Friday, August 31
This has been a long week... good, but a bit emotionally draining. Griff's begun his gifted classes this week, and his gifted teacher has noticed some things that point to a developmental disorder. It's a physical disorder with fine motor skills called dysplacia, and as we've done some research on it this week, we've been astounded at how closely the descriptions of it fit Griff... and Mike as a child. One website we read noted that it was often a hereditary disorder, so the similarities to Mike are important.
A lot of things that we just chalked up to 'just Griff' are actually related to the dysplacia.... his really horrible writing, how long it takes him to complete assignments, him not being able to ride a bike or tie his shoes (still, at 9!), the walking on his toes (Mike still does that.). All of those things fit in with the dysplacia.
His gifted teacher is a God-send, as she picked up on this and was able to identify it within a couple of days. She's been appalled that no one had noticed and identified his problems previously. She's also being an advocate for him in the school system... she met with Mike, the guidance counselor and Griff's regular teacher today to outline a basic plan.
Unfortunately, the county occupational therapist doesn't want to evaluate Griff because he's 'gifted,' which makes me angry on behalf of Griff and of all the kids who aren't fully assisted. It's as if she believes that because he's intellectually advanced, he couldn't possibly be physically behind. Thankfully, the gifted teacher really is advocating for him, and again, we are so grateful for her.
[ posted by Chel on Friday, August 31, 2007 ]
[ 2 comments ]
2 Comments:
I was in one advanced class in HS (just one!) and I remember thinking how ridiculous it was that we got NO money or help in school. I hope they pay attention to your son and do what needs to be done!
(I'm here from Val...I don't think I've ever read your blog and here you're buds with Val...so I figured we'd be buds, too!)
By 
, at
5:50 AM
Hi, Amanda. Thanks for visiting. If you're a friend of Val's, you've gotta be a new friend of mine. :)
We've been really fortunate that Griff's gifted teacher has been an aggressive advocate for him. We're looking for this to be a productive and helpful semester.
