M r I

Tomorrow is the day of Hannah's mri . I'm not looking forward to it. Not a fan of hospitals. Tonight I have a headache and a daughter in tears because she doesn't want to miss school - she tells me she needs to learn. I wish these blips weren't there for her to deal with.

Tomorrow will be difficult for her. She'll work hard to understand what the adults want. She'll be brave when they place the canular and a bit scared when they take her into the room with the machine and ask her to ly on the table. She'll struggle to climb up and be awkward in trying to lay herself down but she won't give up. She'll laugh at the headphones designed to dull the noise of the machine and startle when the noise starts for real. She'll enjoy lying there watching a DVD but struggle to lay still for 45 minutes. 

I'm hoping she pulls it off though cos this way is preferable to needing a general anaesthetic for the procedure. After this one we should be able to go straight home.

Wish us well - I'm feeling nervous.

Cranky

I have to say that I'm feeling anger right now. White hot if I let it but I'm tamping it down, as best I can. Maybe smouldering red hot coals.

A diagnosis of Down syndrome might bring fear and unknowns and 'chronic sorrows' but it also brings so much spectacular joyousness.

Just today my beautiful girl brought our family together with charm and grace. She had spent the better part of last week planning a celebration for Boo - the monsters inc character she cuddles to sleep every night.

She allocated tasks in the preparation for all of us. Her father was on cupcake duty duty with her. She had explicit diagrams to help with the shopping list:

It involved 6 eggs, flower, milk, limes, rocket, chocolate, and rice etc. Her brother was on bed making duties and I was to decorate the house.

On a lazy Sunday where we each did our own thing she brought us together - because her task was to perform a dance to Somewhere over the Rainbow for Boo followed by afternoon tea featuring the lemon muffins she'd made earlier in the day with her father.

So yes when I think of Down syndrome I have to smile. That girl, including her extra chromosome brings so much joy to our world. There are so many wonderful things about my daughter that may or may not be partially attributed to the fact that at her core she is both the same and so different.

But on Friday a paediatric rheumatologist confirmed that she has juvenile arthritis. I have to book her in for an mri and the anti inflammatory drugs have started.

I'm furious. This isn't a syndrome to catch us by surprise and them hold us close in a loving embrace. This f@@##er is just about pain and damage and I don't like it one little bit. No pluses or bonuses. It is a disease. It is about 'suffering'. It is nothing like Down syndrome.

So lucky this girl is our guide as our journey takes this difficult side road....for she is mighty indeed. (But I think I'll be calling in favours from our 'team' - I'm feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment).

Why I'm no longer musing in the mainstream...

'Mainstream' hmmm I did think it was time for a name change. 'Mainstream' is one way of indicating that this school is NOT a 'special' school..... yet there you stand with your 'special child' looking for admittance. Surely this term is superfluous by now? I KNOW it isn't a 'special' school, ahem, that IS why I am here smiling sweetly through your patronising elitism!!! The Disability discrimination Act has been in place since 1990 and the Disability Standards in Education since 2005. What is the point of 'mainstream' tag when schools have been places of diversity for years?

Now I understand that this is a fraught issue - but perhaps one of the reasons I can still feel excluded with the 'it's a mainstream school you know' line is the agenda it alludes to. And I use the term 'alludes' to loosely as it isn't very subtle and with 2 new 'special' schools opening up in my area next year, well you get my drift....Why is it that these schools are referred to as 'special' yet other 'specialised' schools such as government selective schools are not?

No I am not in the 'mainstream' I am just in the world. It's my world, I hope it's yours. It's a mixed bag sort of world, a one size fits no-one sort of place. It's somewhere where the learning never stops. It's a hard road, it's a good road. The bad days can be pretty low but ultimately it's a worthwhile road.

I've had 2 interviews at a high school regarding enrolling Hannah and I've spent an evening hearing all about anew special school that will be opening in our area soon. That high school looks good. It's a regular school. It's in our area. Hannah will be learning in her community. There will be a number of students in each year group who know her from primary. It's a place that offers a good chance of duplicating the successes of inclusive primary schooling for her. I have to say I'm even looking forward to it!

The information evening about the special school was interesting. Loads of interest. That says a lot about how well schools are managing inclusion doesn't it? It also reflects upon the way resources are allocated too. There are special schools for gifted students too. I guess there is an awfully large amount of interest in them too. How much of it is for similar reasons I wonder? I worry that the school will struggle to meet Hannah's needs in a satisfactory way (due to expertise and resource issues) and at the same time I worry that I haven't been selective enough in choosing a school for Kit. Will his school have the expertise and resources to challenge him? To assist him in reaching his goals?

I am perhaps spoilt for choice and yet I don't feel as though I truly have much choice at all. I want an inclusive education for both my children and the fact that I am looking at them attending different schools indicates that my choices are not unlimited, and that my children whilst both needing inclusive education experiences, are sufficiently different that I am currently considering separate schools for each.

