What's up with Jason?

I haven't said much about Jason and the start of the 4th grade since last month. Not because nothing is happening, but because so much is.

4th grade became too much to handle exactly 3 days in. He let me know this by taking a pair of scissors to his jeans and cutting a gash in them and his leg. Praise GOD this was the same day as a therapist appointment. Mrs. Donna was meeting Jason for the first time that afternoon. Talk about jumping into the deep end. Thankfully, we had already met and she just dove right in. We left with a better understanding of why he did this as well as some strategies to avoid it. Oh, and he no longer gets to keep scissors in his desk at school.

This incident prompted me to call for an IEP review, which, thankfully, our school scheduled within a week. Jason is now getting direct instruction at maximum levels for all the core subjects and his homeroom teacher is modifying his tests and in class work to be very oral and low key for him. You just can't expect a kid with all his issues to handle following a lecture and take notes. By the time he would finish writing some thing down, his teacher was 3 points ahead of him. Now he's provided with the notes preprinted for him to read along with and highlight as well as illustrations on the topic. They are also doing his evaluation now instead of in the spring when it is due. Jason can't spend anymore time outside of class than he is and we may be looking at part-time in a self-contained classroom.

Oh, and to top it all, at Jason's psychiatrist appointment last week, he was diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. At this point, he is diagnosed with the classification of PDD-NOS, but they are considering Asperger's as well.

All in all, it's been a lot to take in. I'll keep updating as I get the chance.