Well well well. Elijah hit another teacher today and received his second behavioral write-up. His second one in two days. I received a call from the principal and as soon as I heard his voice my stomach dropped to the floor. He was VERY kind. He told me up front that when he had heard Elijah was having difficulties, he was shocked. He remembered his smiley, happy face from last year and couldn't envision THAT sweet boy hitting teachers. :(
If he gets written up again, he will receive an in-school suspension and will have to sit in isolation in the principal's office. Ugh. This is tough to swallow as his mama and knowing what a sweet little soul he is. But we stand behind the principal's consequences. We of course have been following through with punishments/consequences at home because hitting and yelling at teachers is NOT acceptable. However. I feel some serious sadness for our boy right now. This is A LOT for him. He's trying so hard. He really is. From what I hear, his last two mornings at school have been great. In the afternoon, he falls apart. He cannot control his emotions and actions once the exhaustion settles in.
As I was helping Elijah with his homework tonight, I was thinking about all that is expected of him. Today he spent 7+ hours on the bus/at school. He came home and went directly to OT/PT. He came home from that and ate dinner and did homework immediately after that. Homework was TOUGH. He had a difficult time focusing and doing a good job with his work. Then it was literally straight to bed. Sorry, but I DON'T BLAME HIM. That is a lot for any kid, but it's A LOT for Elijah. So what do we do? Cut back on his hours at school? Ditch OT/PT? Put him to bed at 5:30? Tough it out? We honestly don't know what's best at this point. We're taking it day by day. We appreciate prayers! Thank you!
4 comments:
Is he in first grade? What is the Kindergarten schedule? Maybe hold him back a year.... Repeat half day or every other day kindergarten and give him a chance to "regroup" "catch up" "take it easy" - I don't know what to call it. But maybe this is too much for him. And he needs to knock it down a notch.
Hi Megan,
Can Elijah recieve PT/OT in school? I would definitely ditch PT/OT after school and see if he can recieve those services in school. If that does not work, then cut his hours back at school. Bless his heart! I feel so sad for him, too!
Maggie
I would try taking a 4-6 week break from private pt/OT and see if his behavior improves. If its exhaustion that is causing this - that would definitely help and a 4-6 week break would give you enough time to see if a reduction in schedule is helpful and not have regression in skills learned at therapy.
Love you friend. I can't say that enough to you right now.
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