And so I no longer muse in the mainstream for I am not sure what that is anymore but I am definitely exploring notions of inclusiveness every day.

Inclusive Classrooms

I love this post  - now to transfer these same principles into the High School classroom - it can be done!
Inclusion begins with....

One of my challenges is that as a part time teacher I am at the bottom of the pecking order for classroom allocations - and rooming is tight - so my class of year 7's transitioning into the big world of HS is in a different room every lesson. Such a silly thing - but it really helps disrupt the students' learning. Every lesson has a different 'feel' and it isn't because of my teaching or the boys personality - it's the lottery of room and who ends up sitting where and with whome - and the constant unpredicability of it all.

Expecting and welcoming each student - having a place for everyone - now that is doable. It builds trust and achieves lots. Meeting the students half way helps build successful relationships.

Reinvigoration - A new page in the journey....

This blog was set up to follow my family's journey in the NSW education system. After a while I found that the negative tone of the posts was not providing an accurate picture of that journey - even though those negative posts were all valid - so I stopped adding to Mainstream Musings..... fast forward a few years ...... I have 2 children requiring special education instruction. One has been identified as 'gifted' the other as having an intellectual disability (she has Down Syndrome). They are heading into middle school next year - and so my focus on High School for them will start in ernest. Oh and I have started working in a local High School as a special education teacher and just to ensure that there is no doubt that I am a somewhat psychotic overbearing control freak mother - I am currently studying a certificate in Gifted Education. Welcome travellers.... I hope that this blog becomes a place of positive practical advice and support. This schooling business isn't easy but it can be very rewarding.

My Piece of Advice - for Parents and Carers

Beware the assessments of High School - this seems to be an area where even sensible and caring teachers lose perspective. If your child has an intellectual disability - then ALL tasks should be adjusted in some way. A simple clear task may need extra time to complete or greater adult supervision/assistance to help the student. A breakdown of what the student needs to do should be provided - a scaffold. As the curriculum gets more complex (stage 5-6) then alternate tasks may well be needed. INSIST on them!! Please! Too often a student has to 'make do' with a task that doesn't test what they know, that doesn't provide the student with a valuable learning process. Instead it seems as if sometimes our kids are dragged through tasks by parents and learning asssitants who feel trapped by the system and the task rigidity.

BEWARE these tasks. Refuse to accept reports based on non adjusted tasks.

Adjusted tasks require teachers to have a clear idea of what is the essential skill/information that students need to know/demonstrate and a good working knowledge of what their special needs students can/can't do. Surely that is not an unreasonable demand. It's inclusive education.

Day one

Well we all got through our first day... way too soon to tell yet BUT This morning the twins were very happy to get ready for school and as they are older now I changed their routine a bit to include them packing their own school bags. As we walked to the playground I chatted to Hannah about needing to find the Year 2 line etc. We ran into one of her new teachers just outside the gate and Hannah went happily although a bit shyly to her for a wee hug, then we greeted the principal who Hannah was also very happy to see. He mentioned that he had printed off the Victorian DSAs Guide for Schools re DS learners = and given a copy to Hannah's teacher. Once inside the gate I stopped to chat to another parent and Hannah happily went off to try and find where to put her bag (gotta love the independence!) after a bit though she seemed a little lost although she was in the right vicinity so I went over and helped her...then she sort of looked around, couldn't see anyone to play with and so went off on her own and was playing with some cardboard and leaves she found. It was almost time to line up so I headed over to guide her - and ran into her best friend Z (who is in another class this year) on his way to do the same thing. In the end I cuddled her and asked how she was feeling. I mentioned the Christmas cake that she had been so excited to take to school and share with her friends, and she happily held on to Z as they went over to the lines. Because he is in a different class I also went and made sure that she let him go to his line (!she was clearly excited but also a bit unsure). Anyway I couldn't stay until the end of the assembly to watch them go into class like I normally do because I had to get to my own work a bit early...I felt torn leaving and not seeing for myself that she was ok but at the same time I knew that she wanted to be a 'big girl' and that the school would take great care of her... The lyrics of a random song that I love happened to be going through my head all day: "I got a mother at home with a tear in her eye as she kissed her only baby girl bye bye She doesn’t want me to go, she doesn’t want me to try… You know I just gotta try…" It was sung by an Aussie band Flying Emus in the 1980s that I absolutely loved and although the context was different I could absolutely relate to them today - it isn't that I don't want her to try but I am terrified of her being hurt... I felt the same at the Powerhouse Museum yesterday watching her climbing high up on the roped dome structure in the playground...she has grown up and matured over the holidays. She is more confident with her skills and is wanting to do more. For example: At the beach she actually came out into the water (usually she gets dumped by a wave no higher than her knees right near the edge and quickly moves onto building sandcastles instead - not this time. My girlfriend and I were holding a hand each and she was 'jumping' waves - getting mouthfuls of sea water and occasionally 'drenched' by a wave - and laughing and looking for 'big ones' to jump - I got totally dunked on more than one wave trying to make sure that she stayed safe and fearless :) Then in the pool she swam without an adult in the water with her - in backyard swimming poodles with only a noodle for safety. Also she wants to climb. The first time was at a local park when before I had even realised she had shimmied up a small tree with great excitement and confidence. Next was the large roped dome play construct at the powerhouse which had my heart in my mouth! Then last night in returning to a more settled night routine she read her father a reader and then we all read a story book together - not only did she do pretty well on her reader - but she insisted on having her turn at 'reading' the story book. It was Room On The Broom and her reading level is nowhere near enough to read it but she followed the text with her finger and looked carefully at the pictures on the page and 'guestimated' some of the key words correctly and made sounds (with some clear words) as if she was reading... then Kit read a page, I read a page and her father read a page - we are such a lucky family that even though I desperately wish that learning to read was easier for her apart from the fact that she so wants to do it - I couldn't really care less...I am so very proud of her achievements and her spirit. And today she actually brought all of her lunch box home. And so it is that spirit that means 'she's just gotta try' and I hope that I can hide my tears and do everything I can to support her growing independence... PS I did take the obligatory first day of school photo - it looks surprisingly like the one at the top of this blog! Will post it later.

