Kindergarten

So let me start by saying that Luke was 2 1/2 & Ryan was born Aug 9th. A week or two later, Jacob started Kindergarten. He had been at the school for 2 1/2 yrs already, but with the same teacher. 2 weeks into Kindergarten, I get a call from the Asst. Prin. who I don't recognize. This guy sounded brand new to me though. He informs me that Jacob is in the office & that he called his teacher, pardon my french, an f-ing a-hole. I guess he got in trouble outside & ya know, I don't even remember the story, but he got mad & screamed that at her 3 times, in front of the class. Well needless to say, I was mortified. The guy informed me that they were sending Jacob home. Do what? So he learns in the beginning of kindergarten that if he does something bad, he gets to go home? Fantastic. This guy obviously didn't know what he was doing. Come to find out, the principal, who I liked very much & had been there for a long time, was out of the building that day. Great. So anyway, I get Ryan & Luke together & we head up to the school. I signed the referral & we went home. I talked to him about his language, & that it was inappropriate, etc. Daddy talked to him when he got home, & the other adults in his life made a point to tell him that he could not talk like that at school. Now part of Jacob's brain that was damaged by the stroke, is the part that tells the rest of us what is & is not appropriate. Jacob doesn't naturally have this ability. The example that his old neurologist gave me was masturbation............ um ya, I don't want that phone call. So anyway, my point being, Jacob CAN learn appropriateness (thank goodness), but I have to repeat myself, a lot. I just stay consistent, & slowly we get rid of things in his behavior. They are usually replaced with something else, but one step at a time.

About a week later, I get yet another phone call. Jacob told some kids to shutup & told his teacher he was going to "kick her butt". They said he threw chairs, but being a skinny one handed 5 yr old, I didn't picture chairs flying through the air. When I get there, Jacob is in the asst prin's office, & this guy doesn't look happy. Jacob is bouncing around on his couch. I sit down with Ryan in my arms & put Luke in the chair next to me. Mr Whoever (I don't remeber his name, huh, go figure) is obviously upset. He shows me the teacher's angrily written referral. He starts to explain to me that since we hung up, Jacob has been "defiant" & has just sat there making noises, bouncing around, & -now prepare yourselves- "telling me he can see my underwear....." Keep in mind, Ryan is still nursing at this time, so while this man is telling me this, Ryan is bouncing around my boobs, & Luke is quietly stealing candy off this guy's desk, & Jacob continues to bounce around & make noises on the couch. How on earth am I supposed to keep a straight face? I somehow manage to but decide at this point, that I just need to get my herd out of there. Oh, I forgot, after the first incident, I had called the principal & set up a meeting for all who were involved with Jacob. It was to be the morning after this 2nd incident, but the Asst Prin didn't know about it. Suprise, suprise. Once again, the Prin was out of the building. So I didn't sign any papers this 2nd time, I just told him about the meeting, & we left. Brett & I went up the next morning with MRI in hand. I started talking first & told the Jacob history. It was actually nice to see people realize that they weren't dealing with a typical kid here. I dont' want to bad mouth his teacher, but suffice it to say, she was not a good fit for Jacob. We did set up some ideas that day that managed to get us through the rest of the year. I could tell though, that Jacob was not learning.

We are very fortunate. Brett has worked his tail off to provide for his family, so we were able to buy a house with a fantastic school for Jacob. Five weeks before that school year ended, we moved to Carroll ISD. He was there 1 1/2 days & the diagnostician was calling me to set up a meeting. Long story short, we held an ARD & decided to have Jacob repeat Kindergarten at his new school. Brett & I both cried af first, but knew it was best for Jacob & his future.

That next year, they gave him the same great teacher that he had had for that last 5 weeks, so she already knew Jacob. We started trying medications to help Jacob with his focus. The bouncing around & making noises I mentioned earlier, are not an unusual thing. In fact, not medicated, they are somewhat of a constant thing. It's tough to watch him sometimes, because he simply cannot control certain behaviors.

More about this later. It's time to feed the monkies!! ttfn!