This is simply a vent, offload, de-stress if you will. Having no colleagues to talk to and very few friends who have the first clue what it's like in my position. (((sigh))) Just feel like I need to get it out of my system a little before I gather myself together to handle the situation.

I'm working till 3:30 today when all my families are collecting early so I can go into school for a meeting. My son is 12/Gr 7 and 2E. For those who don't know, that means Twice Exceptional. He has an LD and is also Gifted. Sometimes I wish he just had one or the other as there would be a general set of protocol to follow to deal with his needs which would simply need tweaking, but every 2E child is unique and are extremely difficult to deal with for that reason. His LD is comprehension, writing specifically. He doesn't struggle with getting info out of his working memory but having the info actually get in in the first place means that info needs to be delivered in a particular way. His IEP is very detailed in teaching him as though he is a deaf child. He needs information delivered in a certain way so it clicks and then he is good to go. The progress that has been made over the years is phenomenal and last year my son got A's in English and French which was something I could never have imagined. He also struggles with basic concepts and he is all about logical thinking so anything that needs to be done that does not have a right or a wrong is a huge struggle for him. Creative writing is the perfect example and it's like trying to get blood from a stone. His LD has him on the 12th percentile in these areas.

His area of giftedness is spatial reasoning and non verbal reasoning which actually has nothing to do with verbal skills. He is on the 99.7th percentile with an IQ of 140 when last tested at age 7. He is two years advanced in math, has even written his own mathematical theories for fun I might add, lol, and is about a year ahead in science.

The Niagara district school board does not acknowledge 2E kids, just one or the other of special needs. It's so out of date, especially as other boards in the province do. Majority of kids diagnosed with adhd are misdiagnosed and are in fact 2E, there just aren't enough tests for it and standardized testing is a waste of time for these children. He was never flagged at school. I took him to Oxford Learning initially for homework help as he was so delayed and I didn't think I could support him enough and on their initial intake assessment he scored higher than any student age 3 -18 in the past 15 years and they all pulled us in immediately to follow up. I confess, I thought my son was just slow, not particularly bright and I thought it was just him. The school he was in at the time had a principal who was a right piece of work, an opinion shared with many. He would not acknowledge this assessment and would not give him any more support. Fortunately a friend of mine who is a teacher had held a 0.5 position in Halton catholic board teaching the gifted program for years and they acknowledge 2E so she was familiar. Whenever I described my son to her she didn't really say much for the longest time. She didn't even plant any maybe thoughts of what may be going on. It came to the point where she said that she thought that he would be missed on the Gr 3 screening that every child goes through and that if I could I should invest in a private psych ed assessment to find out exactly what was going on which would then be processed by the school board and be legally binding to follow. That is how this all came out in the wash. I'm sure you can imagine how delighted I was at the beginning of Gr 4 to hand this to the principal!

Back to present day....in a different school but in the same board...
So, he gets no enrichment, unless his homeroom teacher gives more challenging extra work and gets no gifted learning. Okay so what, it really isn't the end of the world as I pick up that end of things by enriching him outside of school, but at least they should be doing everything they can to cover all bases in the area of his LD.

So today I have to go and meet with his current homeroom teacher who is honestly the worst teacher he has had in a long time and ask why they aren't sticking to his IEP. It is exhausting. I will never stop advocating for my son, but I really shouldn't have to chase up teachers who are not doing what they are legally obliged to do. My son has withdrawn and is in tears every night with class work he is bringing home to finish up. No guidelines on what he should be doing even for me to try and help, and I'm stuck with my son and I butting heads because he is so rigid in his thinking and I'm suggesting new ways to approach the problem. My son has not acquired the skills to be able to do his work and that is the fault of his educators letting him down. Even when he has been struggling, he has not been this bad since Grade 5

My son came to me in October saying he was concerned that he gets no homework and how is he going to be prepared for high school. I was very proud of him and followed up with his homeroom teacher and asked for homework to be sent home. He said he would send Math. Well that certainly wont prepare him for high school as he can do that in his sleep. He needs work that will challenge him and teach him how to do assignments independently. Teacher said he would find something to send home for him. Fast forward to January and still no homework so I called the LRT. She sent stuff home thankfully, but it is really sad that when a student asks for homework I have to constantly chase people up for it.

I have seen my son deteriorate at a rapid rate and its always so heartbreaking when a teacher is letting the child down. Should they need more help and guidance that is what the LRT and principal are there for. A couple years ago I had to get someone in from the board and I was really worried how I would be received, although honestly it wouldn't have stopped me from speaking up. That board appointed LRT for the area absolutely laid into the staff at the meeting table. I was blown away by how much she had my back. I hope it doesn't get to that point again although it had a huge impact on my sons learning but I just wish that it wasn't a crossed fingers affair at the beginning of each school year as to what his teacher will be like in meeting his needs.

Watching your child break down and cry is something that no parent wants to see, but to have little ability to help and no way of protecting him from developing this core belief that he is stupid is a constant battle, and takes me from sad to angry in a second. Fortunately I have always done well at containment and this afternoon I know I will be able to leave my emotions at the door and be appropriate and professional with these individuals but I can not stand this anticipation of all the excuses and BS they will feed me as to why his learning as gone down hill so rapidly.

I have pulled out his report cards from last year and his IEP and assessment. I've made notes so I don't get side tracked and I am totally going to pull the teacher and LRT and make it clear on what I want to see change or I will call the board again.

Thanks for letting me continue to have my long winded posts on this site It's so hard having no colleagues and all my family is overseas so this forum is a huge relief at times like these when I just need to get stuff out of my system.