a gift

All our kids are gifts. I think most of us don't stop to put it into words though. I remember when we were going through the trauma that was finding a 'good' school for the twins one of my dearest friends kept saying that Hannah would be a wonderful asset tot he whole school community (wherever she went), a gift in fact. Well two years into the mainstream journey I can absolutely see her point. And here is one simple story about that.... Hannah has a 'wonky walk' as I describe it - she can unbalance and trip a bit more easy than her regular peers. Year 1 classroom was upstairs and so 2 middle school girls were asked to help out by taking her up in the lift - in the morning and the recess/lunch breaks and then at the end of the day. ANy additional trips downstairs are usually only with her class and so she manages the stairs. These girls have been awesome.

They have developed such a lovely relationship with hannah. They are patient with her when she is reluctant to go to class, they sometimes seek her out to play with before school and they bring her little gifts sometimes too. So it is no wonder that she adores them. When we were on holidays O/S she would often say she wanted to come back to Paris with her buddies. (they are of course very beautiful young women too - so please forgive my crude attempt to capture their personalities while protecting their identity. The last day of school arrived a week ago on Friday. We'd got the school report, sung carols int he church, given Christmas gifts and cards... this day was movies and picnics to end the year. It was mufti so Hannah had chosen her own ensemble. While on the playground waiting for the morning assembly I noticed that her shoes were on the wrong feet. I told her and she sat down to change them over. As part of the giving her greater space and independence I moved away where I could watch her - I was hoping to see that after she had fixed her shoes she would hear the music call to line up and go line up with her class without prompting. One of her buddies noticed her sitting on the ground and came straight over. She helped Hannah change her shoes then they raced back tot he line up for the assembly. During the assembly Hannah sat encircled in her buddies arms and sitting on her lap...now that interaction was a lot more about Hannah's buddy, leaving the primary school where she has thrived to head off to High School with all the excitement and fear that that entails. And I am glad that for those brief moments Hannah was able to give her comfort and peace. I know she will do great at High School but Hannah is going to miss her and her friend very much...

We have survived

The title says it all really. It has not been a great year of inclusion for Hannah. Enough said. Maybe this is what to expect every year. God I hope not. In her 'Maths' book - there are 3 worksheets - incomplete at that. That's it. A whole year of work...it is better than her spelling book. It is blank - except for a /5 written in red on the first page which never ever got used. I know that Hannah has done a lot of work. I am actually pleasantly surprised by how well her maths is coming along - but all those measures are in the Resource room they are not in the class room. You know who next years great hope is? I already had a meeting with her earlier in the year when she was acting principal - and I was so very stressed and frustrated at what was not happening in the classroom - and I just went blllllllllllllllllluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Barely drawing breath with strategies that I would love to have seen tried but that never were. Anyway we have her next year At least she knows what to expect from me. She is a lovely calm and organised person. Understated but definitely not to be underestimated. She also LISTENS. Fingers crossed. What has been happening well is the continued acceptance of Hannah as Hannah by the other children in the class. She recently did the school swimming program which she loved. Her reading is progressing - slowly but surely. Her communication and confidence are improving also. I am hoping to do a few bits of work with her over the holiday to keep her reading level from falling. In an unusual decision I asked that the twins be kept in the same class next year. I had many reasons for this. Mostly I remember how hard it was earleir in the year when Kit could tell how unhappy and worried we were but was unable to help at all because he wasn't in the room - that is one of the key things having a child with communication difficulties. Her communication book is still the first thing I go to each afternoon even though her class teacher barely writes in it. There are other benefits though. I am hoping that it might encourage a bit more ongoing play between them at home - keeping some common experiences for them that might be good in developing their relationship at home. They have a lovely relationship but there are increasing differences due to gender and developmental levels. Not a problem but I think it would be nice to foster some common interests between them where I can. I definitely do not want Kit feeling responsible for her - even though he is!! I am vowing that I will not ask him directly how Hannah is for at least the first 5 weeks of term. Unfortunaltely just yesterday when they found out who their teacher and classmates would be one wonderful boy came racing up to me on the playground and said "You won't have to worry about Hannah next year because Kit is in the same class". Her best friend (a lovely young boy - Z) is in a different class - so apparently on the way home this first young boy was telling his mum that Zs turn was over and it was his turn to help look after Hannah next year. So yes we survived but it wasn't alone. There was an enormous amount of work put in by the support staff, the principal, Hannah's buddies, the other kids in the class and even the class teacher (I hope! and think) tried her best. Still I really would like to set up an INCLUSIVE class experience for Hannah next year...Here's hoping...and preparing...

