The frustrating thing I will need to add, is that a small fundamental I fucking love that idea of having a kid triage centre, it puts so much ownership back on the kids being responsible for things. But shit there are so many problems with letting kids be in charge of something this important, why would you not spot these issues, like immediately?
Yeah, 100% let the kids hang out and help with bandaids, get a kid a glass of water, etc.
Disclaimer, this question if for me learning. If its not bleeding, is it that big of an issue? I mean, obviously it still hurt? But I feel like I got scrapes like that not infrequently, and mostly just went with neosporin and a bandaid. Either snip the skin of with scissors, or pull it off even though it hurts? I also acknowledge that this might just me being a weird kid who liked to pick at my scabs.
Edit: Also, is "decile" a New Zealander thing? I assume in reference to population density?
Brody on
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Wow - thanks all for the info! We haven't done Ohio at all. I was in the Akron/Canton area for a math meet in high school (so I have the state crossed out on our map) but my wife/son haven't been. We actually haven't booked hotels for anything but the long Indianapolis stay, but I was hoping where it would be just one night in Cleveland that we could find something in the downtown area.
We figured that the stop in KY would probably be most interesting for the adults in the group, but thought that at least we could see where the Derby is run. My son is looking to major in chemistry, so maybe the distilleries would hit an interest though.
We thought about Cedar Point, but for some reason, Luke isn't huge into theme parks.
It's going to be a challenging trip. It's a long stint in one city - I'm sure we'll have board games and Magic cards packed with us, and we've been told to not fill the days during the competition because you don't want a tired kid trying to compete.
There's something to be said for having kids learn how to take care of things themselves, and not run to an adult for everything. But even basic first aid should be supervised. Because either kids are getting hurt, and need treatment at an alarming rate that an adult can't be present for every treatment. Or they have the ability to have at least a para, school nurse or other adult helper at least nod when a kid suggests something just needs a bandaid while the kid places it.
MulysaSempronius on
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
@Lindsay Lohan what are the guys into anyway? Besides bowling, probably. Like, are they big gaming nerds who would love an evening at an arcade hall, or are they into other stuff? Definitely involve them in the planning, I loved doing research for trips when I was their age.
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ani_game_bumOptimistic, Rule-Breaking Nice GuyThe Final World/DestinationRegistered Userregular
Here's a question for anyone well-travelled or with teens. We are doing a road trip next month for a bowling tournament. Essentially, we leave Maine 7/6, have to be in Indianapolis 7/8 for a competition 7/9. We're then in the city until the 16th or 17th depending on how the kids bowl (our son and two of his friends). We have to be back in Maine on the 20th.
I'm hoping to see if anyone has any suggested fun things to hit that teenagers and parents would like - the boys are 16. What I'm thinking is on the drive there, the quickest path is north, so we crash the first night in Syracuse or Buffalo (we've seen the falls, so no big planned tourism thing on this leg). We then do night 2 in Cleveland and do the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame. We hit Indianapolis on the 8th and do competitions - the exception being that Thursday the 15th they only bowl in the morning so we may drive to the Cincinnati Zoo since it sounds more impressive than the one in Indianapolis. We're thinking a speedway tour should be squeezed in there some day too.
Then, Fri/Sat is only if they qualify - so our thinking is Louisville Friday or Saturday. My wife and I were thinking maybe of spending the night in Louisville and continuing to a day in West Virginia because we have a goal to hit all 50 states and when else are you going to really target going to West Virginia and Kentucky from Maine? The two largest printed names on the map in WV that we could hit would be Huntington or Charleston - any folks in that area with ideas?
Then we'd head back through the usual northeastern states - we've thought about doing Gettysburg on the way home because the wife would like to see that (we've done Philly a few years ago).
So, hivemind of the forums, any suggested things we must do in northern NY, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kentucky, WV or the path back home?
Let me know how it goes, I'm planning a road trip to Western Virginia in July with my 9 and 13 year old, so it might be a similar experience. (And if anyone can give recommendations for the Western VA/NC region that would be great too!)
Double check what Cedar Point's availability is; Kid Bum #2's choir end-of-year trip to the Point got rescheduled last week due to staffing issues and realigning the park's operating hours.
As far as stuff to do in Indy, outside the Speedway museum and tour, visitindy.com is a pretty good resource on what to do based on your timeline in town. A few key events that may be of interest:
Otherwise, some of the fun, teenager stuff is towards the north/northeast (Carmel and Fishers) side of the I-465 loop. There is a K1 indoor kart racing facility and a Topgolf driving range towards that way (if what I see is on these YouTube shorts is true, launching golf balls from three stories high is all the ragelit cool these days).
