More school/diet fu
Mar. 30th, 2007 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jauncourtI talked to his teacher yesterday afternoon. I don't think anything has been resolved. I am putting a STRONGLY worded instruction in his communication notebook, that he is not to have any candy, sugary snacks of any kind, or any consumable items with artificial colors. I've had to re-word it several times to make it civil.
She denied everything. Said he never eats anything that could be responsible for his poor behavior before the last hour of class, and they never give him anything with food coloring in it.
There's a rule that everything sent to the school HAS to be packaged. this makes it VERY hard to send snacks for him, or treats for special days.
We had a real problem finding something he could take for his birthday, since he'd been talking about it and other kids wanted to know when he'd have his party at school, so he was expecting it. We had to settle for a pack of 12 carrotcake mini-cakes because it was the healthiest "celebration food" locally available. The teacher decided that sugary snacks were OKAY for everyday, because we'd brought those. *I am SO pissed off* I had remind her that I wasn't allowed to bring a home-made, safe option, so I got the best packaged option.
Hopefully we'll be able to bring something better next year, though next year we may well be somewhere we can get organic baked goods.
Chris took FX out to breakfast today, and FX told Chris that he was routinely given candy as a reward for going potty. CANDY as a reward for going POTTY. That's all sorts of wrong, and it means she lied to me. And he doesn't even need it, because he was completely potty trained before he went to school!
I'm going to schedule a parent-teacher conference ASAP, and try to have my freind, who is a child services caseworker along to advocate for us.
I'm on the end of my rope.
She denied everything. Said he never eats anything that could be responsible for his poor behavior before the last hour of class, and they never give him anything with food coloring in it.
There's a rule that everything sent to the school HAS to be packaged. this makes it VERY hard to send snacks for him, or treats for special days.
We had a real problem finding something he could take for his birthday, since he'd been talking about it and other kids wanted to know when he'd have his party at school, so he was expecting it. We had to settle for a pack of 12 carrotcake mini-cakes because it was the healthiest "celebration food" locally available. The teacher decided that sugary snacks were OKAY for everyday, because we'd brought those. *I am SO pissed off* I had remind her that I wasn't allowed to bring a home-made, safe option, so I got the best packaged option.
Hopefully we'll be able to bring something better next year, though next year we may well be somewhere we can get organic baked goods.
Chris took FX out to breakfast today, and FX told Chris that he was routinely given candy as a reward for going potty. CANDY as a reward for going POTTY. That's all sorts of wrong, and it means she lied to me. And he doesn't even need it, because he was completely potty trained before he went to school!
I'm going to schedule a parent-teacher conference ASAP, and try to have my freind, who is a child services caseworker along to advocate for us.
I'm on the end of my rope.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-31 01:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-31 07:41 am (UTC)We don't have a regular ped anymore, and when I brought it up with the clinic docs, I got blown off (they want to observe him and judge for themselves, but we end up seeing a DIFFERENT doc every time, even when we request one by name). From what I understand, we wouldn't be able to test him for intolerances in any way OTHER than an elimination diet, which we have tried. Eliminating dyes has helped, and keeping sugars at moderate levels has helped, but if the school is providing him with things he never receives at home, then all the work we do, diet-wise, is in vain.
The teacher only seemed willing to work with us once I pointed out that he has dental issues and a family history of diabetes, both of which are reasons to avoid excess sugars in the diet. However, she flat-out denied giving frosted cookies, so I don't even know if she's aware that the aide is giving out candies and other sweets as a reward (and that's a whole other kettle of fish).
It is a good thing I have a week to prepare my case and gather my thoughts, because I am getting agitated even now, discussing this with friends...
I'm going to try to work with them, but if the school refuses to comply with our instructions, we're pulling him, period. Pre-k/early childhood (special ed pre-k) isn't mandatory, I can homeschool until kindergarten, and I've gotten some referrals from the Learning Disability Association for advocacy and homeschooling support.