It's been a while

Well things are tootling along in the world of Year 1. Some changes at school have been implemented and I can see that Hannah's little aid time is being used more effectively. Basically one of her aids goes into the classroom in the morning with the goal of settling her to work at her desk with the other students... with varying degrees of success. Last week I was outside the room helping with one of the reading programs (as a parent volunteer) but it was almost recess when I went into make sure Hannah went to the toilet that I found her at the side of the class refusing to do any desk work. I quickly and as quietly as possible got her to the loo and then settled her back in the room - this time at her desk with some simple work. I wished they'd let me know at the start of the morning....FFWD to today. I am outside the room doing my volly thing when Hannah's teacher comes and asks me to help the aid as Hannah is lying at the back of the room rolled up in a ball, refusing to cooperate. I went in and knelt down near her. I asked her to sit up, then look at me... and tell me what was going on. She soon managed to regroup enough to tell me that her aid had 'hurt her feelings'. I got her to stand up and talk to the aid about this which she did. From the aid and Hannah's tears (crocodile ones!) I was able to ascertain that after warnings to turn off the ipad until later the aid had leaned over and turned it off herself. The key issue had been the volume of the ipad as the teacher tried to have her whole class time. It didn't take long for us to chat about that and for Hannah to go to her place and start work. She even voluntarily put the ipad aside.

Later on in the afternoons another aid spends some time with her specifically on the ipad - and using some of its apps. I bet hannah loves that.

While I was there I got the chance to chat with the aid a bit more - before I left - she was basically asking for strategies... said that she had watched me but found copying my technique (I think she meant my 'Mum means business' voice :-)) difficult. She wanted to discuss how to handle the mornings incident differently. So we chatted about that - she had done what I would have done anyway - warnings and count down...so really I said perhaps the only thing left is to head it off at the pass, ie make sure the little bugger doesn't get to sit down with the temptation of the ipad straight away. She did say that for a while threatening to call me worked quite well but at one point Hannah started to say "No, ring Daddy". We then quickly talked about Hannah's multilit lists - Yes Hannah has started on the multilit program. She is stalled on List 2 - they, that and with. Having (undiagnosed) dyspraxia does NOT help with reading - I can almost see the misdirections happening from what she is seeing, thinking to saying. Anyway as part of that discussion the aid showed me how she gets Hannah to write out the words she is having difficulty with - and how the last list - her writing went from quite small to larger and larger - because Hannah knows once she reaches the end of the writing page the aid lets her stop that activity. If only she could harness that sort of intelligence to consistently recognise and say they, that and with!!! Still the aid and I are impressed with her guile.

Nothing much else has been happening. Last week I arrived at school in the middle of lunch to take the twins to an appointment. When I went to the playground to collect them - Hannah was sitting with a boy from middle school (who Kit tells me is one of the vice captains) He was quietly interacting with her while she collected bark in a glad bag. I love watching how gentle the other kids are with her. Also this week I saw one of her friends AS smiling and obliging her in a game of duck duck goose - even though there was only the 2 of them playing. He looked so sweet deliberately 'running' slowly so that Hannah could catch him.
Today as I left school Hannah's class was working in smaller groups. Her class teacher came and got her because she had a couple of year 3 boys there and she thought one of them could work with Hannah for the last 15 minutes before recess.
On Monday when I picked the kids up from after school care one of the carers was telling me how she enjoyed playing with Hannah. She had been playing ball. The week before she said they had been running. She basically said that noone could get her to run but Hannah's innocence as she asked her to run 'together' was irresistable and so she had run with my daughter. A little piece of Hannah magic as people see the gifts she has to offer... not that I think she is 'innocent' in the way the carer seemed to mean but she sure can bring out a lot of good in the people she interacts with.

