It’s been almost 12 hours and still no progress

It’s currently pushing 5:30 PM, and Emmett still won’t tolerate a shirt. We’ve tried a few times throughout the day, but haven’t made any progress. I’m thinking it’s best not to push him at this point because we want him to be able to wear one tomorrow morning. 

I spoke with the principal this afternoon, as a result of him reading a comment from the previous post. The comment stated the Emmett missed 42 days of school, and did so in a way that made it seem like the person commenting was a staff member at the school. 

I told him that I wasn’t upset, if indeed it was a staff member, but I was curious if the number was right or not. He was really upset because it seems like one of his staff had left the comment. This prompted him to make a general announcement, reminding the staff about the seriousness of hippy laws. It turned out not to be a staff member and he was relieved to know that. 

He did say that Emmett’s not missed nearly that many days because if he had, truancy would currently be a problem. 

He didn’t have the exact number in him but I can get that later. By my count, we’re somewhere in the mid to high twenties. That’s certainly not good, but that also includes excused absences as well. That’s simply the total days missed. 

I honestly don’t keep track because I don’t want that to influence how we handle Emmett during a fever cycle or on the days like today, when he can’t handle being in his own skin. 

Anyway, I’m going to try and keep things as low key tonight as possible and do whatever I can to ensure he gets a good night’s sleep. 

I want him to have a fighting chance at making it to school in the morning. 

Rob Gorski

Full time, work from home single Dad to my 3 amazing boys. Oh...and creator fo this blog. :-)
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Mindfulmon

Sorry just a quick note…I think you mean FERPA not HIPAA. There is no reason school attendance records would be covered under HIPAA. If the principal thinks they are covered under HIPAA he might want to review legal policy and records.

Also I know it can be hard with the attendamce. Emmett is in 3rd grade correct? Why would you say he could be accelerated a grade or more? Has he been tested for that? Is he currently working and reading and writing at a 4th and or 5th grade level?

Or is this compared to the children in his class? No of these is meant to be offensive just curious..

Mindfulmon

Does the school provide him with instruction at these levels? I have a similar situation with a 3rd grader whose at varying levels of academics mostly several grades above. He is also not neurotypical and for that reason he stays with his class grade wise. He is a late fall birthday so young for the grade as is. With this being said he is provided instruction by the school at the grades for which he is capable, it is considered a disservice if they don’t.
Having to do work that is not challenging can add to their stress levels. How is his reading what kind of books does he read?

Mindfulmon

Does the school provide him with instruction at these levels? I have a similar situation with a 3rd grader whose at varying levels of academics mostly several grades above. He is also not neurotypical and for that reason he stays with his class grade wise. He is a late fall birthday so young for the grade as is. With this being said he is provided instruction by the school at the grades for which he is capable, it is considered a disservice if they don’t.
Having to do work that is not challenging can add to their stress levels. How is his reading what kind of books does he read?

Rob Gorski

Yes and no. They don’t really hold him back and support his moving forward at his own pace. Elliott is the same way. They have to continually challenge him. Not bumping him ahead isn’t considered a disservice because emotionally, he’s not there and it would likely present problems.

Last year, he was in 2nd grade but in the 3rd grade classroom, because he had hit the 2nd grade ceiling in 1st grade.

Again, academically he could probably handle jumping ahead but emotionally, I would be concerned about his wellbeing.

Mindfulmon

Sorry just a quick note…I think you mean FERPA not HIPAA. There is no reason school attendance records would be covered under HIPAA. If the principal thinks they are covered under HIPAA he might want to review legal policy and records.

Also I know it can be hard with the attendamce. Emmett is in 3rd grade correct? Why would you say he could be accelerated a grade or more? Has he been tested for that? Is he currently working and reading and writing at a 4th and or 5th grade level?

Or is this compared to the children in his class? No of these is meant to be offensive just curious..

Rob Gorski

I’m not sure of the difference between HIPPA and FERPA. Perhaps it varies by state? As far as Emmett is concerned, academically he is far ahead of his class. State testing has him perform at higher grade levels in multiple areas. The problem would be that emotionally, he would struggle. Is this because of the environment that he’s in? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Emmett excels in most areas of his life. It’s pretty obvious in just talking to him that he’s got lots of extra gears turning in his noggin. Aside from school or state testing, I don’t think we’ve had any outside testing done in recent history. The testing I mentioned above, typically has him in the accelerated range. I know in math testing he worked way past the 3rd-grade level and was into 9th-grade math before time ran out. Academically, there aren’t any concerns that I’ve ever been aware of. Emotionally though, that’s a different story.