Notifications from school

Calliope's report card came and showed us her effort in school earned her a 1.1 GPA. She's super smart and failing school; something is very wrong.

Today I get an email and a phone call about Calliope being absent. I had emailed EVERYBODY about her being on a 72 hour hold after the attack Tuesday afternoon. Maybe they forgot.

Then there was the letter that came today about her GPA being so low and the possibility of having to take intensive intervention classes or not being promoted to high school. Oops, I guess I need to remind her to do her homework.

Come on people! Have your computers talk to each other, so you don't make yourselves look like fools.

Overnight at the Hospital

Calliope took the day off school. She wasn't sick, and I told her that she should go to school. She made the choice to stay home. There were several periods of argument, even yelling at her 3yo sister and breaking her toy. Things got really bad while I was trying to make dinner. She hit the 1yo, and I asked her to cool down in her room. She wouldn't, kept hitting baby Claire, so I picked up the baby, she shoved us into the wall ovens, hurt baby Claire's ankle on the oven handle. The bag of sugar in my hand was used to get her off of us. I got the little kids to get in the car in the garage. They got in their carseats, and Calliope followed us into the garage and kept hitting me. I closed the doors and backed into the driveway then finished the buckles on the little girls.
I called my sister to help me collect my thoughts then called local police to report the crime. They don't like hearing from me. There were no officers available to help us. Still two guys came whining about wasting their time on a kid that just needs discipline. I made it clear that I expected them to do their job; she is behaving criminally, treat her as a criminal. There is no way that threatening me with violence and murder daily is going be be okay. Hitting kids and beating up on mom while kids watch is NOT okay.
Anyhow I called the mental health crisis number and was put in touch with a gentleman that has been understanding and a help to us before. He took her to the mental health crisis hospital. She's still there. They're trying to figure out who is paying and how much before deciding what "care" is appropriate.

Autistics Speak Day

"Bitch face!"

That is what my daughter needed to call me after I stopped a fight between her (13 years-140 pounds) and her sister (3 years-24 pounds). I didn't get between them soon enough. Clio had told Big Sissy to quit yelling at her mom, don't yell in her room, get out of her room, and Calliope picked up a toy and broke it before she left the little girls' room.

While very verbal and with a fabulous vocabulary, she can't usually use language appropriately. With the competitive thinking of a pre-K or kindergarten kid and the emotional regulation of a two or three year old, the way she speaks causes troubles at home, at school and in the community.

School Dance for Calliope

Our 1988 beauty queen was called drama queen and totally went with it. She decided that drama queen was funny and took the name on. So, drama queen went to the dance after school.
It was lots of driving for me, but it ended up being worth it. Picked her up from school, came home for an hour, back to school, back home for an hour, off to school to pick her up.
She said it was dark but fun.

Another new therapist, maybe

The therapist currently assigned to Calliope wanted to see her and me, one hour a week, in her office. The previous arrangement was a therapy team made up of a therapist and a behaviorist working on the same treatment plan a few hours twice a week with in home behavior supports for the dinner through bedtime period that could get violent. So… the change was very disappointing, but I was willing to work the system and wait for things to be added on until the level of treatment was close to Calliope's level of need.

But, I wasn't sure things would build after the therapist told me that therapy won't work, and I need to medicate her. Well, she's on one medication, and that was a tough decision to make. But we did find one medication that curbed her violent impulses and have stayed with that one medicine. I'm not comfortable with adding more, and I'm not at all comfortable with a therapist that sees no hope, no reason to put effort into my child's mental health.

I put in a call to the patient's rights person and got some good information. I called to ask for emergency in home support and a new therapist for Calliope.

It's been a week, and I haven't heard about anything moving forward. Maybe I get to waste more time on the phone.

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.

Time suck, money suck

Calliope has an appointment with her mental health therapist today. The therapist that thinks therapy won't work. Anyhow, I've got to find and pay a babysitter for the three other kids for the time I'm with Calliope at her appointment. Naps will be disturbed. Playtime will be missed. Dinner will be late. It's the first of three appointments this week; all for this one child.
The rest of the family gives us so much trying to manage this one high needs kids, but that might be another post.