Homework

Yes she dressed herself - note the tie - perfect for going to 'work'. Here are the blocks that I am loving - I give Han the letters and she unjumbles them to spell the sight words she will need for the reading activity. It is working a treat at the moment.
Using the blocks to help complete a reader accurately.
Check out her drawing and her colouring in - I think it's very good!
Gluing the words from one of her readers into a logical sentence.
Lots of teddies for a great effort!
Hannah had some homework sent home by her spec ed teacher. Being the first week back I hadn't really done much reading work with her so on Sunday we sat down and did about 45 minutes of literacy and writing activities. I was so pleased with how she did. She read her level 2 reader well. I got her to spell out key words with the blocks first as that seems to really help. Sometimes if she is looking at the printed word and not sure all I do is point to the blocks and she gets it right. She drew a lovely house based upon the level 1 reader I had been doing with her - all in pencil and then she insisted on colouring it in. Her colouring was fantastic (I though) - she kept in the lines for most of the picture and then had a reasonable go at writing her name on it.

I love the ipad and at the moment there is an app called Teach Me Grade 1 which I particularly like for her because it has some numeracy and literacy. Each activity has a ? at the top so she can ask for help if needed for example if the activity is to write 1 she doesn't need help but for 5 she can touch the ? and a faint 5 appears for her to trace. Anyways while I love the technology it was also good to see her concentrate and work without any technology just pens and papers blocks and motivators. The motivators are counting teddies and each small task completed gets a bear.... I'll attach a pic above.

So I am still unhappy with her class teacher. I just don't think she has the interest or the passion I would like to see and that is needed to really make inclusive ed work. I can't do anything about that but keep meeting with the principal and voicing my concerns... but I am so glad that Hannah is still progressing very well given the circumstances.

Reading

Today Hannah went back to school. She was happy to go and obviously looking forward to seeing her friends. I hope she has a good term.

I have been doing some reading with her over the break. Her spec ed teacher said in our last meeting that level 3 of the PM readers are the ones she is using with Hannah - they are more challenging for her. I have some level 1 ones that I was using over the holidays. I have videoed her reading - will try and upload one later.

Hannah loves books - always has. Her reading though seems idiosyncratic to me - The level 1 readers are very repetitive - eg Every page in the book we have just done has "Look at the ..." and the child uses the picture to decide on the last word. When I started with Hannah I had to prompt her every single time for the word look. It was starting to drive me crazy. I tried a couple of things to try and help her recognise the word more automatically and in a variety of contexts. The most successful was the blocks from Make a Word. I haven't got her to write it out yet but that is probably what I will try next time the opportunity arises. She has almost conquered that one so I have begun the new book which has "Look at the ... said the pencil" in it. This time I began using the blocks for support.

There is a sight word app on her ipad that I like - she is going quite well with it although 10 is her prime, 15 on a good day and by 20 she is over it - I try to work with her until she gets 10 right first go. Her error rate is usually between 5%-33% depending on how hard the settings are. At the moment I have it on preschool and Kindy words with a min choice from 3 and a max choice from 4 words. It has been interesting to then test her vocab with the flash cards from the Make a Word set - I simply ask "What word?"

Sometimes she is clearly looking at the holistic shape of the word - so bag often gets confused for dog.At other times I think she sees the last letter and then guesses at the word. Too often if in doubt she says 'down' so I have also started to go over that one using the blocks although I think I might just avoid it for a while until she is stronger on the ones in her books. I have also been impressed with her letter recognition skills and her knowledge of phonics although she needs help to 'put the sounds together' in a 3 letter word she can do it fairly easily. She finds cued artic and signed english helpful so in the video (when I find out how to upload it) you can see her sign 'the'. We are also using these to help prompt her sentence structure and length of utterance in speech...

I worry that there are so many gaps in her ability to 'read' yet I know her understanding and comprehension are quite good. It must be very frustrating for the little girl - it sure is for me!

In the video you can see her referring to the blocks and using signed english as well. The last page is bird but she often just looks at the 'b..' and says 'bat'. She was worried her father was going to go out without her so is a little preoccupied in this clip - but you get the idea....

The Follow Up

Well we had our meeting - so long ago now I'll have to think back.... We walked out feeling good. The principal is a great listener. He also supported his teacher - both positions that I am satisfied with. We got to say why we were concerned/unhappy and I think got it across that our main concern was with the class teacher without sounding vindictive about her. He agreed that she was struggling but reiterated his belief in her best intentions. He is pinning a lot on the new furnishings that are arriving over the break - he is really tackling the whole school environment having put up a whole heap of pictures through the building.

We discussed a bit further Hannah's so called 'behavioural issues' and I think that point came across ok.
Sorry - obviously the break has been good cos the rest of it has gone - we were there for about 30 minutes and he allowed us to voice our concerns. I asked about moving classes - and he stated very clearly that he had already thought about that - but then gave me the reasons on why that wasn't his preferred option at this stage.