@Lindsay Lohan what are the guys into anyway? Besides bowling, probably. Like, are they big gaming nerds who would love an evening at an arcade hall, or are they into other stuff? Definitely involve them in the planning, I loved doing research for trips when I was their age.
Yes, gaming is probably the thing all three agree on - although I know one other parent did buy tickets to the Triple-A baseball game mentioned by ani_game_bum. An arcade would be good actually, Luke loves Funspot in NH where it's mostly classic arcade games and not the super pricey fancy stuff they do at a Dave and Busters for example. Concerts would probably be out. Frankly, the wife and I have already bought some sort of pricey concert tickets for later in the summer so that's a tapped-out budget as much as I'd love to see either of the shows listed above. Luke also likes shops - like the cheesy little shops you get in Chinatown or retro gaming shops - and zoos/aquariums are always a hit with everyone.
Unfortunately, as they are teenagers, their input ranges from "I don't know, whatever" to "Sure, sounds fine". I also know one dad is doing Niagara Falls but Luke wasn't super into going back there since we did go a few years ago on another trip.
The frustrating thing I will need to add, is that a small fundamental I fucking love that idea of having a kid triage centre, it puts so much ownership back on the kids being responsible for things. But shit there are so many problems with letting kids be in charge of something this important, why would you not spot these issues, like immediately?
Yeah, 100% let the kids hang out and help with bandaids, get a kid a glass of water, etc.
Disclaimer, this question if for me learning. If its not bleeding, is it that big of an issue? I mean, obviously it still hurt? But I feel like I got scrapes like that not infrequently, and mostly just went with neosporin and a bandaid. Either snip the skin of with scissors, or pull it off even though it hurts? I also acknowledge that this might just me being a weird kid who liked to pick at my scabs.
Edit: Also, is "decile" a New Zealander thing? I assume in reference to population density?
In terms of Fishmans situation, probably not. A scrape which removes the upper layer of skin and then regrows isn't going to kill anyone. It does out them at a risk of infection if the wound wasn't cleaned prior to bandage. A high risk? Again, probably not in an otherwise healthy kid.
Which comes to my problem, there are a lot of unhealthy kids walking around that look otherwise normal.
Putting the responsibility on a child to assess, diagnose, and treat an injury is fucking insane. When you add the fact the child is now expected to contact the teacher for what they consider to be a "serious injury" is negligent.
Personally, in my trauma experience, I would be a lot less concerned with a bleeding injury than I would with a fall. The number of kids I've personally taken care of for a distal radial or condyle fracture of the humerus after a fall from standing height or a swing is easily above one hundred. Those kinds of fractures aren't the easiest to diagnose because they're not the most painful. Then you add in the issues with pediatric patients and you've got an easy recipe for a missed diagnosis.
All together is it all that risky? Maybe and maybe not? Personally I don't have much tolerance for risk when it comes to children or medical intervention.
I am in the business of saving lives.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
The frustrating thing I will need to add, is that a small fundamental I fucking love that idea of having a kid triage centre, it puts so much ownership back on the kids being responsible for things. But shit there are so many problems with letting kids be in charge of something this important, why would you not spot these issues, like immediately?
Yeah, 100% let the kids hang out and help with bandaids, get a kid a glass of water, etc.
Disclaimer, this question if for me learning. If its not bleeding, is it that big of an issue? I mean, obviously it still hurt? But I feel like I got scrapes like that not infrequently, and mostly just went with neosporin and a bandaid. Either snip the skin of with scissors, or pull it off even though it hurts? I also acknowledge that this might just me being a weird kid who liked to pick at my scabs.
Edit: Also, is "decile" a New Zealander thing? I assume in reference to population density?
In terms of Fishmans situation, probably not. A scrape which removes the upper layer of skin and then regrows isn't going to kill anyone. It does out them at a risk of infection if the wound wasn't cleaned prior to bandage. A high risk? Again, probably not in an otherwise healthy kid.
Which comes to my problem, there are a lot of unhealthy kids walking around that look otherwise normal.
Putting the responsibility on a child to assess, diagnose, and treat an injury is fucking insane. When you add the fact the child is now expected to contact the teacher for what they consider to be a "serious injury" is negligent.
Personally, in my trauma experience, I would be a lot less concerned with a bleeding injury than I would with a fall. The number of kids I've personally taken care of for a distal radial or condyle fracture of the humerus after a fall from standing height or a swing is easily above one hundred. Those kinds of fractures aren't the easiest to diagnose because they're not the most painful. Then you add in the issues with pediatric patients and you've got an easy recipe for a missed diagnosis.
