Mira thinks she is being punished. When we talked about having a different teacher and being in a different classroom she sadly turned her eyes to me and said

“Mama, it’s all my fault. I learned too quickly” and she later followed up this assessment with “Mama, I won’t learn to read if I can go back to Mrs G’s class. Please Mama? I promise I won’t read” **insert anguishing sound of a mother’s heart breaking**

I’m sure her newly assigned teacher thinks I hate her. I did nothing to dispel that thought at open house yesterday. I frankly shared what Mira had told me and the fact that we were looking into moving her to a program closer to home.

I spent much of yesterday on the phone and what I learned was not encouraging. First off, several people who work in the school system to run the various ASD programs could do nothing for me, even though they sounded truly troubled by what went down at her school. There is a notable shift in volume, timing of response, and sincerity in one’s voice when they switch from speaking in school board rhetoric to honestly responding to your problem.

Secondly, I discovered that the principal at Mira’s school loves to “shake things up” in some way every year and see where the chips fall. If all my phone calling got me nowhere on fixing things for Mira, I hope it at LEAST landed her principal with a sharp reprimand and a warning. You don’t unexpectedly “shake things up” just for the hell of it with ASD kids - you just don’t.

Third, there is not much I can do but send her to school for now. I can’t keep her home without risking being arrested for my child’s truancy from school. It’s up to the principal whether or not absences are excused and do you think that she’ll even consider excusing them if I’m stirring up trouble for her? HA! I can’t risk jail time. Boden has to eat, ya know?

The reason I have no option but to start her back at her old school is because the autism programs saw unprecedented enrollment this summer and there is a 10 day freeze in place with the county. The two schools closer to me (which I found out also have girls enrolled in their programs- Mira’s never met another ASD girl) are at capacity. After 10 days of classes they do a head count of all the kids who have shown up and depending on the numbers, shuffle kids around and hire new staff. I can put in for a change of enrollment but it will be immediately turned down due to this freeze. Now had this change in placement been handled properly, I would have applied to have her transferred at the end of last year when there still were openings but since I am applying NOW, I am screwed. You see how this works? You see how many parents would just give this up and the principal gets her way and keeps all her special funding? Dirty, underhanded and NOT in the best interest of these kids.

So what is a mother to do?

I’m going to send my daughter to school and encourage her every day to make it the best day she can

I’m going to write a letter to her new teacher asking that they use visits to her old teacher as a reward for good behavior and well done school work. I’m hoping this will reverse her feeling that learning has been a bad thing.

I’m going to visit the 2 programs closer to our home and see if they are a better fit

At the end of 10 days I am going to evaluate her situation. If she is having anxiety over everything still, I’m going to put in for a transfer to one for the closer schools, which by that time should have spaces and no longer have an enrollment freeze.

I’m going to make damn well sure that continuity in her educational staff becomes an integral part of her IEP so this doesn’t happen every year. I’m planning on having her reevaluated in summer of 2009 to see what changes have occurred from a clinical point of view and will make sure that this is written into their report so the county can not ignore my request.

Thank you for all your encouragement and support. I hope we can weather this storm.