So back to school next week - brand new setting - plus the teacher has been to visit another local school with a student with DS in the mainstream...we'll have to wait and see if any epiphanies have happened over the break...
Hannah obviously really likes this teacher - she has been chatting about having her own house - where she wants to live with her Grandpa, her two best friends from school - and you guessed it - her class teacher. I hope that that teacher realises how privileged she is to have Hannah's devotion. Hannah's ST is back on thank goodness (she agrees with me about the teacher - in fact she commented that in discussions with the spec ed teacher it looked like they were exploring the idea of her working at the school for a whole day regularly (to help with other kids) however she said - 'it isn't a bad idea but I don't want to have to work with people like..' yep you guessed it - Hannah's teacher. The teacher just isn't a great listener and she isn't really available or approachable although she makes all the right noises. I am thinking of asking for the teacher who is nervous about having Hannah (and not afraid to admit it) for next year - I think that might work better...

Holding pattern

Walkathon was last week - I was worried about how Hannah would go - last year I'd organised for my MIL to be around so that she could pick the twins up from the picnic point. This year she was busy and unlike last year - this year the sun was shining and the walk went ahead. No one at school had reassured me that they had planned for her. I crossed my fingers I rang the one Mum I know who has 4 kids, is comfortable with Hannah and could fit 2 more kids in her car - but her youngest was sick with an infectious virus - she reassured me that one of the teachers took a car and that if need be they would drive Hannah back to school. It was on my mind at school all day. When I finally got to pick the kids up from school int he afternoon one of my friends who organises the event commented on how well Hannah had gone. The principal had discussed with her a strategy for if Hannah needed a lift back. SHe hadn't. the note from Hannah's class teacher told me that the spec ed teacher had been with her 'the whole day'. Hannah told me that she walked with her best friend Z. SHe was asleep before we got home - and readily agreed to a nana nap with me once I unloaded the car.

We got Hannah's report today. It was as expected - written by the spec ed teacher and goal focussed - she is actually doing very well - but there was no fanfare...only an occasional glimpse of the individual who is my remarkable daughter. These are my first kids - maybe I just don't get the whole primary school grading thing - maybe it is her teacher's style. The spec ed teacher made a reference to her wonderful sense of humour but that was pretty much it ... the general comment was pretty standard.

I am wondering whether we should bother with the follow meeting we are having with the principal. Hannah has wonderful supports int hat school - so I am not happy with the class teacher - Adelaide you said it so well - it isn't only Hannah that flounders - and as a parent - who am I to start bagging out a classroom teacher who seems to be quite adequate and rather popular in some circles - just cos I think she is appalling at differentiating curriculum and seeing my child as an individual - she probably looks at me and sees psychomum extraordinaire - and she may have a point.

I am thinking of asking the principal to at least consider moving Hannah into the other class. I can't possibly be privy to the fall out/implications of such an action but I also think I'd be letting Hannah down if I didn't at least ask the question.

Just this morning at assembly - the sports teacher is looking after the other year 1 class for a short time. Both year 1 teachers are out at assembly - it is this teacher who looks around at the parent huddle and calls me over - she thinks Hannah has had a wee accident -there appears to be a 'puddle' near her bag and she is crouching down with head hanging low - all this is done quite discretely. I chat briefly with her and then get Hannah and take her out to the back of the assembly area. I ask if she has done a wee - 'no' she replies. I check for wetness and then as she clearly hasn't had an accident return her to the line up and let the teacher know that all is ok. Now as she is the sports teacher she asks me about Hannah's atlatioaxial instability (which is described as 'mild'). SHe has been chatting to the gymnastics team that come into the school - to remind them that Hannah can't do somersaults - she must have asked the teacher if Hannah ever would be able to - and was told that no - if she did and fell awkwardly she could break her spine. I chatted with her about our decisions re her physical activity - cos she LOVES being active - adores dance and gym and swimming and running and jumping etc - and so the teacher mentioned with great enthusiasm the special needs category at the interschool competition for swimming - if I was interested and gave permission she'd love to enter Hannah when she was older (and eligible). See what I mean - sure her class teacher was not 'in tune' to Hannah - but so many others are...So while I feel frustrated with the roadblock we have run into this year I know that there is so much going right for Hannah.
In the afternoon, Hannah came out with her older school buddies (they take her in the lift) - unlike all the other kids she was not clutching a white envelope. Her best friend was obviously worried - Did Hannah have her report? he asked. I reassured him that she would get a report - and that it as probably in her bag. I looked but it wasn't there. I was hesitating, thinking I'd have to beard the lioness to ask about it, when Kit arrived - holding two report envelopes.
And those are just a few of the stories of how Hannah is cared for and belongs to that school...so how much do I rock the boat? This principal is on our side - I feel that. I think things have improved for Hannah - but while the teacher sits and tells me that there has been no improvement as far as she is concerned in the past 6 months - I feel the pressure to protect my child from this erroneous attitude. Upon reflection (and let's face it I have been awake in the wee small hours of each night worrying about this for the past week) the only thing I am unhappy with is the classroom teacher - maybe I need to give up on this idea I have that the classroom teacher is pivotal...
Adelaide - Hannah's ST proves a great example of the outside voice you refer to - unfortunately she has been unwell and so has not met the principal yet but she generally emails the teacher, aids and spec ed teacher after each session and the spec ed teacher clearly tries to incorporate her ST goals into Hannah's support program - as I said I sometimes wonder if I am expecting too much...there are LOTS of good things happening...

