Gladitude Monday and an Update

Howdy,

Thank you my friends, for your prayers and well wishes. I'm coming clean today. If you're interested in reading this, you'll probably want a cuppa something and a few extra minutes. I'm not brief.

I'm sharing this not because my 10 person readership needs this information, but because I want to avoid shame at all costs. Our valley has to do with the fact that my son has a really unique learning profile. Many of you have heard of sensory dysfunction and spectrum disorders, PDD, and Asperger's and the like. Many of you have also heard about giftedness. Did you know that giftedness, like the rest of intelligence is on a bit of an exponential scale? I didn't. Well, our David, our beloved gift from God has a top and bottom Bell Curve learning profile, and this has made his educational placement very challenging. About a week and a half ago, it was determined that he was not finding success in his middle school setting. Despite my pre-school-starting meeting with the teachers and all the prep. Sadly, this was determined after only a 3 week trial at school, but I believe that God was merciful in this. David had become the butt of jokes; he had tried so hard to be liked that he was "the funny one", but not in a good way. His teachers couldn't deal with his need for redirection and organizational needs. Also, he was a "distraction to the others", probably due to a medicine change more than anything else... so essentially, we were gently shown the door. I was not a pretty sight at the meeting, hearing all 7 or 8 of his teachers/staff telling me how he did this or that and really wasn't a good fit in this school. I tried. Oh, how I tried to keep back the tears. And, telling my son (with Dad on the phone in China, trying to be as available as possible) that he needed to move forward into a different direction is not something I care to repeat any time soon. "I'm a loser!" "I won't get into any college. " "No one will like me!" "I can't do anything right." Wracking sobs. Real fun.

David has many of the distractibility and sensory issues associated with Asperger's, but doesn't fit that category entirely because his language and metalinguistic skills are off the charts. He gets subtlety. He gets tone of voice, sarcasm, and most of all Monty Python. :) But eye contact is hard. Too much schtuff coming at him. He's able to track a number of things at once, and this is both a blessing and a curse. At times he'll be reading a book and tracking (read: eavesdropping) a conversation--enough so to add a witty remark as he turns the page. He doesn't feel himself "appropriately" in space, so he's a bit bull-in-a-china-shoppish, in addition to being 5' 9" , 180 # and 12. He doesn't like loud noises, and has a pathological fear of fire drills. He's also profoundly gifted. This was described to us beautifully by the neuropsychologist-neurologist who first told David that he was "wicked smart": "It's kind of like that new puppy you have. So much of it is wonderful, but (the puppy) still pees on the floor.". Additionally, being profoundly gifted, compared to mildly gifted is about the same as being profoundly mentally retarded vs. mild retardation. Huge differences in knowledge base and expectations. And lastly...we have dysgraphia. This one almost seems easy when compared to the rest. David has motor planning problems which make writing and, to a lesser degree, typing, difficult. However, I'm going to really pray that he start a blog because I think we all could use a dose of his thoughts on life. He's one of the most compassionate, heart-led human beings I know. And the boy knows history. Any era. Any type. Luuuurves it.

So...as we move forward, I wanted to share that we've found a school which I believe to be a complete answer to prayer. He will have 1:1 classes. He will remain Harvard-bound, if that's what he still wants to do. He'll be in a gentle place where the motto is: "They would if they could." In other words, if they aren't succeeding, there's a reason. As he grows in comfort and self esteem, we'll add some group (8-12 kids) classes. He's accepted for who and where he is. Praise God. That's probably my biggest gladitude: my son has a chance to be happy in school.

If you're still with me, I'll continue with gladitude, briefly. :)

5. My daughter is at Camp Seymour in Gig Harbor for 2 nights and 3 days. She is soooo excited. She lurves nature and mud--and she'll have plenty of each. Also, as this is the first overnight with kids at her new school, I'm thrilled that she has the opportunity to bond in a fun learning experience.

4. Big is home from China. With the groans of my spirit from last week, I was so thrilled to see my better half. I just love him so.

3. I got to spend over 2 hours sewing yesterday! Yay! I finished a little baby quilt for our church (we like to give new wee ones a quilty welcome), and I made (no judging here) neckerchiefs for the hounds in Halloween print. The thread onto the collars, so they stay nicely in place. And yes...they are so darn cute that I will probably make Thanksgiving and Christmas neckerchiefs, too.

2. We had dinner with some dear friends this week at our house. I made lasagna, garlic bread, and a big green salad, and they brought a delectable homemade cheesecake. It was glorious. And the bonus? My kids ate the meal w/o complaint. They've never liked lasagna before (mutants), but somehow they both got over themselves, and even had seconds.

1. When I allow myself to be desperate for my Father--His love never fails me. Oh, how I'm glad for the lesson to hold fast only to faith, and loosely to all else.

SDG,
Gretchen