Distressed

My baby in first grade is having a lot of difficulties in school. Im so upset about it all, it just brings me to tears. He's got learning disabilities, he's in speech therapy and he's got ADHD on top of all of that. We worked so hard in Kindergarten and were very excited to find that he no longer needed the out of class resources by the end of the year. He was at the same level with his class and ready to move on to first grade.

Then we moved to Florida.

In Texas, 1st graders learn how to read. In Florida, you have to know how to read BEFORE you can go to 1st grade. Their first reaction was to put Austin back in Kindergarten. He's 7 years old and has already been in Kindergarten twice. So it's not an option.

I got an "Elementary Scholarship Warning" from the school today. It says:

At the present time your son is doing unsatisfactory work in the subjects below:
Reading and Math

Teacher's Comments: Austin is working below grade level.

And I get to sign it and send it back...along with his progress report that tells me absolutely nothing and his IEP (Individual Educational Plan) that makes no sense to me what so ever.

I called Military OneSource. They support military and their families in just about any situation...and if they cant, they find someone that can. Or they're supposed to atleast. This is my first experience with them. As I was telling the lady on the phone what was going on and that I needed a tutor or help or a scholarship to a private school or something, I found myself in tears again, and then frustrated at myself because I couldnt spit out the words. He needs help and I cant help him. That is the worst feeling in the world.

She set up a conference call for Wednesday at 230 pm with an education consultant. I think he'll set up testing for Austin to figure out what exactly is his learning disability. So far the school has labeled him learning disabled, but without testing to know exactly what the problem is. They just generalized him. Isnt that lazy? How can you fix something when you dont know what is wrong? She is also having the research department find me resources for tutoring, scholarships, ANYTHING that might help in my area. She said I should consider having Austin see a therapist for the stress that he might be having for being so far behind his peers. Im not sure about that. We went to a therapist to get him diagnosed with ADHD and she continued to see him at my request because Matt had just left for Greece, but after a few visits, it just seemed pointless. I guess I need to talk to Austin and see what he wants to do. See if he feels alienated at school.

I just feel so bad for him. Its not his fault. If we hadnt moved to Florida, he wouldnt be in this position. He would be at the same level with the rest of the class. He basically cant do ANYTHING because he cant read. He's smart. He just takes longer to "get it". And the longer it takes, the harder it is, because of his ADHD...he cant pay attention that long. So it feels like an uphill battle. I mean, I try to help him with his homework, and I just think, "OMG why dont you get this?" We both get frustrated with each other and its hard to continue. I dont know how to explain it without giving away the answers...and he just wants the answers. He's tired of trying to figure it out on his own. Of course he is...its not fun anymore. I dont want him to grow up hating school.

I hope we can find something that will work. We dont have a lot of money to hire a tutor. Its a shame that schools cant be on the same curriculum across the states. Im surprised I did as well as I did in school when I was a military brat. I got lucky, I was always ahead of everyone else when we moved.

I'd consider moving back to Texas with the kids if I thought it was the best thing for Austin. But there's got to be someone that can help us.