...Right now, the academics are not even a thought for us because behavior and classroom management with him are our top priority."

Now, the way that sounds, it could be bad. It is not--it is just how he is doing right now, which is the exact same way I am sure all his classmates started out. His teacher and the teacher assistants adore Gabe and fully understand what he is going through right now. They are not upset or frustrated that he is being aggressive, pulling hair or scratching when upset, because they recognize that he lacks the communication to express his needs at this point.

All in all, it is a win that he seems to happy with school. It stinks that he is struggling with the more academic end of things, but it is understandable.

In other school news, we talked to Lubbock Christian for Emerald. If we had sent her to the public school, she would have gone to pre-K in the fall because she is ten days too young to start kindergarten. It would also cost several thousand dollars. If we send her to Lubbock Christian, it turns out to actually be cheaper and she can start kindergarten in September!

We are going to speak with the school soon, make sure this is the right choice for Emerald...she has some behavioral issues, most of which stem from having a special needs brother as the only modeling peer for her to glean appropriate behavior from. Having a structured, formal learning environment as well as age-appropriate peers will do wonders. Plus, she gets to wear a totally sweet little uniform!

That is all on that front for now :) More news to come!

--Andie