All together is it all that risky? Maybe and maybe not? Personally I don't have much tolerance for risk when it comes to children or medical intervention.
Oh, right, I didn't mean to say this is no big deal. This is clearly not something a 9 year old should be assessing. Just, if its generally accepted that some neosporin and a bandaid isn't enough, I should probably revise my personal wound assessment metrics.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Doesn’t the donation system mean that rich areas get well funded public schools (thanks to donations), and less rich areas…don’t? That seems weirdly regressive.
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Doesn’t the donation system mean that rich areas get well funded public schools (thanks to donations), and less rich areas…don’t? That seems weirdly regressive.
The point ahava made was that the rich area schools receive significantly less govt funding thanks to a higher anticipated donation level. It probably still works out better for the higher income areas, but at least seems like they tried to make it work.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Doesn’t the donation system mean that rich areas get well funded public schools (thanks to donations), and less rich areas…don’t? That seems weirdly regressive.
The richer areas get more from donations and less government funding. The poorer areas get more public government funding because they can't rely on getting as much from donations. The government funding is supposed to make up the shortfall to make the playing field more level, but the model is imperfect and overall the really high-income schools tend to operate with a much greater operating budget because the donations can get... quite high.
Decile is an NZ designation of identifying school districts/zones. It's based roughly on the average income of the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as how much funding the schools get from the govt.
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Doesn’t the donation system mean that rich areas get well funded public schools (thanks to donations), and less rich areas…don’t? That seems weirdly regressive.
The richer areas get more from donations and less government funding. The poorer areas get more public government funding because they can't rely on getting as much from donations. The government funding is supposed to make up the shortfall to make the playing field more level, but the model is imperfect and overall the really high-income schools tend to operate with a much greater operating budget because the donations can get... quite high.
Ah, I misread. So it’s just…odd. And doesn’t deal well with edge cases. Huh. (Ian terrified of sussing out the Canadian school system, but we have time!)
lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
There's a lot going on at Ellie's school. All kinds of clubs and groups and things.
But it feels a lot like if you're not already familiar with the school system, there no real guide on how things work?
I know that there's music and a craft group and that they take place during break times, but I have no idea how to get her involved. And a lot of the communications they come home about it seem to assume that you know.
And I didn't go to school here and neither did ecco for primary and so we're both extremely confused about things, but I'm just socially anxious enough to not be confident enough to ask.
So yes, being nervous about learning school systems is totally a parent thing and definitely a thing to talk about here.
a lot of the communications they come home about it seem to assume that you know.
everything at our kids school is like this, the common introduction to a letter home is "As you may already know..." and every time I'm thinking 'where would I have had to have been to have known this already?'
I've been considering volunteering at my school just to rewrite crap that the parent's committee and director share with the parents. They make two common mistakes:
Not B2: we have many parents who don't speak Dutch, or are in the process of learning it. All communication needs to be easier so you can understand what it's about with the reading level of a ~10 year old. I notice the parent's committee likes to use figures of speech and the director is fond of fluffy language to "soften the blow", like the announcement to cancel school trips was full of "Sadly, and as you may have figured out already, we are not in a position to plan a school trip this year, but we are confident that, next year, we'll have a school trip!" And it's such a shit sandwich that'll just confuse the fuck out of everyone.
Spelling and grammatical errors: this is just the parent's committee. They could have the 9-10 year olds proofread their newsletters and they'd turn out better.
So I dunno, my running theory is that schools are actually very bad at communicating. Try and lure a more experienced parent in sharing their secrets with you. :U
a lot of the communications they come home about it seem to assume that you know.
everything at our kids school is like this, the common introduction to a letter home is "As you may already know..." and every time I'm thinking 'where would I have had to have been to have known this already?'
It's probably because of people with multiple kids. A lot of things repeat year after year and if you have multiple kids that attend the same school you really do already know a lot of what's going to happen and when.
At my kids' school, they try to relay a lot of information that they want you to know, but often misjudge what you may want to know. I've become more involved just to get to the information.
Most of it can be determined from our FTA meetings. The FTA has a facebook page and a Remind group (the texting system our school uses) to get information out, but if you want to know more than the basics, it's helpful to go to the meetings. And they try to make the meetings easy to go to and inclusive, but no meeting time/place works for everybody.
But I've gotten more comfortable in contacting the teachers, VP and principal just by getting to know people. I may even join the FTA next year (it's a very small org, and this year they almost didn't have people who wanted to run.)
School funding is an interesting topic, because my kids' school has a lot of low-income students (in fact, they have a goal of admitting 75% low-income/ low-housing/etc students for K). We don't get a lot of parents involved, or a lot of parent donations. But we do get a nice amount of Title 1 money to spend on things, and qualify for programs like getting free after-school.
