Introducing......"Issues"!

My sweet angel heads to the third grade in the fall.

She is headed to public school for the first time since adoption.

When she was in foster care she lived in a very rural area. She was over medicated, and under stimulated. She was placed in a life skills class and diagnosed as moderately mentally retarded. This was seriously a disservice to her. My greatest fear is that this will happen to her again. That the school will fail her because she doesn't fit the desired "mold".

The state of Texas is facing unprecedented cuts in education funding. Classroom size can reasonably up to 30 kids per class.
Its a scary time be entering the public education arena. Alas, private schooling is no longer financially feasible. Its near impossible to be a teacher and home school as a single parent. So it is the choice we make. It also provides the opportunity to regroup financially so that when she enters middle school in three years, we will have more varied options again.

So as we take on this journey part of my responsibility is to prepare her, and part is to prepare the school.
Its a delicate thing. I neither want to overwhelm them and make them shut down NOR want to leave them unprepared for when she breaks down.

So I have taken a cue from fellow blogger Diana at www.goldtorefine.blogspot.com

She made a school presentation template to introduce the world of trauma to unsuspecting school officials in a way that inspired compassion, clarity AND confidence.

She will sell it to you, or you can be inspired by her plan to create your own.

I have been working on my book and how I want to present it. Because this is our first foray into the public school system, I don't have a strong foundational relationship with the school. The principal and I have exchanged emails over the summer and he very kindly called me shortly after my first email and we talked for about an hour.

Here's my general outline:
1. Intro- meet us, pre-adoptive history

2. PTSD- triggers, and management

3. RAD- anxiety and control issues, avoiding power struggles

4.Academic issues- spatial reasoning and math deductive reasoning concerns

5. Summary- growth and support

A lot of information. But vital information for both the teacher and my girl to feel successful.

The teacher MUST be compassionate, yet consistently strong and safe.

My sweet girl MUST learn to express fear and frustration through words instead of aggression.

I MUST NOT PANIC! ;)

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