Happy H.F.O.D. Everybody

Today was the annual (sometimes more frequent) meeting with Rael's school to address his troubles/difficulties as a "team" /sarcasm and work toward a plan of action. Long time readers will recall these meetings are filled with my ex-wife suggesting insane psychological and/or medical problems (synesthesia) along with the school insisting on assessments for every crazy thing my ex would suggest, plus autism, ADD, psychological counseling, etc. All things I've long known to be unnecessary for Rael. For the last two years this has been the case, and the school has done nothing in the way of extra tutoring, small group sessions, anything by way of addressing his needs academically while they smugly insisted on one diagnosis after another. And though going through the assessments took forever, I've proven them wrong every single time.

So today was a new day and new meeting and the sensible expectation on my part of new ridiculousness newly supported by my ex-wife.

It began with the school counselor, psychologist and principal all suggesting that we should consider changing him to a new school so they don't have to worry about him anymore (they're exact words were because "he doesn't like Spanish") but this is the only school in the district with his program, so no.

Then they moved on to trying to push the ADD again even though he's been assessed as not.

Dealing with these people is so very frustrating and demoralizing. I don't know if I can ever properly voice the frustration and hopelessness, or the anger, of being the only person in my son's life to believe in him and fight for him. It's extremely cumbersome (when the autism assessment came back as "not at all autistic" his mother immediately began questioning its accuracy and their qualifications).

Today his teacher sided with me (and transitively, him) in my assessment that he doesn't have these issues and needs more school programs. The speech therapist the autism people forced the school to have study him agreed that he doesn't have these issues.

I dubbed today "Hell Freezes Over Day" to my Canadian because my ex-wife sided with me about Rael and his needs, and that his issues are not medical, stood up to the erroneous ADD argument and pushed for them to finally do their fucking jobs (now if only someone could convince her to do the same Rael's life would be nigh perfect).

For the first time in more than two years (since these problems began at the instance of his mother and I splitting Christmas 2009) our son has an actual IEP in place, he has school-based speech therapy, he has individual and small-group academic assistance to get him back on track. And after more than two years he does have a lot of catching up to do.