Special Education Plans

My beautiful, intelligent, loving little boy is now "resource room" for reading.  It's what I wanted, what I fought for, because he is struggling so much with second-grade decoding  and spelling. 

And yet I am so sad.  I think back two years ago, when he was starting kindergarten.  He was so excited to go to school and get his own homework-- he wanted to read so badly!  He was so sure he was going to be the best reader in the whole class, and he worked on it so hard...

And now two years later, he's the worst reader in the class.  He hates school and thinks he has no friends (not true, by the way).  He wants so badly to be in that high reading group, and it looks llike that it will never happen for him now...

We live in a great school district with wonderful experienced teachers who really do everything they can to make all kids feel successful in school.  Yet here's my son, already knowing that somehow he's not measuring up.  It breaks your heart, it really does...

Chin up, it will get better!  The more positive you are the better your child will feel.

I know how  you feel.  We have two children.  One has Aspbergers (high functioning Autism), is a Senior in high school, has a 3.6 GPA, drives, is in a Sports League, and is looking forward to going to college. 

Our other one was diagnosed with a learning disability in third grade.  She is now in 11th grade, is in all Advanced Placement and Honor's classes, and has a 4.48 GPA.  She used to go to the "resource room" because she could not count!

We were positive and worked with our kids, their teachers, and everyone around them to ensure their success!

The more involved you are in your child's education the better it is for them and for you!

Best of luck!

((((HUGS))))

I know how you feel.  My son is 3rd grade but when he started school in Kindy he had the same attitude as your son.  And he so badly wanted homework like a big kid.  And slowly but surely some reading issues started showing up and then in Sept. of this year I had him tested and he was diagnosed w/ Dyslexia.  Honestly it was a great day to finally know what was going on.  I am sure he would love to be in the regular class but now that he is getting the help he needs in his reading even though he is in Special Ed. he is finally starting to feel good about himself.  Because he is accomplishing things and is not just 'failing' he feels good b/c he is moving forward. 

Your son being in resource will help him too in that way.  He will finally start to feel like he is being successful then he will move forward.  They have to feel good about themselves first. 

It will get better.....

I really do understand your pain. It's so hard when they want to do so well and for whatever reason, there is another plan. I have 3 kids. My oldest is getting straight As in her academic classes (B in PE). She is 2 school years ahead in math. And yet, my younger daughter is in special ed with a serious learning disability. It's so frustrating. The difference I see between the 2 is that the younger one with LDs works SO hard every single day. My older one works hard too, but school comes easy to her. She gets anxiety attacks when she has to run for PE that day. She's not used to having to work that hard at anything. Then there's my son. I thought he was going to be a breeze because who could be delt 2 kids with academic problems? Last year in 1st grade, he barely passed end of the year standards. This year, he slipped and did not meet second grade standards for reading at the beginning of the year. His teacher is a very good teacher and she said not to worry. He's got it all in there. He just needs to get it out of his mouth and he'll be fine. In math he is a lightening rod like my oldest. They're all awesome kids, don't get me wrong. But they're all so different.

If your son has ambitions then he will reach his goals. It might take him a little longer and he might have to work that much harder, but I'm sure with your help, he can rise to the occasion. The resource room is a place to get them the help they need. I spend a lot of time at school and thank God every day for our resource room. My daughter in in 5th grade and reading at a 3rd grade level. Without the resource room, her determination to read chapter books and me as a supportive mom, who knows where she would be now. When she entered kindergarten she couldn't speak sentences longer than about 3-4 words. Now her sentences are 16 words long (sometimes) and she's reading chapter books!!! It's amazing, but it's been a long tough road. It does happen, though.

Hard work and determination will help a lot. Hang in there and cry when he's not looking or listening. It helps. It's ok to be sad. But then wash your face and keep working hard.

Kathryn