In contrast to the school my kids are zoned for, which is the rich school in the district. Some of my kids' friends go there, and the fundraising is really intense. They don't require parental donations, but they say things like "the average family donates $$$, please consider donation", they have two school groups (the FTA and a separate "friends of X school") to donate to, with different requirements for how the money is spent, and mention that Art Teacher is funded by donations, and your kids love Art Teacher, don't they? Sometimes we go to their fundraising activities because it's next door. But while they try to make everything free at my kids' school (free food and water, but you can spend extra to buy a soda, at the spring fair), they nickle and dime you at the richer school. But they don't get Title 1 money or some of the free programs my kids' school does.
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
Our school is terrible at communications. It's always unclear if there are actions for us in their emails and letters and if there are, when things need to happen.
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
We’ve been at a weird stage for like 9 months now where he’s like 90% trained. He can pee on the toilet by himself. He can hold it and wear underwear if we go for a short drive. He wears underwear for naps. At night we’ve got pull ups we use still, but 50% of the time they’re dry in the morning.
But then there’s pooping. He just refuses to do it on the potty. Needs a diaper/pull up, every day at the same time.
We’ve tried bribing with candy for pooping, we’ve bought special toys we told him he can hold on the potty and keep if he poops. I’ve told him I’ll buy him a ride-on atv if he poops (and the neighbor kids have one so he’s seen how fun it can be).
Nope. He just wants to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
Dang, not even for an ATV?
The fence between us and this neighbor is chain-link, so totally see-through. He will stand by it, look forlornly at the neighbors atv, and say “When I poop on the potty, I will get a 4 wheeler.” Like a man in prison looking at the outside world, making plans for his freedom.
Then we go in the house and “I need a diaper to poop.”
Further adventures in getting my son a psych eval...
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Further adventures in getting my son a psych eval...
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
I think I might be lost on part of this. The cost you said is from the psych eval itself correct? And the school is pushing hard to have it done ahead of kindergarten? I am suspecting this is the case because I can see why the school would really want this done before he was officially enrolled. After he is enrolled they have to do the testing, and pay for it. They will likely whine and cry about it. I can't remember if it is 504, or IDEA, or some other specific law that governs this. I do know the federal government forces public schools to do this as a matter of law.
Further adventures in getting my son a psych eval...
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
I think I might be lost on part of this. The cost you said is from the psych eval itself correct? And the school is pushing hard to have it done ahead of kindergarten? I am suspecting this is the case because I can see why the school would really want this done before he was officially enrolled. After he is enrolled they have to do the testing, and pay for it. They will likely whine and cry about it. I can't remember if it is 504, or IDEA, or some other specific law that governs this. I do know the federal government forces public schools to do this as a matter of law.
He's already registered for K. The stickler is that he will be receiving services, and those likely would not change based on the evaluation. They did an evaluation for services, and unless I contest the services he'll be getting, they don't probably won't pay for an outside evaluation. From everything I've read.
People generally pay a lot of money to navigate services here. Free services help is reserved for people who make a lot less money than I do.
I hadn't seen that document before, though, and I'll see if I can push to get them to do it. One place just got back to me, and it's a 4-6 month wait-list
MulysaSempronius on
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Further adventures in getting my son a psych eval...
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
I think I might be lost on part of this. The cost you said is from the psych eval itself correct? And the school is pushing hard to have it done ahead of kindergarten? I am suspecting this is the case because I can see why the school would really want this done before he was officially enrolled. After he is enrolled they have to do the testing, and pay for it. They will likely whine and cry about it. I can't remember if it is 504, or IDEA, or some other specific law that governs this. I do know the federal government forces public schools to do this as a matter of law.
He's already registered for K. The stickler is that he will be receiving services, and those likely would not change based on the evaluation. They did an evaluation for services, and unless I contest the services he'll be getting, they don't probably won't pay for an outside evaluation. From everything I've read.
People generally pay a lot of money to navigate services here. Free services help is reserved for people who make a lot less money than I do.
I hadn't seen that document before, though, and I'll see if I can push to get them to do it. One place just got back to me, and it's a 4-6 month wait-list
Keep in mind contesting the services can mean advocating for more. So if you think they are falling short then give them hell. As I understand it they don't get a choice in paying for the second opinion either. It is done that way so they can't try to minimize problems.
Apologies if I am being redundant. I know I am popping in part way through a story. I just remember the hell my kids school put us through. I was fortunate enough to have made some contacts with (good) school counselors through my master's program. It led to some very intense meetings, and at least one faculty member looking for a new job (she Found Out). I try to help others in the same situation as I can.
