Bantam17 Gets Ready for School

Today Blondechick15 and I go in to the new school to get her schedule done and to have a tour. In the meantime, here's the latest on Bantam17!

After a long wait from his old school for his now-expired IEP, we finally got the phone call last week to come in and do his schedule. With a block schedule, he'll be taking a slow-paced Algebra class all year, and for the first quarter, World Literature & Composition, Art & Design, and a study hall which will become a Creative Writing class in the second quarter. Third quarter he'll have Spanish 102 (we did Rosetta Stone Spanish last year), Matter and Energy, and a study hall which will become a U.S Government & Politics class in the fourth quarter. We're all excited about the Creative Writing class for him--he thinks he would like to be an author.

He missed his three-year re-evaluation due to being homeschooled last year, so they're going to administer all those tests, including an IQ test. That was good news to me, because the psychologist who re-evaluated his diagnosis last year had suggested that an IQ test would be helpful, especially as we look at career placement for him.

Though the high school he'll be attending is such a large place, I feel like the special education department is a smaller school-within-a-school, with more oversight and continuity than our old high school. He's been assigned a case manager for the whole year--not one I've met, but one that they thought would be a good fit for B17 and his interests--and I hope that he will make sure B17 is getting the help he needs, but doesn't always ask for.

We've been spending the last few weeks of summer meeting new dentists, doctors and specialists--getting appointments in now, because it will be much harder after school is in session. Bantam17 saw an ear, nose and throat doctor last week, because he was complaining about his hearing. (Actually, his siblings were complaining more: "Mom, take [B17] to the doctor! He can't hear anything!") He's had issues with wax and fluid accumulation before, and had to have tubes a few years ago.

Sure enough, a hearing test shows a 20% hearing loss, consistent with fluid behind the eardrums. ("Well, Mrs. Hen, your son does have a significant hearing loss," the ENT doctor said. "Yes, Doctor, we thought so," I replied with a chuckle.)

Last time, it cleared up with nasal decongestants, so we're going that route first, but a prayer request is that he'll be hearing well by next Tuesday when school starts.

Another prayer request is that he'll make a friend or two at school--that he'll have someone to eat lunch with. A Christian friend would be ideal...but I'd be happy if he just had someone safe and nice to sit with!

On Friday we have an appointment to remove a skin tag from his neck, and we're going to buy him new shoes after that. Other than that, he's all ready to go back to school! Although "resigned" is probably a better word. (A friend or two would help, Lord....)

Now I'm off with Blondechick...and the uneasy feeling that I must find some time to think about my upcoming year of homeschooling with my 7th, 4th and 1st graders! More on that in another post.