A Step in the Right Direction

It would be fair to say that the week continued in the same vein as it started. The 1-5 behaviour scale that school use to describe Boy Wonder's day hit its first 5 and by the beginning of this week rose to 7. For the literal amongst us this isn't technically possible but I guess it is just an illustration of the heightened difficulties,

The weekend was pretty mixed in terms of mood. Boy Wonder had a busy day on Saturday, his team winning 10-0 at football and then going to dance. Sunday was a more stay at home day with Super Gran and Biker Gramps coming for tea. There were a few incidents with the neighbours children and Boy Wonder being too rough and vocal but we managed it by giving time out and refreshing the 'rules of play.' Towards the end of play he cried and said they he would loose all his friends because he is so bad. We reassured him that his friends know that he can sometimes get over excited but using rude words is not acceptable. He appeared to understand.

A fair amount of time had been spent talking to school about behaviour management strategies and they have gone all out to pull in resources from everywhere possible. It is a classic example of reaction and how the 'system' works. The reality is that home life has seen little change except for an improved sleep pattern and appetite. However, the behaviour at school is what we see at home, hence our lengthly battle for support.

Unfortunately communication this week has resulted in a meltdown this morning. Boy Wonder arrived home with a timetable of when he would be in class ( which is hardly ever and not at all on some days!) he angrily told me that the rest of his day is in reception class with a TA. Oh jeez, an angry child in a class of 4 year olds is just an incident waiting to happen! I agreed with Boy Wonder that I would talk to his teacher about it in the morning.

The school journey this morning was a difficult one. Boy Wonder was already very worked up. I asked him to stay with me whilst I spoke with his teacher which distressed him further. He then caught sight of the school photographer and started shouting ' she's Chinese!' over and over. We got into class and was about to speak to the teacher when someone decided to jump ahead of us. Consequently Boy Wonder became more frustrated and I gave up. We went into the playground.

Before leaving school I spoke with the Head about the potential ticking time bomb of Boy Wonder going in to reception and the added issue of him feeling excluded and reinforcing his belief that he is stupid. She got it and explained that they were crisis managing and are working hard to get it right. I explained that we understood this but the reception class is not the solution. We compromised and agreed the same strategy but in a class with older children would be more suitable.

On leaving school, I heard Boy Wonder shouting me and crying. The next minute he ran at me and clung on for dear life! I sat him down and calmed him. He had run out of the class because he was told he was going to reception. I explained what I had just spoken to the head about and he started to calm. Eventually I left him in the hands of the TA and she took him to the chill out tent.

After a rather long day of worrying and a midday phone call to check Boy Wonder was okay, I collected him from school. He was very high and this resulted in him jumping on the tables and running around them in the classroom. I gathered his belongings and took him out to the car.

This evening was fairly settled due mainly to him being exhausted. Before going to bed he asked if he could take a stress ball to school as he is helping to set up the chill out tent. One little request that demonstrates a huge step in the right direction.