Waiting is the Hardest Part!

Waiting is hard, but when you're waiting for results it can be even harder.

So we find out the results on Thursday of our middle sons psycho-educational assessment. I've spend a good part of the last few days worried and wondering. We know there will be some sort of LD (learning disability, but I'd rather say Learning Difference) but the question is how bad. Is it so sever that we need to remove him from his French Language school or can he stay? Is the medication helping him at all to stay on task and focused? Are we making the right choices to help support him in all the ways we can?

After last weeks set of testing I called the school to tell them how hard it had been for him to complete the testing in French. That all throughout that portion of testing he required intensive support from myself and the psychologist to complete the tasks. I explained that all the math questions were asked in French but he did the calculations in English. I told them that with all that in mind together my husband I felt we should move him to an English School for the 2019/2020 school year.

Resource teacher was shocked to say the least. She didn't know what to say and began to tell me about all the amazing things he's doing in the classroom. How he's working hard and getting his work done. That he can sometimes make it difficult to get to work but once he's going he's able to complete the task. He's working on reading, though there are struggles he's getting through it. The teacher expressed that she felt strongly that we shouldn't panic just yet.

Then the most interesting thing happened. The resource teacher sent home a book for us to read with him over this long weekend... Well he read it, sight unseen, with only some help from me. It was a difficult book, 12 pages in length which is more then he's ever had to read in one sitting. He was willing to work with me and did a great job using his knowledge of French letter sounds to sound out the words and though he needed some support from me he was able to complete the reading. He's read the book three times this weekend and he's shown he can read.

So what do we do? Well firstly, we're going to take a breath... Wait and see what comes from Thursdays report. Secondly, once we get the report we'll take it to the school and discuss with them how they might be able to continue to provide support. We as his parents want to make sure that he's able to be successful. From there we'll make a plan. Maybe we'll move him, maybe we wont but we'll do we need to ensure he's feeling confident and able to be successful.

The other really important part that we'll do is to ensure he understands what his strengths and needs are. For students with learning challenges it's important that they know their abilities and how to advocate for what they need to learn best. Part of that for our kids is for them have an understanding early. The sooner they are able to gain an understanding and able to seek the resources and the accommodations the better off they'll be. I've said it a few times over the past few months - "Knowledge is power". In this case explaining to our kids early what their strengths are and how to understand their weaknesses will ensure they can advocate for themselves.

Come Thursday we'll have a better idea of what the needs of our son are. We'll be able to begin to plan for his future in a way we couldn't before. Together as a family we'll continue to support, advocate and engage him in learning. Check back at the end of this week to see where we go from here!