and I do actually know what I am talking about?

Just back from the professionals meeting at the school, a more productive meetings than there has ever been in all the meeting I have had with this school. Lets hope MLA teacher follows things through.

First of all the most enlightening piece of information passed to his teacher was by the Educational Psychologist ‘You need to be more flexible in gaining his attention and approach things from a different angle if he doesn’t seem to understand’

Hallelujah!

Have I not been saying this?

She then elaborated on this further.  MLA teacher was very ‘relutant’ to embrace any of her suggestion and eventually was told things like ‘it’s only a piece of paper, it’s not that difficult’

His writing ability was brought up, his teacher tried to show how good he can be and tried imply he was just being naughty.  I pointed in a previous school he had use of a computer for 90% of the time and use of a scribe.  We then got the excuses of but you can’t do maths on a computer, once again I pointed I don’t think anyone was suggesting that….silence as she was once again beaten.  Anyway she is do a mixture of computer, scribe and MLA in writing exercises….I hope!

We then got onto the subject of forest schools and how I am to attend a small part of it with MLA.  Once again his teacher started to say about him walking down to the forest was a ‘Health and Safety’ issue, but she made a fundamental mistake when I fired back immediately

‘What part?’

‘The walk back’ she replied and explained why.

‘Then why can he not do the walk to the forest if that is not the area of problem’ I fired back……bingo got her!  The other professions immediately asked why can’t he?  The up shot is I will meet MLA at the forest when they light the fire then take him back to school, thus removing all the Health and Safety issues his teacher was using as an excuse to stop him from going.  Mind you I did also throw into the mix that he walks to the village hall across the main road and leaflet dropped with her last week.  That did not go down well, but too bad be fair to the boy!

The question was then asked about whether MLA out bursts were bad behaviour or his problems.  The speech and language therapist was a real star on this and stopped the game immediately by saying;

‘Well that’s difficult as they are one and the same. One feeds the other.  So it’s not good behaviour but it’s is also not deliberate bad behaviour’.

But the classic was when the suggestion of pictures to help MLA do daily tasks was suggested. His teacher was very reluctant, and I do mean VERY!

She came up with every excuse possible, we don’t change in the school so I couldn’t have a board to show him, I don’t supervise him get undressed so I can’t possibly tell you the way he gets undressed.  I am afraid at this stage I had to say rather tersely

‘well you preempt this and tell him how to get undressed’

and

‘you don’t need to stand over him with the pictures you just put them in front of him and he follows them’

MLA teacher then said ‘ok. But they don’t get changed in the school they do it in the hall so I would not have the pictures’

Immediately his speech and language therapist came back with,

‘it’s only a piece of paper. It’s not difficult or heavy’

she then said ‘you need to tell me roughly the routine’

MLA teacher said again ‘but I don’t supervise them when they get undressed so I don’t know how MLA gets undressed’

The terse reply from the speech and language was ‘I don’t need the finer details just the gist of hte event so I can sort out pictures and put them on a laminated tick chart from him’

MLA teacher was not pleased, she huffed and puffed but her line manager agreed so she has little choice.

It is clear MLA teacher doesn’t want him in the school and is just making excuses for her lack of either ability or lack of caring.  She showed her true colours and it would seem that this dumb parent has been right all the way along.

It has also been decided that MLA behaviour jotter that has been set up for MLA is to be used by adults and it is not fair to make him sign it and that should it be some thing that I should see and deal with MLA at home or speak to the school if I can not resolve it or need more information.

As for the religion thing, the Ed Phsyc said there are areas that are negotiable and areas that aren’t and this negotiable!

MLA teacher also made another big mistake when she gruffly said she had been told by MLA that I had said something, which was clearly incorrectly and only happened recently.  I immediately corrected her and told her EXACTLY what I had said, and had already spoken to the school about a few hours before hand. I pointed out very clearly that her version is down to communication again and incorrect.  She also tried to say ‘we can’t tell you about every thing that goes on’ and she was immediately told ‘I don’t think MLA mum is saying that’

So this dumb a****d parent ain’t so dumb after all and does actually know what she is talking about on the whole and it is his teacher who is being inflexible and needs to adapt her teachings to MLA, something that is not a major job just change the way things are said..turn round and face should be replace with turn and face me then he won’t stand up, get off his chair and turn and face her!

It ain’t rocket science, it’s common sense!