4 ms·

To play devil's advocate, why does the school system have to deal with your son? A teacher makes a very low salary and can barely handle an overloaded classroo

To play devil's advocate, why does the school system have to deal with your son? A teacher makes a very low salary and can barely handle an overloaded classroom the way it is. Handling a child with behavior issues is the last thing they need. Now considering that my son has "sensory issues" and my nephew is autistic, I'm in a position to make that argument. I have a problem with dumping my child on the state and saying "here you go, deal with him." I understand your frustration but to assign blame to the school is a bit over the top. Get your family doctor to make a referral to a children's behavioral specialist (a medical doctor trained in the field). Find out if there really is a problem. You may also benefit from some counseling. My wife works with children (early head start) and has had several with Asperger's and Autism disorders. The parent go through a grieving process and can be very hostile to suggestions that their child has a problem. It's been very difficult for us but with therapy (OT and PT) things have improved greatly. It's too bad my nephew's parents waited so long to get him help. He's finally speaking at age 4.

tptacek 18y ago
I fully agree with you. We took care of the handwriting on our own. This stuff came to a head in 1st grade; he's going into 4th and doing great. He is, among other things, more social than I was when I was his age. What I object to is the school's attempt to tag my son's record with a totally unscientific assessment of "autism" in order to make their system work better with my son. Is there real autism out there? Of course there is. But there is also a lot of bullshit autism.
- timr 18y ago
  I can relate. My parents have always taken great pleasure in telling my girlfriends how I was "diagnosed" as mentally retarded in the first grade (I already knew how to read at a 4th grade level, and they mistook my boredom for something else). But hey...someday you'll be able to take some pleasure from this. Whenever your son does something stupid as a teenager (and he will), you can just trot it out as evidence that "the teachers were right all along". Works like magic. ;-)

tptacek 18y ago

I fully agree with you. We took care of the handwriting on our own. This stuff came to a head in 1st grade; he's going into 4th and doing great. He is, among other things, more social than I was when I was his age. What I object to is the school's attempt to tag my son's record with a totally unscientific assessment of "autism" in order to make their system work better with my son. Is there real autism out there? Of course there is. But there is also a lot of bullshit autism.

timr 18y ago
I can relate. My parents have always taken great pleasure in telling my girlfriends how I was "diagnosed" as mentally retarded in the first grade (I already knew how to read at a 4th grade level, and they mistook my boredom for something else). But hey...someday you'll be able to take some pleasure from this. Whenever your son does something stupid as a teenager (and he will), you can just trot it out as evidence that "the teachers were right all along". Works like magic. ;-)