Summer 2013

I'm sure you can guess that Connor is enjoying himself this summer.  He's taking off this week for his annual summer trip to Texas with his mom and big sister.  We will all be going to Hawaii later this summer, too!!  All in all, a good time so far and very little stress for him.  He did just finish up with his periodic neurology appointment.  Dr Schub (see Tourette Syndrome Diagnosis ) has continued to be a source a good information about TS for our family.  He and Connor agreed to keep his clonidine amount at the same level as Connor believes it is helping him and has not had any adverse side effects.  Dr Schub also filled out an updated 504 Medical Form repeating the same "medical implications" which have been the basis for his existing 504 Accommodations.

Speaking of the 504 program, I did talk to our school district's 504 program administrator who works in the Counseling, Psychological, and Social Work Services department.  I expressed my gratitude for such a program, but let her know that we are meeting with Connor's Principal this summer to discuss his 7th grade year and the various levels of adherence to his accommodations by his teachers.  Most did a good job, but we had a few that (apparently) just did not feel this was something that they needed to help us with.  The 504 program administrator clearly stated that the 504 accommodations jointly agreed to are legally binding.  Basically, we simply want we want the Principal to know we are expecting 100% compliance for Connor's 8th grade year and if needed, we will explore other (possibly legal) actions to guarantee these accommodations are met.

On a less positive note, after significant discussion with Connor we have agreed to retake his math class next year.  This is the 9th grade class that he, along with a few other kids, were taking in 7th grade.  First, let me clearly say that he did not fail and that even if he did, we still could not be any prouder of him than we are.  In fact, he actually earned a 91 in the first semester (while he was on Homebound), but that fell quickly to a 76 for the second semester which yielded an 84 for the year.  Unfortunately, he was right at the border of the "meets" criteria on the Georgia EOCT (End Of Course Test).  Most important is that Connor (and Gretchen and I) agrees that he does not have as solid of a grasp on the subject matter that will be critical as he advances in his high school level math courses.

As you would guess, he took all this pretty hard.  He's had time to process it and calm down about it.  He's even hoping that his best friend and him will be in class together in the fall.  Since this is a HS-level course, the grade actually goes on his HS transcript.  We are still sorting out what this means now that he will be retaking the course.  The current hypothesis is that the grade he earns in 2013-2014 will replace the 84.  Again, the most important thing is for him to continue to build on his solid foundation in math.  As for his other classes, he finished up 7th grade with all A's except for his TAG Science which he obtained an 89 in.  This past school year has been VERY challenging for Connor, and we truly could not be any prouder of him.  At this point, our focus is on helping him be as successful at school as possible so his HS years can be positive and he can approach college with all the confidence he used to have.

That massive change in self-confidence is probably the biggest loss he had during this whole Homebound experience.  As I described in Executive Cognitive Function, this year has also seen Connor struggling with "just keeping it all together and general organization and memory skills".  We did a lot of research about psycho-educational testing and even found out from the 504 program administrator that the district offers these services.  Their focus is primarily on seeing what shortcomings, if any, are preventing students from being successful at their current grade level.  Connor's struggle with this advanced class is not of concern to them.  In fact, based on his grades and EOCT they do not feel like he should retake the class.  We, on the other hand, are looking at helping Connor meet (or exceed) the challenges at school as well as in the rest of his life and feel strongly we need to engage a doctor directly (and independently) for best "whole life" results.

We believe we have found the right doctor and the right type of evaluation.  Based on a strong recommendation we have decided to have Dr Steven Berger conduct a neuropsychological assessment.  Click here for a write-up on the differences between psycho-educational and neuropsychological evaluations.  Our desire is to obtain a medical professional's analysis of any challenges Connor is facing and get advice & guidance on how we can best help him.  The information we expect to gain from this two day evaluation may also be helpful with his current 504 and possibly drive changes to his accommodations.  This is all new territory for us and it is quite expensive, so we would surely be grateful to others who have perspectives and experiences they would be willing to share with us.

Fortunately for Connor, this will only take up a couple of his days from his summer break.  Yes... he will CONTINUE to have PLENTY of time to play video games!!