Well the baby is pulling himself to standing all over the place and also bellowing constantly and baby yammering so he’s trying to learn to walk and talk simultaneously. Chill out little man, you aren’t 9 months yet!
Well the baby is pulling himself to standing all over the place and also bellowing constantly and baby yammering so he’s trying to learn to walk and talk simultaneously. Chill out little man, you aren’t 9 months yet!
We have surrounded everything we own with playpen walls. I really wish we could tie stuff down. But things migrate to higher and higher shelves…
So we've gone on holiday to Wales which was a three and a half hour drive. I'd planned breaks but clearly not enough, he ended up puking all over himself and the car seat about an hour from the cottage.
I didn't realize how small the roads would be for a good half of our journey so there were few places to stop safely.
We're talking single track lanes through valleys with a sheer drop on one side and dozens of suicidal sheep running in front of the car.
He's been up since 0530.
Fun!
I've got a good plan for the drive home where we'll be stopping every hour so he can run around and eat properly so hopefully he'll be much better on the way back.
Further adventures in getting my son a psych eval...
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
I think I might be lost on part of this. The cost you said is from the psych eval itself correct? And the school is pushing hard to have it done ahead of kindergarten? I am suspecting this is the case because I can see why the school would really want this done before he was officially enrolled. After he is enrolled they have to do the testing, and pay for it. They will likely whine and cry about it. I can't remember if it is 504, or IDEA, or some other specific law that governs this. I do know the federal government forces public schools to do this as a matter of law.
He's already registered for K. The stickler is that he will be receiving services, and those likely would not change based on the evaluation. They did an evaluation for services, and unless I contest the services he'll be getting, they don't probably won't pay for an outside evaluation. From everything I've read.
People generally pay a lot of money to navigate services here. Free services help is reserved for people who make a lot less money than I do.
I hadn't seen that document before, though, and I'll see if I can push to get them to do it. One place just got back to me, and it's a 4-6 month wait-list
Keep in mind contesting the services can mean advocating for more. So if you think they are falling short then give them hell. As I understand it they don't get a choice in paying for the second opinion either. It is done that way so they can't try to minimize problems.
Apologies if I am being redundant. I know I am popping in part way through a story. I just remember the hell my kids school put us through. I was fortunate enough to have made some contacts with (good) school counselors through my master's program. It led to some very intense meetings, and at least one faculty member looking for a new job (she Found Out). I try to help others in the same situation as I can.
No, it's good to hear another perspective. My son will be literally getting max services offered in general classroom settings- anything more, and he would need to be placed in a special school. Since he's academically average/advanced, they are trying to keep him in general ed classes*. That's why I'm not fighting the school too hard. I'm starting to lean towards telling them I won't be getting an outside evaluation unless I can find a reasonably priced one, and they can set up and pay for it if it's required. Although I'm not sure why they are asking me to do this in the first place, but it probably has to do with it district farming so many services out to non-profits and bureaucracy.
*If he had an asd diagnosis, there are special 2E programs he could qualify for, but they are difficult to get into due to limited spots. But it's likely he's not on the spectrum. And we really like the school he's in.
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
So we've gone on holiday to Wales which was a three and a half hour drive. I'd planned breaks but clearly not enough, he ended up puking all over himself and the car seat about an hour from the cottage.
I didn't realize how small the roads would be for a good half of our journey so there were few places to stop safely.
We're talking single track lanes through valleys with a sheer drop on one side and dozens of suicidal sheep running in front of the car.
He's been up since 0530.
Fun!
I've got a good plan for the drive home where we'll be stopping every hour so he can run around and eat properly so hopefully he'll be much better on the way back.
We did a ~3 hour drive for a family vacation when Sapling was 3 or 4 weeks old, and the drive was a nightmare. Sapling had really bad reflex at the time, so we couldn't feed her while driving, and when we did stop to feed her, we had to wait an hour or something while keeping her upright before we could put her back in her car seat.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Well the baby is pulling himself to standing all over the place and also bellowing constantly and baby yammering so he’s trying to learn to walk and talk simultaneously. Chill out little man, you aren’t 9 months yet!
We have surrounded everything we own with playpen walls. I really wish we could tie stuff down. But things migrate to higher and higher shelves…
Oh yeah, this is our second kid so I know the drill. I’m going to consider myself lucky if he’s not walking at nine months like his brother did.
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Yeah, 100% let the kids hang out and help with bandaids, get a kid a glass of water, etc.
