I am in similar situation although I had to give up work, To get the adequate therapist for my child need to move and like you say if you complain too much they could take it out on your child, have had to take my child away because of this very reason, sorry cant offer advice just sympathy as am in same situation

I just joined this group today after receiving yet another call from my 10 year old son's school that he had "accidentally" tipped his chair and injured his arm. For as long as we remember he's had an array of issues: outbursts of anger, bumping and falling into other children, acting out in school, trouble with transitions, with eating, with bowels, with clothes, all interspersed with periods where he is the most pleasant and engaging child you ever met. I suspect like many parents we've tried everythign over the years, every form of punishment and reward, to no avail. We strongly suspect he has SID. We've bought some books to educate ourselves and it's all very familar to us. While the school is less then enlightened on the disorder, they are willing to listen and cooperate. Fortunately we have access to a mental health service that has some expertise in this, and to OT if required. We are tired but hopeful.

This may not work for everyone but we had all the same problems, what worked for us is home educating,"homeschooling". It gives us the time we need to stop and address the problems before we continue with the classes. He is doing great, we have him tested throughout the year and he is scoring very well, 4 years ahead of his peers. I think we'll be able to put him back in school once we can take care of the rest of the issues he needs worked on. I have read tons of books also and used them as guides, I see improvement daily. We don't know that we will home educate through HS graduation but for now it's working.

Yes, we give up the $ of a second job but he's worth it.

It only takes an hour and a half to two hours daily. I did sit in his public school class and timed actual teaching time+ 2 hours total, the rest of the time is spent on lining up the kids, preparing for recess, lunch, leaving class, other activies,etc. They use up a lot of time since most teachers have 25-30 students to prepare, we only have one so it goes fast. Just a suggestion.

I have always been hesitant to homeschool. I'm afraid I'll screw something up or miss something. I have a teaching degree and have taught middle school English/social studies before leaving to have more flexibility for my daughter's sake. I guess it's a fear that I have to face sooner or later. I'm afraid I'll put too much pressure on her. I still struggle when she comes home with homework that requires lots of fine motor work to not push too hard. It is very frustrating for both of us. I have no problem working with other people's children, but fear homeschool my own. Go figure. What resources do you use for homeschooling (what books or curriculums)?

This is a busy time of year here, leaving to go on vacation and I've been preparing my "portable" class to take with me. When I do this it does take a little time since I use many different books, I don't follow just one curriculum since he is in different "grades" for different subjects. I feel that very few children are in one grade in every subject. They have subjects that they do well in and others they don't. I was at my wits end when I pulled him out of "school". The first thing I did was contact a homeschool group to know how I should pull him out and how to go about starting to home educate him, where to take him for testing,etc. I then had to find out where he was at in every subject without stressing him out. I googled curriculums, asked the other moms in the group, etc. Then I began slowly, the basics at first, RR&R, incorporated the other subjects, geography with reading and art, etc. I use the internet quite a bit, there are tons of programs and I found some that match his way of learning. The curriculums also needed to be matched with his way of learning, they all learn different and I think this was the biggest task, finding his match. We put in a couple of hours and the rest of the "school day" he works independently. Yes, 7 years old and he chooses which projects he works on whether it's a poster about the stages of a plant, or the weather, feelings,etc. What type of experiment he wants to do or what he wants to bake which will incorporate math for the recipe, hands on projects. He is huge on science so he puts a lot of time into his science, with it he writes, calculates, reads, he has actually learned to google for answers to put on his posters (construction paper). He make his own VENs and KWLs on subjects he loves. It's like anything else we teach them, we teach them how to put on their clothes and soon they do it on their own. I don't push, he knows when the "teaching" part of school is over it is HIS time to do his projects he chooses on the subject we have reviewed. Ex: He has desided he wants to go to the planitarium so he is reading up on space and making his KWL, Thursday we will go on a field trip to the planitarium and he will finish his KWL on Friday. Every homeschool mom does things their own way, this is what has worked for us. The key is start slow and let her lead you then you can guide her. If she likes art, use that to teach her other subjects. If she likes math, use that. If she like playing with clay, use that. I teach with science in mind, we write about science, do math, read,etc, I hope this helps. All kids are different so we teach every one different and it goes much easier.

Thanks for your thoughts...It is something I'm definitely considering. I know a friend of mine that homeschooled her 3 eldest children through elementary school (but gave it up when she had her two youngest because of the demands she had on her as a chiropractor). I will be checking with her as well. Again, Thank you.

I am sorry about your situation...I know how frustrating it can be with school districts. I am having so many issues with my son's school district. His is too high functioning for one class (we had him tested) but is overstimulated in the class he is in due to the large size/number of students. Unfortunately, their remedy is to just put him in the smaller size class (it is smaller than his preschool) which, to me, is going backwards in his development. The choice is a class of 20+ students or 3-4 students who are very impaired both academically and socially. I like the idea of home schooling but my son also needs OT...not sure how to handle that since insurance won't pay...

Kvici,

If the school district you're in has OT (which they are required to by law but I live in a small rural school that doesn't have it..anyway), they are required to provide you OT whether you homeschool or not. They obviously won't openly offer it, but they have to provide it by law assuming he needs it (which can be a whole new issue with getting the school to do a "real" eval and not just one that makes it look like everything is fine but you can get a private eval done at the school expense if they don't do a "real" eval). Best of luck to you and feel free to message me about evals...just finished going through that mess with our daughter.

Hey there maebeth. I know it's been some time since you posted this, but I had to take a chance. You may have even found a work-around to the school issue by now, but again, I have to throw this in there. We had issues w/ my son in 2nd grade missing school and I called his counselor to tell her that, I wouldn't have a doctor's note because he was missing school because he couldn't get his shoes and socks on. She is the one who told me to research SID. I couldn't BELIEVE what I was reading! My son's behavior --- was right there in black and white! It explained so much of what had been happening. I was called in to a meeting with the truancy board because of his absences, which weren't just because of his sensory issues, but we had been going to counseling once a week for ADHD (which was probably a mistake since I learned that many kids with SID are mistakenly dx with ADHD), but in any case, I'm getting away from my point. One day, God tapped me on the shoulder and had me research private schools. In particular, I was guided to a private Catholic school, and of course, referred to the standard "Step up for Education" website for tuition assistance. I didn't qualify either. I make over $40k and my husband doesn't work. I contacted the school and explained my issues with my son being bullied, my husband's health, my concern for my son's education, etc. I spoke directly with the principal. In the end, we were given a scholarship for my son, even though we didn't qualify financially. Take your case to the school, and speak to someone and come up with a figure you can live with -- for me, it was $50 a month, and I've agreed to a lot of volunteer hours to supplement our case as well. At least give it a try. As it turns out, my sons SID issues have escalated, and had we not been in this private school, we would probably be facing all kinds of issues in public school. Look for a Christian school, and see if you can make a personal appeal. You didn't mention a religious affiliation, and I grew up Catholic but was not practicing at the time this happened. We now attend Catholic church because of the benefits for my boy (we were non-denominational in the past). My son's treatment isn't covered by insurance either, and I know it's tough. But pray, pray, pray -- and then let God lead you. It worked for me.