Jared has an appointment with the evaluator at the school district today. Why? Aren't his weeks already filled with half day appointments with a real doctor evaluating him? That is the question. Here's my answer.
I have been waiting for the evaluator's assessment of Jared for weeks. But, since we mentioned APD to her (a disorder that she is not familiar with), she decided to do some research and delay it. I think that's pretty cool. To me, that means she could possibly help other children in that school if she knows about this disorder... the disorder that most experts believe 1 in 10 kids have. Therefore, she has brought the "first ever" processing test to that school's campus. She said she received it from a speech pathologist and wants to run through it with Jared. She said that, according to public school standards, Jared is within normal parameters with his verbal, listening, spelling, and everything-else-she-tested-him-in skills. Isn't that crazy? I know something is wrong. His teachers from preschool to now know that something is wrong, but our school system says he's fine, for his age. I mean, Dr. C. told us our child can never even learn how to read without a very specific phonics program for children with neurological disorders! And, I believe it! To the person who doesn't know about other processing disorders, Jared seems like he has dyslexia. Can you imagine teaching a kid with dyslexia how to read?
My second answer is that it's only an hour and it's about a 1/2 a mile from my house. The evaluator is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She's a joy to see. Jared loves her. What will it hurt? If it can bring awareness to the school district, I'm in!
This past weekend we were in Corpus Christi at a conference. I met a mother of an 8 year old autistic boy and she and I had a nice conversation about special needs children. When I mentioned that Europe seems to be unbelievably more advanced in research than the US, she said "everyone is". She would know! She started noticing her son was different 6 years ago and she's constantly researching ways to help. She said the US believes in incorporating special needs children in with all the others... just go with the flow. But that doesn't usually work for those children. She's noticing that now. You could hear the sadness in her voice.
So, maybe there are 3 reasons... probably many more. The main one is that I want to bring awareness to those around me. And, if I can help bring awareness to my school district, bring on today's test!
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)
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