Meetings and Sadness

Well we had our meeting today - principal, Spec ed teacher, both aids, class teacher and regional officer.... and upon reflection what bothers me most is that there wasn't an enthusiasm there for how to help teach a remarkable little girl...

The teacher's body language was pretty passive/aggressive. When I asked if Hannah's compliance had improved this year at all - the answer was pretty much 'no'. Unless there is one on one support it's a no go - and even then her preference seems to be in withdrawing Hannah. I see NO self reflection on how she can incorporate/manage her classroom to better facilitate inclusion... no recognition that Hannah is a fantastic little girl with SO MUCH that she can do...It breaks my heart if I dwell on it.

The regional officer seemed to resent the parents being there. I think she sees her role as supporting the school and not having much to do with the individual child/family. She had clearly sussed out somethings and all she said was that she would develop a behaviour management plan for Hannah around safety issues to be implemented next term. There was talk of her going up the classroom by herself at lunch today, hiding under a desk or stairwell...'safety' issues. How this plan was going to look was not clear so that I felt the need to state that whatever this 'plan' was that it needed to be positive - that is emphasising the desirable behaviour rather than listing all the no-go areas!! She seemed quite short in her reassurance that that would 'of course' be the case (like I was an idiot for doubting them - yet I sat in that meeting where the classroom teacher had NOTHING positive to say about my daughter).

The principal and the spec needs teacher and aids were the most enthusiastic but with the black cloud of the classroom teacher I was underwhelmed by their ability to stick up for my daughter. The teacher did not actually say anything much - except when I directly asked her if there had been an improvement inHannah's 'compliance' in class this year. She also suggested another IQ assessment be done (it's now been 2 years since the last one) Yes I gather she'd like to blame that on her inability to teach my daughter...yet again it is all Hannah's responsibility - NO evidence of self reflection at all. At least the principal was happy to read my cue of 'no' on that one and moved the meeting on...

So Phil and I got to make a couple of gibes (we were very understated - it was as I have said a subdued meeting):
The rows of desks are intimidating
Hannah engages in all sorts of outside activities and NONE say compliance is an issue
Do NOT underestimate her
She would benefit from structured group work
She wants to be seen like the other children - she realises if she is not being included as a peer by the teachers
She is a 'self starter' despite what that teacher says

The principal moved his chair closer to Phil and I early in the meeting - it really gave me the feel that he was on our team but that some of the other staff (namely the class teacher and perhaps the liaison officer) were not... disgusting really - how could any teacher worth their salt not at least try and experiment with ways to make their class work for all children?? AND then the *** has the audacity to again imply that in her class the work is now much harder and ALL the children can sit and do the work AND she has 24 (!!!!!!!!!!) children to cater for yadayadayada... it wouldn't be so bad if the implication wasn't that it was only Hannah wjo wasn't coping. I felt like letting her know - I'm not an idiot - I know other parents have been having 'chats' with the principal cos their child isn't doing so great - and I know that the parents are quite divided - and there are a whole bunch of us who think she is all talk and no action or responsibility for even trying to help our kids learn....

Anyhow that is enough vitriol. We are thinking of ringing the principal tomorrow just to say that we are upon reflection not very happy with what the next 6 months looks like holding for our daughter.... It may be time to start planning for better things next year...

Projects and Presentations

The twins had their first school project this term - on Bugs. Hannah chose Butterflies (lucky we have a simple book about them that the grandparents bought for the twins ages ago) and Kit did stick insects. The day they got it Kit was obsessed - every minute was spent googling or drawing stick insects. Then the obsession moved onto something else. For Hannah she wasn't interested in googling but I had helped her choose butterflies after she surprised me with a very lovely drawing of a butterfly. (She had drawn some small circles to form it's 'body' and then 2 paris of wings too...

While at the post office to apply for our passports (Yay Europe - here we come!) I saw and bought some butterfly stickers. I also downloaded a couple of life cycle of a butterfly diagrams and printed them off - Hannah chose which one she wanted to use and then cut out each stage and numbered it 1-4. Everyone was very happy with her efforts - here is the note from her teacher: "Thank you so much for all the work and preparation you did for Hannah's fantastic Butterfly project. She was really great at presenting it and knew just so much! We were all really proud of her. It was a really fabulous moment and the class gave her a standing ovation. Well done to Hannah's family. "

Kit had run out of steam but we managed to coax him over the line without having to do too much of the work for him (!). He made a stick insect with lego and we got him to make an old shoe box into its habitat. He is meant to present today but as his teacher has just started 6 weeks leave and there is a substitute in there I am not sure whether it will happen or not. I don't know what it is with these teachers and the rows of desks but Kit's room is now reorganised into rows (not quite so long and awkward as in Hannah's room but still..). We have a meeting at the school next week about Hannah The regional support officer will be there. It will be interesting to see what the Principal and she think - there has been small improvements but overall there is still a lot more adjustments needing to be made to promote better inclusion.

