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| This is how he feels about everything except screen time and ice cream. |
Parents have been complaining about the problems Luke is causing in class. So we decided to write a letter and ask the teacher to forward it to the parents. Don't know if she will or not. We'll see. I say that a lot.
Dear Parents,
Hi. Our son Luke is in your
child’s class. Some of you are likely aware that Luke has been involved in some
problems in class and on the playground recently. We would like to apologize
for any hurt or frustration he has caused.
In addition, if you are
interested, we would also like to take this opportunity to explain a little bit
about Luke’s disabilities. We hesitate to tell others about Luke’s disabilities
because we don’t want him to be negatively labeled or teased, but we hope that
offering some information may help the situation.
Luke has been diagnosed with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and some behaviors of Aspergers
Syndrome (this is often referred to as high-functioning autism). Though he
often seems like a fairly typical child and does well academically, he has
impaired impulse control, social skills, and sensory processing. He also has
difficulty handling conflict and changes in his routine or environment and is
still adjusting to moving to a new school.
We know that Luke’s behaviors
can be antagonistic or immature. His skills have improved over time, but
he still struggles to a degree that can sometimes be disruptive. Luke's
challenges have helped our family learn a lot about getting along with people who
are different or who have disabilities. They often have unique gifts. We hope
you will see Luke’s presence as a learning opportunity for your child. We
understand there is a good deal of skepticism and misperception about
autism. We often don’t know what to think ourselves. Though Luke’s
disabilities can’t always be seen, we hope you can try to understand that his
challenges are real, and no one feels them more acutely than he does.
We work with Luke outside of
school and receive great support from specialists at the school. The patient
Mrs. Jones helps him track his behavior throughout the day. He is making
progress, and we will continue to address any problems. If you think this
information may be beneficial for your student, please feel free to share a
basic explanation of Luke’s challenges.
Thank you for your
understanding. Please fell free to call us if you have any questions or
concerns.
Have you ever sent a letter like this?
I have never sent a letter like that. I think your letter is excellent. If I received it I would have a better understanding of ADHD and Aspergers. I think you are being proactive instead of reactive and it should be very useful to parents. WOW, I am impressed.
ReplyDeleteSo how long should the ADHD diagnosis take? Should you be dubious of a physician who determines your kid too quickly? What kind of assessments can you anticipate from an ADHD diagnosis?
ReplyDelete@ADHD Not to be discouraging, but the diagnosis might take, hmm, 11 years? Okay, not really. You can have a school psychologist, pediatrician, or neuropsychologist make a diagnosis in an hour after describing your child's difficulties and social interactions, which we did. But of course we wanted to be sure so we have seen several specialists. We are now going to a psychologist who says he would diagnose my son as autistic because of his social impairments. So it has been more of a "journey" than a one time office visit. In the end, the particular diagnosis doesn't really matter. You look at your child's difficulties and address each one.
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