update on bullying | ADHD Information

My son had a meeting with his therapist today, and she is livid. She's an
incredibly calm, mellow person. I am shocked she is so mad. She's
completely flipping out. She believes that my son if being touched
inappropriately against his will every single day at school. !!!!! She is
disgusted - she says she can teach him coping techniques for dealing
with mean things that are said to him, but she can't tell him to just accept
being touched when he doesn't want to be.

What happens is, despite his IEP which says he must be accompanied by
an ed tech when moving between classrooms, he is being allowed to go
ahead of the teacher along with other students, and he is being physically
bullied in the hallways when there's no supervision.

Oh! And his ed tech got disciplined today! Yesterday when the kids were
leaving school the principal observed her doing what I've said she's been
doing all year - turning her back when my son got into it with another
student. The classes "line up" for the busses - each class stands in a line
side by side. Students in another line started arguing, and my son's ed
tech turned her back to him to break them up. Then my son and another
kid got into a little pushing match. So the principal witnessed her
ignoring his IEP with his own eyes.

This is still making me sick. My son's therapist said that he's been
stuffing his pain over the bullying for a while, and that it's going to take a
while before he really feels better. And - this actually has nothing to do
with his ADHD. He was targeted originally for being "different" because
of the ADHD, but this is just plain physical bullying that is driving him
over the edge.

Corrina, please let us know what response the principal has with your note. If that was me receiving it, it would make me reach out to that student to help. How awesome that just getting this off your son's chest would allow him to move on with his day.  I hope the principal reads it as positive as I did!

Keep up the great job, mom!!

Here's my latest note to my son's principal - it just about says it all.

***
DS said he talked to you yesterday. He said that you asked if there had
been any recent incidents, and that he explained that another child
"shoulder butted [him] in the forehead" while he was taking a
computerized assessment, and that the teacher in the room didn't notice
because she was working with another child. It was timed perfectly so
that the teacher wouldn't notice the original action, but if DS had
complained about it, he would have gotten in trouble. I asked DS if he
told anyone when it happened - he said no, because the teacher didn't
see it so she wouldn't have done anything.

I asked him if he felt better after he told you about it, and he said he did.
I noticed a difference at home. He's been a bit grumpy in the afternoon,
and I assumed it was a rebound effect, that his medication was wearing
off and that was causing him to be irritable. However, yesterday, after
someone had listened to him about the bullying episode, he was in a
great happy mood all afternoon.

I literally have heard about incidences like this - that he was hit or
pushed or a kid said something mean to him - every single day for
months. I really thought he was imagining or exaggerating it. I'll be
telling his therapist about this incident and his reaction to it this
afternoon. I think she will be able to give him more tools to keep him
going in the right direction.