Let me preface this by giving some background details. I am a second grade teacher in California. I've taught Kindergarten through 6th grade and am in my 11th year of teaching. I have had challenging students my whole career. I've learned a lot along the way. I continue to learn as I watch not only my stundents but my own children grow in school.
The twins started kindergarten in 2014 at my school that I teach at. It's been nice being able to know their teachers and find one that is a good fit for them. I debated, and still do, on separating them in school or keeping them together. For their first year, I felt it would be best if they stayed together as they have never been apart. They both did really well behaviorally. They didn't seem to be bothered by each other. Academically they were a little below grade level by the end of kindergarten and, as a teacher, I thought they just needed more time to grow and read. They went to summer school and did well. Then first grade happened. I kept them together and they had a patient teacher who knew that Willy was a little "sensitive" and just needed updates on how the day would go or of any changes in the day. The first trimester teacher conference came and they were still below grade level, and needed speech therapy, which I knew about. I was upset but still thought they just needed more practice, more time. They would come to my class full of energy and, needless to say, I would have to leave work at my contracted time and found it hard to stay later and work with them in my room. I tried sending them to an after school program and they would be in a foul mood as it was a long day for them.
Spring parent/teacher conference hit me hard like a ton of bricks and , looking back now, changed forever how I viewed my boys and other children with the same needs. They were dropping farther below grade level. Willy was going backwards in his retaining of academics and they were having melt downs daily in my classroom after school. I was at a loss at what to do. I almost had a 2007 Britney Spears meltdown that day, but a cooler head prevailed and I stayed in my car. I went home from the conference, in tears, with feelings of guilt and desperation. How did I not see my boys struggling? I was so sure they didn't have a learning disorder. I am a teacher and I couldn't help my own children. I was so stressed out daily from teaching a challenging group of students that year, along with the day in and outs of being a mom of a big family with teenagers (my mom was right...they are aliens in your son's body) that I felt helpless in how to help my boys. I didn't know what the next steps were, if any.
In being an oversharer, thinker and talker, I talked things out with my husband, the twin's teacher, my mom, my best friend and my teacher-friend-forever teaching partner, I found some advice from outsiders. I was denying to even have a SST meeting (student study team) as I was certain they didn't have a learning disorder. But I kept the meeting anyway in hopes that something will come out of it to help us. My mom hat had to go on and get to work. At the end of the day, my boys needed to come first and not my students, not my inability to destress from the work day, the household chores and bill paying, but my two boys who were struggling in more ways than I even knew at the time. I took a day off on the advice of my TFF to observe the boys in their class to see just what was going on. Was it a learning disability? Do they need to be separated? How were they interacting during blending and reading? How well were they functioning in the class? During my one day observation, a huge light bulb went off! It was like all these random puzzle pieces were coming together.
I have had a sneaking feeling since William was 2 that he may have sensory issues. He had a couple febrile seizures since he was 1 1/2 and his behavior changed since the last one at 3 years old. I had always had sensory processing disorder diagnosis for him in the back of mind due to my
experience with a student who had it and my own sensory issues that I have had. He would gag at smells in the car or with certain foods. When he would eat, he held his cups with closed fists because he didn't like to feel the cup with dirty hands. He loathed the dentist and it took him until the age of 6 to even let them look at his teeth. He needs reassurance of changes in his day and always asks "what happens if" type of questions. They both walk have walked on their tip toes and are super active children. They have always been harder to take out in public because it's a nonstop twinado when they do go out. They both smell everything....and I mean everything before touching or eating. They continued certain behaviors that only little toddlers would do. They have special stuffed animals that they smell and rub at night or take them when we go in public. Austin has a special blanket that he smells and sucks everyday when he's tired. I had always thought Willy would probably have sensory processing issues. But never Austin. I knew he was a more active child. I thought he was just quirky. He's kind of flakey and tends to have more attention issues. But it wasn't until I watched him in class one day that I realized what was fully going on. He was the kid that rocked repeatedly in his chair. He would lose his items in his desk or forget what he was doing. But it wasn't until I watched him in his 40 minute class that worked on remediation of skills with a different teacher than his first grade teacher did I put it together. The whole time of this class he was sucking on his hand. He was stressed out and needed to decompress in a way that was soothing to him. He wasn't acting out or being disruptive. It was a coping skill that he did to help him through this learning time. My heart ached and my brain just started connecting all of these pieces. I realized they both have sensory issues and have always had it. I went home and researched sensory processing disorder and was checking so many things off the "checklist " SPDstar.org that was so relieving to me. My twins are not the only ones out there that do these things. Most importantly there were tons of things and strategies I could do right away to help them, both academically and behaviorally.
The school proceeded with an SST meeting that ended well. I told the psychologist and speech therapists of my concerns that it could be sensory processing disorder and they set up the next steps
with an occupational therapist to assess them and see her findings. This was towards the end of the
first grade school year and we are now waiting for this meeting at the end of this month.
The twins are now currently in 2nd grade and are still together in my best teacher friend's class next to mine. She has been by my side, and continues, through all of this with the twins and I knew it would be the best fit for them. I have found, and continue to research, as 2nd grade has shown some new challenges with them, and will be sharing these as well as my thoughts along this journey. I am restarting my blog because these last few months have been both rewarding and challenging as a mom and educator. In talking with my mom today she lit a fire in me. She said, "You've always been a leader. You've always wanted to help children. Maybe this is your calling in life....to help families
and educators who work with these types of children and be their voice." I've felt compelled to share
my story, struggles, and strategies in hopes that someone, somewhere will read this and feel they are not alone either. My hope is that these sensational sensory kids can have a voice in an over-sensory filled world, as well as give educators and moms like me a sounding board and safe place to share our thoughts through this journey of motherhood.
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