A slap in the face....

    I don't like being slapped in the face. Physically or metaphorically. Yet, this is life and let's face it, it happens to ALL of us. Today my slap in the face was delivered through the phone.

    If you follow me, you know how I am about the phone. I don't answer. I don't call out on it. When it rings I become anxious. Why you ask? Because the older I get the MORE socially awkward I become. I get so anxious when I'm on the phone. I don't know when I should speak. I'm afraid of cutting someone off. I run out of things to talk about. Or the most annoying, my fibro fog takes over my brain and I forget what I was saying altogether! I digress.

    The phone rang today. I let it go to the machine (yes, we still have a machine. I refuse to pay for voicemail that I also hate to check) and heard it was Liam's cyber school psychologist. I was expecting this phone call, so that really helped. I answered and we began chatting.

   Side Note: I have been home schooling Liam since kindy. (Those that have followed our journey know that he only attended 4 days of kindy at which time we had to pull him due to a total autistic regression. He was officially diagnosed right after that.)

    She was returning my phone call because we have been playing email tag for a month or more. Liam has been reversing letters and numbers from the time he was a toddler and learning to write. They told me it was nothing to worry about. It would correct with age and was normal. However, our life isn't "normal," so of course, it has only gotten worse. Not only does he invert his numbers, write them backwards, and write his letters backwards, but when he writes, he starts at the BOTTOM and works UP. I correct him. He gets upset. "This is how I have to do it mommy!" Thus the reason for contacting the school.

   Moving on, the metaphorical slap is coming. So the psych and I talked about the pics I have sent her of his writing. She said there was no real "test" for dysgraphia and dyscalculia, only dyslexia. Then she went on to say, that judging by his reading comprehension scores, and by the writing samples, they believe him to have a reading/writing learning disability.

                                       There's that slap!

    I don't care who you are. If you tell me that hearing those words spoken about your child ISN'T, a slap in the face, then you're full of shit! I KNOW he has problems. I am with him 24/7. But HEARING it from another person, or SEEING it on an IEP is a whole other story.

     This child excels in math. To the point that it amazes me. His vocabulary and verbal context is amazing. (as long as it's a good day. on bad days, not so much)  He can also read great. Just don't expect him to be able to tell you WHAT he read. He can't. He just can't.

    So even though I knew this. Even though I expected to hear something along these lines, it still hurt. It seems like every damn time we turn around, someone is adding another label to him. I sit and wonder, how much one little boy can over come. How much until he breaks? How long until I can't teach him any more? What if I HAVE To send him back to brick and mortar school?

   Anyway,  he is now being re-evaluated by an OT and will be receiving services from a NEW OT. The one he has been working with assures me, "his writing looks fine to me." Yeah, okay lady. It looks great. Check it out!

NOTE: I'm NOT posting this to humiliate or demean my son. I am posting this because she is an Occupational Therapist and yet she sees NOTHING wrong with his writing. This is just a taste of it. Some are so much worse, but for his sake, I will not post them.

















   Oh and they are going to get him a talk to text program for the computer. Also, they are adding hours of OT for him too. This is great. Not as far as money goes because we all know that gas prices are ridiculous. We live in a rural community and travel 30 minutes one way to receive services. But he needs these services and like always, we will find a way. Our job is to make sure he gets what he needs to help him be a successful adult. And we will never give up that fight. Hurtful labels or not. <3