A new year and a new beginning

Shortly after school started things began to spiral out of control. I didn't write about it because I didn't want to talk badly about people or situations so I sort of kept it close to home.

The outcome was that I pulled Superman from school on November 18, the day of his 10th birthday. It was supposed to be on a short term basis. A medical withdrawal with his return being this month. We had some issues with the chemistry between Superman and his teacher. They were triggering each other regularly and things were going downhill quite quickly. The idea was that Superman would be home and the teacher could receive more training and support and then we would try again in January.

I decided that since he was home, I would try homeschooling him to keep him on a good schedule and because he's always happiest when his brain is occupied. I talked to the school Admin and to the SERT and I was saying how homeschooling was NOT what I wanted to be doing long term. How Superman would be itching to go back after 2 days like he usually is.

I took him to his Dev Ped to talk about the situation and what we both saw was a little boy who was severely depressed and bordering on being suicidal. He had gone from loving his life to thinking that he would never have another good day again. From loving school, to saying it was scary and it made his energy high and people hated him. I came to find that there was quite a bit of restraining going on at times when it should not have been. To the schools defence, the Admin had no knowledge of it at all.

So I pulled him.

The outcome? He has never once asked to go back. That's not like the old Superman. He used to LOVE school. But he his thriving at home. He is soaking in everything that I throw at him.

I have so many mixed emotions about pulling him. First off, I couldn't speak more highly of his school Admin. I just adore them. They constantly went to bat for us and made it clear they would support us either way. I wanted to email them first and let them know my final decision before I wrote about it here. So I am formally withdrawing him and will make that official this weekend when I send my intent to homeschool letter to the principal.

Our board team was top notch. The most amazing group of women who are so incredibly in tune to the needs of children on the spectrum. What I will miss most is sitting around the table brainstorming. They were open, enthusiastic and creative. They really "got" who Superman was and, even with all of his complexities, they were willing to work through it and they rose to the challenge. They made sure that I knew that I was never alone in this.

So now begins the new chapter in our lives. Superman is happy and adjusted. We're working on a unit on the Human Body. I highly recommend the movie "The Body Machine" which aired on The Discovery Channel. It was made in Toronto and it's fascinating.

Every day we do English, Math, Science, Reading, Science, Life Skills and Social Skills. We try to get some Canadian History in there at least once a week. He is more than happy to do his work and I'm astounded at how much he's retaining. It's incredible. He's a child who gets very, very overstimulated in large groups of people/kids. The one to one time works well for him and then, when I do put him in social situations, he is more successful because he has the resources to work through all of the stimulation. When he was at school, everything he needed to deal with the stimuli was done by 10am and he would crash.

In other news, Ladybug has started school (Montessori) and is a full day. She started yesterday and she LOVES it!!! It's great that she has her own routine/world/friends outside of the needs of her brother. For all of her 3.5 years we have been able to do very little because we were constantly cancelling plans due to having to be on call for Superman's needs. We were glued to the phone just in case it rang. So now that she's on her own, she loves it. She didn't cry at all. It was wonderful to see her adjust so well but I have to say it was hard on me. In all the years I've been home with her, I've only had a total of 5 mos of full days with her and they were hit and miss depending on if I had to pick up Superman. I'm trying to let that go, but I feel like I missed out. It's hard.

So with all of that to catch up on, I leave you this. The morning after I had the meeting with the Board of Ed team, it was my first full day of homeschooling. I woke up, fed the kids breakfast, turned on the radio, and this is what was playing.

Ali Slaight - The Story Of Your Life

Do you ever stop and wonder where this road will take you
Whats around the corner
Will it make or break you
Is this your destination
Or is it the start of something new

What will you accomplish
Which way will the wind blow
For every door that closes find an open window
And everyone is watching as you write the story of your life

And you wont look back because it feels so right
And no matter what it will be alright
In the brightest day or the darkest night
You will find yourself in the story of your life

Will you do the choosing or be the lucky one that's chosen
Will you recognize the greatness in your smallest moments
And every step you're taking, you’ll write another chapter in the story of your life

And you wont look back cause it feels so right
And no matter what it will be alright
In the brightest day or the darkest night
You will find yourself in the story of your life
Everything you are and everything you do
Anything you want its right in front of you

And if i turn left or if i go right
No matter what, I'll be alright
Standing in the shadows of the spotlight
Here i find myself in the story of my life

And you wont look back cause it feels so right
And no matter what it will be alright
In the brightest day or the darkest night
You will find yourself in the story of your life