I've been feeling tired and overwhelmed lately, but mostly tired. There are all sorts of stresses lately, which I'll keep to myself. No doubt, these aren't helping the situation. Still, my son's ADHD and LD needs wipe out any energy reserves I may have. I probably spend 20 hours a week reading, writing, responding to emails; helping and following up on assignments: homework and classwork; and generally ensuring that my son stays on task. It's hard enough keeping up with my own tasks; keeping up with his is more than I can bear, anymore. Rather, it's the follow-through for those tasks that causes the most difficulty.
I got two emails home today. One was in follow-up to a concern I had. The other was a teachers' concern. Taking the second first, my son has apparently been engaging in self-stimulation behavior that not only prevents him from doing his schoolwork but also is affecting his classmates. The teachers want me to address this with him. I sent an email to his Occupational Therapist. Really, I am not in the classroom. Just what exactly do they expect me to do to deal with this neurologically based need?! It makes me want to scream. The teachers clearly are not qualified nor have the training to deal with ADHD in the classroom.
The first email asked me why I spent 30 minutes looking for answers in the textbook that the teacher had given me in an email. I hardly even know how to respond to that one. ... Hmm, because I wanted him to understand how to find the information and read it for himself rather than just giving it to him. ... I guess that such an idea is novel to these teachers. I don't get it.
How in the world can I educate my son's teachers about ADHD when they (1) don't want to learn about it, (2) take offense when told about it from me, a "non-expert", and (3) refuse to take the actions shown to be helpful, in the first place. No win, and the mom's to blame.
I wonder, what do I do? Do I let him fail? What are my recourses when the actions taken in the school are so minimalist?
I no longer know how to help him. Waiting on a psych referral so we can adjust his meds and get him into so behavior training, which will be another drain on my time, energy, and pocketbook.