Disclaimer, this question if for me learning. If its not bleeding, is it that big of an issue? I mean, obviously it still hurt? But I feel like I got scrapes like that not infrequently, and mostly just went with neosporin and a bandaid. Either snip the skin of with scissors, or pull it off even though it hurts? I also acknowledge that this might just me being a weird kid who liked to pick at my scabs.
Edit: Also, is "decile" a New Zealander thing? I assume in reference to population density?
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
We figured that the stop in KY would probably be most interesting for the adults in the group, but thought that at least we could see where the Derby is run. My son is looking to major in chemistry, so maybe the distilleries would hit an interest though.
We thought about Cedar Point, but for some reason, Luke isn't huge into theme parks.
It's going to be a challenging trip. It's a long stint in one city - I'm sure we'll have board games and Magic cards packed with us, and we've been told to not fill the days during the competition because you don't want a tired kid trying to compete.
Double check what Cedar Point's availability is; Kid Bum #2's choir end-of-year trip to the Point got rescheduled last week due to staffing issues and realigning the park's operating hours.
As far as stuff to do in Indy, outside the Speedway museum and tour, visitindy.com is a pretty good resource on what to do based on your timeline in town. A few key events that may be of interest:
Warren Buffet concert in nearby Noblesville (north of Indy)
Maren Morris - The RSVP Tour @ White River State Park (near downtown)
WNBA matchup between NY Liberty vs. Indiana Fever
Triple-A Baseball series between Omaha vs. Indy
Otherwise, some of the fun, teenager stuff is towards the north/northeast (Carmel and Fishers) side of the I-465 loop. There is a K1 indoor kart racing facility and a Topgolf driving range towards that way (if what I see is on these YouTube shorts is true, launching golf balls from three stories high is all the rage lit cool these days).
Yes, gaming is probably the thing all three agree on - although I know one other parent did buy tickets to the Triple-A baseball game mentioned by ani_game_bum. An arcade would be good actually, Luke loves Funspot in NH where it's mostly classic arcade games and not the super pricey fancy stuff they do at a Dave and Busters for example. Concerts would probably be out. Frankly, the wife and I have already bought some sort of pricey concert tickets for later in the summer so that's a tapped-out budget as much as I'd love to see either of the shows listed above. Luke also likes shops - like the cheesy little shops you get in Chinatown or retro gaming shops - and zoos/aquariums are always a hit with everyone.
Unfortunately, as they are teenagers, their input ranges from "I don't know, whatever" to "Sure, sounds fine". I also know one dad is doing Niagara Falls but Luke wasn't super into going back there since we did go a few years ago on another trip.
In terms of Fishmans situation, probably not. A scrape which removes the upper layer of skin and then regrows isn't going to kill anyone. It does out them at a risk of infection if the wound wasn't cleaned prior to bandage. A high risk? Again, probably not in an otherwise healthy kid.
Which comes to my problem, there are a lot of unhealthy kids walking around that look otherwise normal.
Putting the responsibility on a child to assess, diagnose, and treat an injury is fucking insane. When you add the fact the child is now expected to contact the teacher for what they consider to be a "serious injury" is negligent.
Personally, in my trauma experience, I would be a lot less concerned with a bleeding injury than I would with a fall. The number of kids I've personally taken care of for a distal radial or condyle fracture of the humerus after a fall from standing height or a swing is easily above one hundred. Those kinds of fractures aren't the easiest to diagnose because they're not the most painful. Then you add in the issues with pediatric patients and you've got an easy recipe for a missed diagnosis.
All together is it all that risky? Maybe and maybe not? Personally I don't have much tolerance for risk when it comes to children or medical intervention.
Oh, right, I didn't mean to say this is no big deal. This is clearly not something a 9 year old should be assessing. Just, if its generally accepted that some neosporin and a bandaid isn't enough, I should probably revise my personal wound assessment metrics.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
The basic basic concept is that schools with a lower decile rating are in areas of lower income and therefore higher govt funding needs, while those in higher decile areas have a higher area income rating and need less govt funding (because they community does the funding, usually through a "donation" system. Oddly enough my school is dropping the donation this year as a way to get full govt funding).
My thing with this personally is that I'd expect a higher decile zone to have more readily available parent/guardian volunteers because they're off a higher income and night not be working minimum wage jobs (this is based on my current address where we're decile 7 and there is a lot of parent/guardian involvement because a lot of homes have stay at home parents/guardians because they can afford to).
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Are the donations mandatory, hence the quotes? Cause this sounds like a system ripe for all the rich people putting their kids instead into a private school and leaving a high decile public school devoid of expected donations, leaving it significantly underfunded.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
So far We've had two fundraisers as well.
