I am Gwen Smitter and this is my son, Eryk Smitter. I went to school here in Evart. When Eryk was in first grade, I started really considering the posibility that my son was autistic. I also believe I am as well, and it was not well enough understood to be recognized when I was in school, but we can NOW so I called for a meeting and asked the school for a formal evaluation. My son was doing things like moving desks around the class room and running around, being a disturbance for everyone else. I felt guilty, but there were steps I had to take. Upon evaluartion, it was found that Eryk indeed fell on the Spectrum. I took Eryk to BRAINS in Grand Rapids and had him tested again as well, and again Eryk fell on the Spectrum. He also shows ADHD, ODD, and an inability to focus on JUST ONE thing. As time progressed, I constantly was being called from work to come pick him up from the school. He was being sent to RTC at astounding rates. We tried placing Eryk in the AI room in Reed City, but he was too high functioning for that class, and it was hurting him more than helping him. We placed him back in Evart and I went to CMH broken hearted when his behaviors were getting worse and I was running out of I deas on what I could do. One time he even ran out in front of a bus in a melt down and they said due to liabilities they could not stop him. I was Furious, He could have been KILLED! He saw a therapist, but in Osceola county we have only one and at the time she was only available on Thursdays, and I worked 8am to 8pm most every day in a AFC home, that made it hard for me to make meetings and such. I started having IEPs with the school, and tried all kinds of solutions, but their only solutions were medication. I tried Strattera, but Eryk complianed his belly hurt and it made his vision fuzzy. I stopped it, and had to wait, 6 MONTHS, to see the therapist again. Yes one therapist only available four times a month means its a LONG LONG wait for unexpected changes. The school had another meeting with me and I brought Amy Fredrick, a peer support specialist from CMH, to this meeting with me. I always felt like I was at a table of vultures, and I always felt it was my fault solutions could not be made. However SIX faculty that never even had my son in their class sat around that table and told me that not having him on that medication was holding him back. How heartbreaking! Eventually they had sent him home so many times, I just didnt want to do it any more, and I pulled him out of school for a couple of months while I tried to find alternatives. After all the sending home they were doing, they claimed Eryk was passing all of his classes! How could he be getting passing grades if he was never in class? I realized they were pushing him out to not have to deal with it any more. Eventually I sent him back, and grit my teeth and bared it. I went to Parent Teacher Student meeting day a couple of weeks before school started and met Eryks teacher, and tried to warn her of Eryks behaviors, which include getting into and taking things that are not his. She stopped me and said she was sure it could be delt with it was no big deal. Well one day I came home from work and there were like 16 little hand sanitizers laying on my bed! I took these back to the school and had a meeting with the principal, and determinded that he should be checked every day before going home. I asked her to be firm about this, I am not ok with taking things that dont belong to you. She says just dont do it again.. The next week I get a call at work that He took a cell phone, The sitter tells me out of the supply closet where there are scissors and glue! After I tried to say something, Why was there not a lock on that closet! The teacher wanted to call police, I told them to do so. I could prove it was a part of his disorder. The principal then asked me what conditions, to name one if I could, that have an issue with taking things defined as a part of the problem. I calmly said Cleptomania. I then asked her how she could possibly keep my son, and the other children safe from his behaviors if he has access to things that I specifically warned to lock up? She said the teacher would watch him all the time, never take her eyes off him, and I said What about the other 24 students in that class? She kind of hesitated, but still claimed he would be supervised at all times. HOW? That is a distraction to 24 other children that deserve to learn to. I took Eryk out of Evart School, and placed him in virtual school thru Michigan Connections Academy. Its great for teaching, so much more patience is shown for Eryk in his school now. But he misses his friends, and wants to go back to school. If we could hire Aids that are able to deal with the extra handfulls in class it would give more supervision, and one on one time with kids like my son. I would love to see Parents and Teachers work together to devise a volunteer plan for parents that pass the background screen to volunteer time to be class room aids, and hall monitors for the kids that try to meander off. I think there are many things we can do to fill the gap for help in the school, if we can get a diplomatic and rational purposal written up, the school may just be able to join in this effort. I also feel that The training for special needs is weak in the system, but I believe the parents themselves can assist in this. We know our children best and what stratigies work, and we all know things someone else does not. We can Train each other teacher, and parent alike, in new ways to cope with behavioral children. Mine is not the only one that attended and many still do. The number of kids with special needs is greater than it ever has been before, and segregating them is not an answer any more, because the facilities were never meant for so many children. We have to make our classrooms more flexible, or set up a better special needs program. I feel We can make that happen, just parents, with out having to cost the school money it does not have.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 02:19:21 +0000
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