Friday, February 27, 2015

Only to be brought to tears again ....

The day of my last post, I picked Austin up from school.  He was not even out of the front lobby when he broke down and told me he saw "the boy" at school that very morning, in the office!  I could not believe my ears!  After the school had assured me this child was no longer a threat to my son and would be attending another program at another school, there he was!  What was happening?

I questioned Austin about what he knew or had heard at school.  (This was after almost an hour of crying by Austin.  It broke my heart!)  Austin told me he heard "the boy" would be attending daycare at the school. WHAT?!  Why?  Okay, so off I go to figure out what was happening.  I placed a call to the school Principal in hopes that I could get a confirmation if this child was in the school or not.  To be told one thing and then another to happen, well that was unsettling to say the least.  Poor Austin was beside himself with anxiety.

I received a call from the school and it was confirmed that the child would be attending daycare at the school and to be transported to another school for his program.  I was assured that he would not have contact with Austin.  Well, the two of them in the office at the same time, I consider contact.  So, I told Austin what the situation was and that he should not bring down attendance in the morning as to avoid "the boy".  Also, Austin does go to the PD daycare days occasionally when there is an outing or  a "mad science" themed day.  I told him that he will not be attending anymore days since "the boy" would be at the daycare.  Now, I do have sporadic daycare for Austin in case I have to work an afternoon, I guess those days will have to have the child isolated from Austin or I will have to get my in-laws to help take care of him.  I will not subject my son to this child as I know he will only go after Austin again.  That, is not acceptable.

All the best!  *HUGS*

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Directing the Delighted

There is a reason I have not been blogging for the last few months, we have been dealing with a very trying situation at school with Austin.  He has been bullied by another boy for months!  It was so tough to find out that once again, Austin was the target of bullying.  This child kicked Austin, more than once in the private area, so hard that he had pain and could not urinate without discomfort.  We treated his symptoms and he was fine but the thought of it happening was a nightmare!  This is how we found out he was a target of bullying ... again!  What does being "delighted" have to do with this post?  Continue to read on and you will see!

After Austin had been injured, I was upset, as was his Father, that he was being targetted pretty much everyday for months.  A push here, a punch there, a kick, a shove, name calling and knocking to the ground.  My mind raced for nights on end!  I could not sleep!  I was so concerned that Austin was being hurt and did not tell us what was going on; we found out why he did not tell us.  When I questioned him, and it took a lot of questioning before he told me why he did not confide in us, he just looked at me and said, "No witnesses, no proof."  Just like that.  I am not kidding when I say, my head almost blew off!  Where on earth would he hear something like that?  Then, in an instant, I knew.

This boy went after Austin so much that he was finally suspended for a few days.  Austin and all of us felt a sigh of relief that he could go to school and be happy for a while.  The day the boy returned, he got up in the middle of the class and went to the board and punched Austin as he did his work.  Again, the child was suspended, this time for a week.  When was this going to end?

Yesterday, I picked Austin up from school, he told me that he heard the boy had been "expelled".  Austin was content that the boy was no longer going to school and quiet frankly, I was very relieved that I did not have to worry about Austin being hit anymore.  He did not seem outlandishly happy but seemed pleased.

If the child was indeed expelled, I needed to confirm this with the school. (They have been very supportive of Austin during this situation and I am very grateful to them.)  I contacted them and found out that the child was not formally expelled but has moved to another program at another school.  I was also informed that Austin was very happy about this and had no bones about expressing this to the other children in his class.  This did not go over well and Austin was spoken to about it.  He did apologize and I did speak to him about it.  I told him that is not the way to react and it is not a dignified way to behave.  Austin struggles a lot with social issues and all he could think about was how delighted he was not to have to endure being the target of this child.  I can totally relate to how he feels but he has to learn that expressing certain things that way can hurt someone's feelings.  He knows that there is a certain expectation of being understanding, since we do not know the status of this other boy.  I am sure he has his own challenges he is trying to deal with and I know it will not be easy for him or his family.  I do feel for them since we have our own challenges to deal with everyday.  They may not be the same, but they are still challenges.

I am hopeful that the rest of the school year will be easier for Austin now that he does not have to be afraid to go to school everyday.  Honestly, it broke my heart to have my son so fearful, he did not want to go to school.  He LOVES school!  Today, I sit optimistic that the past few months will fade and his excitement to go to school will return!

All the best!  *HUGS*

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Vaccine Debate

I do not usually post about things like this, but lately, I just cannot take it!  I can barely go on Facebook with all these people posting about how vaccinations do not cause autism so everyone should vaccinate their children; "Vaccines do not cause autism!" they say.  I do not care to debate this myself but I am so tired of people who do not have a child with autism posting about vaccines and autism, not once but a dozen times!  Really?  I do not think anyone should tell anyone else what they should or should not do with their child.  If someone does not want a child who is not vaccinated around their children, take it up with the parents but do not push your beliefs on someone else.

A short rant but, whew, I feel a bit better!

All the best! *HUGS*