The Campaign Plan « everyaustraliancounts.com.au

The Campaign Plan « everyaustraliancounts.com.au

projects

The class teacher has been absent for the last two days - and I am rather happy with the little I have seen of the substitute teacher. I don't recognise her from previous occasions - perhaps she is someone the principal knows? Anyhow I was impressed with the following small stories:

Tues - I discussed with Hannah that she could take her beyblade to school but they were NOT for int eh classroom - recess and lunch ONLY. I went up tot eh classroom to organise a couple of things with her bag then went into the classroom to let her know what I had done. She wasn't expecting me ... obviously. THe teacher was at the front of the room with the children sitting at her feet - except Hannah who was hidden in an opposite corner playing with her beyblade. I went in and took it off her. I reminded her of the rules we had discussed. Then I tried to get her to stand up and join her peers. She squatted and I was just trying to think through the quickest strategy to try and get her up there with the rest of the class when the teacher called her name and very ably diffused the situation. She said she needed a helper because she had a special job that she needed help with - well little brat was up at her side in a shot. And I left the room smiling.

Then I went and picked her up after school. She chatted about her day (her speaking is really improving!). Then as we were leaving we passed the principal. A quick word with him revealed that she had received a principals award sticker today - for completing a cloze passage on her own.

Today I help with a literacy program outside the classroom (I help kids from higher grades than Year 1). When I am done I usually pop my head in on Hannah and check to see if she needs to be taken to the toilet. Today when I went in she was sitting at her desk working away alongside her peers - on a slightly modified activity. The teacher had just been about to ask her to describe her work. I explained my presence there and the teacher then quickly showed me the work Hannah got a sticker for yesterday - and commented on what a good effort it had been. WOW. Now that is all it takes to make me happy... I am not wishing any harm on Hannah's regular teacher (cos Hannah loves her) but should she need more time off work... if they have this sub teacher again - well I would be very pleased.

Then because Hannah's ST is recovering from surgery I went and masqueraded as a speechie. Little brat did very well. I think she is having a great day.

I also had a chat with one of her aids - she was telling me what a great time Hannah had had on the school picnic the week previously - and how good the middle school buddy was with her. She also told me that she had been at a fundraiser with another school (a HS) - to raise money so a young girl with Down Syndrome in Thailand could go to school to be educated. It reminded me how very lucky Hannah is - even though sometimes it seems like we have chosen a hard road with this mainstreaming gig - I am so very glad that we get to make that choice. It is a basic human right and I hope and pray that we can improve things here so that we become leaders for others to follow - because there are children around the world with disabilities who deserve so much more than they are currently getting.

onwards

Things have been continuing to show signs of improvement. Last week we kept Hannah home on Monday as she was a little off colour. On wed at school I helped with multilit as I do and then because Hannah's ST has had to go for surgery unexpectedly I 'did' (or tried to) her speech session with her myself. It seemed a good way to maintain routine and to keep the focus on her speech a bit. The principal said it would be ok. I showed her aid how to record her voice saying encouraging things on a sightword app that I really like. Hannah tends to get 5 wrong first go compared with 10 correct first go - so I am working on that with her. I like the app because you can simplify it to a choice of 2- 4 or later when her accuracy rate improves I can change it to a choice of 6-8 (I think).
She also came home one day very proud of herself because she had obviously shown her teacher what was on the ipad - I think it is the first time that the teacher has actively looked at what educational apps are on it - so that was a huge leap forwards - one of our goals from our last meeting was to make the use of the ipad more focussed and educational rather than babysitting. I know they did this because Hannah came over and showed me where my murder mystery books were on it!

Then on the weekend I was at a party and one of the mums there was saying that she has had a meeting with the principal and has another this week - her son is in Hannah's class - with no 'special needs'. She said that the principal mentioned the need to reconfigure the room so that the teacher could set up activity stations and group work etc - this is the model that I prefer for the twins cos I think it provides better differentiation of work to suit the individual needs of the children (and child centred learning) rather than the ridiculous rows of desks that are in the room now - that sit at odds with every other kindy-year2 classroom int he school.
This week is the school athletics carnival and I am a bit nervous - last year's was such a blast - I wonder how Hannah will go this year?

One week in

One week in and I am not sure what it is - but Hannah had Monday off school (she had a febrile seizure on the way) and then Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri - was bubbly and happier than usual at the end of the school day. On one of those days she told me with great joy and pride that she had done work on the board for her teacher. I know we have a long way to go but I feel reassured that the principal is providing support to his teachers and that Hannah is already experiencing small benefits... let's hope the benefits keep growing!