Every now and then, it's helpful to have another opinion. And sometimes you learn things you otherwise never would have known.
I've recently asked for special services testing for Emperor. Mostly, I did this because I'm not getting any sort of a straight answer on "how to transfer an odd child into public school eventually, preferrably in a way that is not traumatic for everyone." The school wants to quantify how odd, exactly, the child is and whether he "qualifies for services." Hopefully they don't come back with a recommendation along the lines of, "Just send him to fifth grade next year and see what happens."
Sigh. Welp, maybe he will qualify for bunches of stuff and maybe he won't. When I get 'round to being up and mobile, I'll bring him in for a zillion tests and then we'll see what the school district has to say about my kid. I don't feel particularly threatened by the process as 1. I started the process myself and can stop at any time; and 2. homeschoolers have a good plenty of rights in this state; and 3. our school district seems to think that homeschooling is the most boring, usual thing you could ever possibly do. They get kids transferring in and out of homeschools all the time. I know several families who cycle their children so that one gets personal attention at home (this is Jake's year to homeschool; next year it will be Tim's) or homeschool just during the elementary years.
Some people who live in heavily-regulated states have told me that testing is a very helpful process for them. I don't know if these are the same people who would spend a gazillion bucks on the tests of their own accord, but they do say that they find some of the information helpful or at the very least, know that their children are on track in terms of what the children in public school are learning.
I am not teaching my child according to state standards, so I'm not going to be crushed if my child doesn't meet them. But I think it will be interesting to see what they think about his handwriting, or his vocabulary and the like, and whether the process will give me any new insights, thoughts, or sense of direction in terms of his education.
Have you been through the process of testing your children, and what did you think about the process? Did you agree with the results? Were there surprises? I'd like to hear from you in the comments just in general about testing and your children.
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Look Out, Dad!!
My father is the purple dot above the blue weather station. He's juuust outside Milton's evacuation zone. Well! My brother and I jus...
I stopped the testing when my kid twigged how stupid & boring it was & began playing games with the testing ieLet's apply our spelling rules in new & unusual ways Um. Yeah. You can imagine the sort of comments I got on homeschooling her. Time to bail.
ReplyDeleteI think that would be hilarious!! Only if it didn't happen to me. Now, when Elf was being tested and they wanted to go over a bunch of "what would you do in this situation" type things. They asked what should someone do when he is winning a race, Elf responded something along the lines that the winner was supposed to fart in everyone's face and say, "Smell that."
ReplyDeleteThis response is now PART OF HIS PERMANENT RECORD at school. Thanks, Elf. :(
On second thought, whyyy am I asking for Emperor to be tested? Just... why.
Good luck with the testing, I am curious as to the process...I mean how do you honestly determine how 'odd' someone is?? That's laughable. Hope he does as well as he can and that the process is not intimidating.
ReplyDeleteHey, did you add a new widget to your site or something. Everytime I visit, my computer slows to a crawl.
ReplyDeleteWE have only has one lot of 'testing' done on Griffin... and it was very informative. But not complete. It did not pick up his dysgraphia or dyspraxia at all.... only the dyslexia.
ReplyDeleteAnd it did not show his capacity to function at a much more 'mature' age than he actually was in SOME ASPECTS of his life.
Like, he 'gets' sarcastic comments but Brylee does not. He can be sarcastic too, and understands so much more than you would ever think for a kid of 9.
Anyway.... I hope the testing on Emperor goes well.... and he does not mention FARTING!
I hope you poor tummy is healing well?
Now, now, Blondee, I was just KIDDING about the oddness. Really the more I hang out with the kid I realize it is everyone else who is odd and why doesn't everyone think his way? BUT being practical he does have some "social concerns," how about that? :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I have NOT messed with the site at all. What is strange is that I get that effect on about three blogs, and after a few weeks it goes away and others are affected. I don't get it, either! Now I have blogged the last two posts on a different computer, but I don't imagine it should make ANY difference as it is cached online, yes?
Thank you, Chris, I am healing well. I did call in about some very owie redness and a pulling feeling near the staples but 1. it's a reaction to the staples, which will come out when they do, and 2. the pulling feeling is normal.
Ow. The miracle of pharmaceuticals does make me a pleasant person, tho'. What will I do when it runs out??
Not having expereinced any testing myself, I can tell you about my sister. She has homeschooled her three girls (ages 19, 17, and 13). My sister never had them tested and they each only ever spent 1 random year in public school. The 19 year old started college last year as a junior (with AP credits) and is doing great. At the age of 12 she could barely write legibly, her spelling was horrible, and we were worried. I can imagine it would nice to get a picture of where the kids are, but if they tested my niece at age 12--should would have been a mess. And by the time she graduated at 18--she was way ahead of the game. Not sure testing is always relevant.
ReplyDeleteGlad your tummy is hanging in there. :-)
I can't really add anything here because none of mine are/were on the spectrum, so I know nothing about testing etc. I just wanted you to know I'm still reading...
ReplyDeleteBonnie, did your sister continue homeschooling them? Did she change anything at about 12 or did things suddenly click?
ReplyDeleteRiver, I LOVE that you are checking in to tell me you're reading. You are soooo sweet! And, now that blogger is fixed a bit, I can comment more faithfully at your place, too. For a little bit there it was an only-sometimes thing.