There are private schools with tuition as well. I have no idea really how it works
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Public school donations are technically voluntary, but tax-deductible. Because donations. Hence they tend to be higher in higher-income areas. Social pressure is such that they are nearly universally given, so some see it as mandatory or compulsory.
Because my work feeds direct into government payroll systems I can literally set it up so the donation is paid direct from my paycheck and my tax details get automatically recalculated, so I don't even need to file to claim the deductible.
Private school fees are fees for services, so you don't get the same tax deduction. Additionally, education funding is such that private schooling is generally perceived to be significantly more expensive for only minor advantage over the public school system. You pay a lot more, but don't generally get that much better than just going to a decent school.
Doesn’t the donation system mean that rich areas get well funded public schools (thanks to donations), and less rich areas…don’t? That seems weirdly regressive.
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The point ahava made was that the rich area schools receive significantly less govt funding thanks to a higher anticipated donation level. It probably still works out better for the higher income areas, but at least seems like they tried to make it work.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
The richer areas get more from donations and less government funding. The poorer areas get more public government funding because they can't rely on getting as much from donations. The government funding is supposed to make up the shortfall to make the playing field more level, but the model is imperfect and overall the really high-income schools tend to operate with a much greater operating budget because the donations can get... quite high.
Ah, I misread. So it’s just…odd. And doesn’t deal well with edge cases. Huh. (Ian terrified of sussing out the Canadian school system, but we have time!)
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But it feels a lot like if you're not already familiar with the school system, there no real guide on how things work?
I know that there's music and a craft group and that they take place during break times, but I have no idea how to get her involved. And a lot of the communications they come home about it seem to assume that you know.
And I didn't go to school here and neither did ecco for primary and so we're both extremely confused about things, but I'm just socially anxious enough to not be confident enough to ask.
So yes, being nervous about learning school systems is totally a parent thing and definitely a thing to talk about here.
Because... Aghhhh
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everything at our kids school is like this, the common introduction to a letter home is "As you may already know..." and every time I'm thinking 'where would I have had to have been to have known this already?'
Not B2: we have many parents who don't speak Dutch, or are in the process of learning it. All communication needs to be easier so you can understand what it's about with the reading level of a ~10 year old. I notice the parent's committee likes to use figures of speech and the director is fond of fluffy language to "soften the blow", like the announcement to cancel school trips was full of "Sadly, and as you may have figured out already, we are not in a position to plan a school trip this year, but we are confident that, next year, we'll have a school trip!" And it's such a shit sandwich that'll just confuse the fuck out of everyone.
Spelling and grammatical errors: this is just the parent's committee. They could have the 9-10 year olds proofread their newsletters and they'd turn out better.
So I dunno, my running theory is that schools are actually very bad at communicating. Try and lure a more experienced parent in sharing their secrets with you. :U
It's probably because of people with multiple kids. A lot of things repeat year after year and if you have multiple kids that attend the same school you really do already know a lot of what's going to happen and when.
Most of it can be determined from our FTA meetings. The FTA has a facebook page and a Remind group (the texting system our school uses) to get information out, but if you want to know more than the basics, it's helpful to go to the meetings. And they try to make the meetings easy to go to and inclusive, but no meeting time/place works for everybody.
But I've gotten more comfortable in contacting the teachers, VP and principal just by getting to know people. I may even join the FTA next year (it's a very small org, and this year they almost didn't have people who wanted to run.)
School funding is an interesting topic, because my kids' school has a lot of low-income students (in fact, they have a goal of admitting 75% low-income/ low-housing/etc students for K). We don't get a lot of parents involved, or a lot of parent donations. But we do get a nice amount of Title 1 money to spend on things, and qualify for programs like getting free after-school.
In contrast to the school my kids are zoned for, which is the rich school in the district. Some of my kids' friends go there, and the fundraising is really intense. They don't require parental donations, but they say things like "the average family donates $$$, please consider donation", they have two school groups (the FTA and a separate "friends of X school") to donate to, with different requirements for how the money is spent, and mention that Art Teacher is funded by donations, and your kids love Art Teacher, don't they? Sometimes we go to their fundraising activities because it's next door. But while they try to make everything free at my kids' school (free food and water, but you can spend extra to buy a soda, at the spring fair), they nickle and dime you at the richer school. But they don't get Title 1 money or some of the free programs my kids' school does.
I read this backwards and was really confused on what thread I was in for a moment there.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
The fence between us and this neighbor is chain-link, so totally see-through. He will stand by it, look forlornly at the neighbors atv, and say “When I poop on the potty, I will get a 4 wheeler.” Like a man in prison looking at the outside world, making plans for his freedom.
Then we go in the house and “I need a diaper to poop.”
