| I have an almost seven year old and so far so good on the "picking on" thing. He's not visually impaired but deaf and goes to a reg. mainstream school. He wears a cochlear implant and can hear a good bit w/that. I go the first day of school and talk to the whole class about what it's like for him, confusion sometimes, too noisy when everyone is talking at once, etc. I explain that he needs extra help in the lunchroom and at p.e. when it's really noisey and he can't hear well. They all take turns each day being "Gage's Ears for the Day". They love this. The kids feel pride in helping him, they do the repeats for the teacher and give the one on one instructions when the teacher can't. It's like their job and they all want to be picked to hold this position. I also send a letter home w/the kids that first day w/a little story and background on him so they can help explain or answer any questions their kids may have. The kids really like him and just being upfront and not trying to hide it has worked for us. In the IEP meeting w/the school I go into details about what it's like for him. I sort of tug at their heart strings so they can get a real picture of what it's like for him. I'm very "well read" on the subject of my son's needs and I go in their expecting them to be met and they always have been. I know what I want and luckily they've been very kind to give no backlash as they are not very "well read" on the subject. He is the only deaf kid in that school. I've never had to bring up IDEA law as they know them well but this states that in a free and school, all children (no matter what disability) will have access to a full day of learning in each classroom. That's what I understood, so if you child isn't getting that full access, meaning is he getting preferred seating, the room needs to be less cluttered, less distracting (I would imagine), does he have large print books if needed....I could go on, I'll step off my soap box. ↑ |
