Okay I realize that I've been more then lax about the blog since the move but I'm going to go back to normal.... VERY SOON! First things first... I thought I'd give everyone the official ETHAN update. Ever since we started working with Fulton County and the asking questions about the special needs departments we've been more then nervous. The first week of school we had trouble even verifying with the school that they had simply read his IEP (Indiv. Education Plan) from Barrow County. The administration at Abbott's Hill Elementary was less then helpful and since we had such a positive experience in the Georgia special ed public education system in previous years we decided to trust the system and take a leap of faith.... 4 weeks after school started and we had already had enough. His teacher had yet to prove she had complied with the existing IEP at all and the administration was not at all worried when we brought up our concerns. He was complaining about going to school, he said he never got help in class and his teacher was sending home work with giant red F's all over it and complaining that he was unable to do it. At home we'd read to him the instructions and he would immediately do it- successfully! Basically, they weren't giving him the little bit of extra help he needed and they didn't believe in him. His love of learning was practically gone, his confidence was shot and he stopped asking questions (which was the biggest red flag for us!). His teacher even discribed him as quiet and well-mannered. It was obvious she didn't know who he was. It was heartbreaking to watch and frankly, pretty depressing to realize that the work that countless teachers and administrators put into him and beleiving in him was useless in the move. After requesting and being turned down for a meeting with the teacher and then an IEP meeting Doug and I both realized that this was not a battle Ethan needed to suffer from. There was no choice but to remove him from that school.
After a really stressfull week full of researching our options and praying for a little guidance we found the perfect place for him thanks to Georgia's SB 10.
Ethan is now in a private school, Hayden's Way. About 1/2 the kids that go there are on the Spectrum and the other 1/2 are not. It's only got about 50-60kids but it dies go K-12. Ethans class has 7 students in grades 2-4. The next class up is 4-6. They are very project driven and his fingers are constantly moving as he's learning (like building a small pyramid whiles he's learning Egyptian history). He has only been going this past week but he loves it. His schedules quite a bit different, Tuesday - Thursday 8-3:30. And Fridays the school is open for additional Art, Music, Science and theatre classes. The teachers are in the building and are available for tutoring and homework help all day Fridays as well. He does get a lot of homework over the weekend and right now he hates that aspect the most but I think he'll adjust. Monday's I've scheduled to be his therapy appointments so Lorali doesn't have to be dragged around anymore and he gets the one on one attention he needs. After only a few days we've already seen a major difference in him and his confidence. It's wonderful to see!

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