His school thinks he may have ADHD. He's 5, and next year will be in an ICT classroom (with two teachers), his own personal para, OT and a counselor that will work with him regularly. They wanted more information so they can help him better.
Last time I tried, I found out nobody takes my insurance. And the costs are $2k-$6k for the places that are open and taking new patients. With massively long wait-lists. I'm actually on the wait-lists now, and trying to get on lists for other places with lower costs... but a lot of places closed or went to skeleton crews due to COVID with no plans to open back up.
His school really wants him to have on prior to Kindergarten in the fall, but I still have to do the legwork to find a place.
Just had a meeting going over his accommodations for next year, and they brought up the evaluation again. I mentioned everything I had tried to do, the costs, and the wait-lists, etc.
I was given the information for two places that could work. One place had an email, so that was easy to contact.
Second place. whew. I call, and their voicemail says to try emailing them- without saying the email address- because they are on skeleton crew mostly WFH. I check their website, and nope, I see no email address. I dig through their website, and, eventually, find an address for general inquiries. It's a large organization offering many services, but sure, I'll email their general email that I'm sure won't get lost. I also went through their phone tree. I usually can figure out 90% of phone trees, but- large organization- and the service I wanted wasn't actually listed(under a name I recognized at least). Select for the receptionist, and have to leave a message. I just babbled. I got the right information out there, but basically asked that if they call back, to give me an actual number or extension to call or an email address to write to after saying why I called. I only went that far because it was highly recommended as a reasonably priced service a lot of families at the school have used.
I think I might be lost on part of this. The cost you said is from the psych eval itself correct? And the school is pushing hard to have it done ahead of kindergarten? I am suspecting this is the case because I can see why the school would really want this done before he was officially enrolled. After he is enrolled they have to do the testing, and pay for it. They will likely whine and cry about it. I can't remember if it is 504, or IDEA, or some other specific law that governs this. I do know the federal government forces public schools to do this as a matter of law.
Edit: The following link will probably be super helpful. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-know-rights-201607-504.pdf
He's already registered for K. The stickler is that he will be receiving services, and those likely would not change based on the evaluation. They did an evaluation for services, and unless I contest the services he'll be getting, they don't probably won't pay for an outside evaluation. From everything I've read.
People generally pay a lot of money to navigate services here. Free services help is reserved for people who make a lot less money than I do.
I hadn't seen that document before, though, and I'll see if I can push to get them to do it. One place just got back to me, and it's a 4-6 month wait-list
Keep in mind contesting the services can mean advocating for more. So if you think they are falling short then give them hell. As I understand it they don't get a choice in paying for the second opinion either. It is done that way so they can't try to minimize problems.
Apologies if I am being redundant. I know I am popping in part way through a story. I just remember the hell my kids school put us through. I was fortunate enough to have made some contacts with (good) school counselors through my master's program. It led to some very intense meetings, and at least one faculty member looking for a new job (she Found Out). I try to help others in the same situation as I can.
We have surrounded everything we own with playpen walls. I really wish we could tie stuff down. But things migrate to higher and higher shelves…
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
I didn't realize how small the roads would be for a good half of our journey so there were few places to stop safely.
We're talking single track lanes through valleys with a sheer drop on one side and dozens of suicidal sheep running in front of the car.
He's been up since 0530.
Fun!
I've got a good plan for the drive home where we'll be stopping every hour so he can run around and eat properly so hopefully he'll be much better on the way back.
No, it's good to hear another perspective. My son will be literally getting max services offered in general classroom settings- anything more, and he would need to be placed in a special school. Since he's academically average/advanced, they are trying to keep him in general ed classes*. That's why I'm not fighting the school too hard. I'm starting to lean towards telling them I won't be getting an outside evaluation unless I can find a reasonably priced one, and they can set up and pay for it if it's required. Although I'm not sure why they are asking me to do this in the first place, but it probably has to do with it district farming so many services out to non-profits and bureaucracy.
*If he had an asd diagnosis, there are special 2E programs he could qualify for, but they are difficult to get into due to limited spots. But it's likely he's not on the spectrum. And we really like the school he's in.
We did a ~3 hour drive for a family vacation when Sapling was 3 or 4 weeks old, and the drive was a nightmare. Sapling had really bad reflex at the time, so we couldn't feed her while driving, and when we did stop to feed her, we had to wait an hour or something while keeping her upright before we could put her back in her car seat.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
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Oh yeah, this is our second kid so I know the drill. I’m going to consider myself lucky if he’s not walking at nine months like his brother did.
Went to a beautiful beach today on the west coast of Wales, he was unsure of everything at first but slowly got more comfortable.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
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