My Time

I'm becoming increasingly concerned with how much of MY TIME the school wants to take up. I'm sure wasting a family's time is a tactic the school uses to make us give up the fight. They know we aren't giving up on our child and continue to require several hours, up to 8 hours, of my time every week. I've got better things to do than attend their meetings. My kids have better things to do than wait for me while I'm on the phone with school people, babysitters, lawyers, making sure everyone is able to attend the next flipping meeting. My younger kids go to babysitters. My oldest comes home from school to an empty house. What compensation do they get for missing out while mom and dad are at a meeting? What is my time worth? I want to charge them $20 an hour for MY time that they are wasting.

Doctor IEP

The doctor told us what we already knew, and it took almost three hours. Eleven people in the room to hear what we have known for at least 3.5 years. This is how our public schools work to deny a child the education they deserve.

Summer Vacation Starts

Calliope is back home from the hospital in Nevada and doing okay. Her medicines have changed, and she's less verbally aggressive and much less emotionally abusive. It's almost nice to hang around her. Tonight I was able to make dinner tonight because all my daughters were playing with dolls upstairs. It was a miracle in my own home. Fifteen minutes of content children playing together. School was finished this year with what is called home hospital. A teacher came to the house the last three days of school and did a few assignments. Calliope was enjoying geometry, and that is so cool. Our options for going back to school are limited and far from ideal. My parents are able to come to our house a few more weeks to help out. Maybe they can handle the transportation to the school and the outbursts surrounding school. There is a theraputic home in San Luis Obispo that could be a good place for Calliope, but it won't have openings until maybe July. That's no help to us right now. We haven't heard from Department of Social Services since the hearing about child abuse claims. I'd be happy to get my letter saying the investigation was inconslusive and never hear from them again. Still, the child welfare clowns are ever present in my thoughts. I wonder how they would look at decisions I make, choices made in the moment, what food I have in the fridge and pantry, what my kids are wearing (or not wearing), how my housekeeping measures up. All these things that people judge us on that don't matter when it's just some lady at school or a random grocery shopper, but they matter a great deal when a social worker writes it all down in her report. Those social workers write down all their judgements and make guesses as to what they are seeing. I'm never letting them in my house again.

Calliope at her IEP meeting

I had invited Calliope to the IEP because she wants to be in control and thinks these meetings are people talking bad about her. I explain that the grown up are trying to figure out what she needs and how we can help her learn. Her idea of school success is very different than mine. Calliope needed to tell the IEP team what she was thinking.
One suggestion was a different class at the far end of the same campus, Opportunity School. Calliope was concerned about missing art and the social times like lunch on the main campus.
She craves social interaction but doesn't have the skills to understand people and build a friendship. I can't be sure there is a way to teach culture to her.
Free and appropriate education is a tall order for Miss Calliope Joy.