I just got back a from a visit to our pediatrician with our youngest. He had a traumatic brain injury suffered at birth and has some learning and behavioral issues as a result.
He is a great kid - but when he gets into what for him are overly sensory and auditory stimulating environments he has trouble taking in information and behaving appropriately because he gets stressed out. He doesn't listen well in that environment and he has trouble thinking. Really, who can think when they are stressed out? Anxiety and thinking just don't go together! Anxiety creates an instinct response, which is going to be fight or flight, not helpful in the classroom.
So our attorney suggested that we see our son's pediatrician. I explained our concerns to her and told her what is going on in the classroom. She felt that we could go a couple of ways. One is having him attend school for half days for the time being, and the other would be for him to go into Home and Hospital Instruction (HHI) for the time being. She asked me what I thought would be best. I have already been taking him for half days and things haven't gotten any worse, but they also aren't getting better and he is missing significant chunks of instruction. It is difficult for him to keep up this way so I said I think to go to HHI is the best for him right now. That way he won't get to school and be expected to take a test the others are taking when he hasn't been there to practice what he will be tested for, and other similar situations.
She immediately wrote a note for him to attend half days until HHI can be set up and she will sign that paperwork once I get it from the school. This is so much better than continuing to fight for him to try to fit in where he can't succeed, yet it keeps the district responsible for him getting an education and services.
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