Dinorama (Now with Updates!)

If I tried to explain to you just how much trouble this little dinorama project (Get it? A diorama about dinosaurs? Dinorama?) turned out to be--not in the making, mind you, but in the final hour--I would probably get teary and cranky and angry, and I'd end up going on for way too long and I'd miss picking N up at his OT appointment, which would be extremely ironic, considering how the reason for my teariness and crankiness and anger would be the same reasons he's at the OT appointment in the first place.

In short, let's just say there was an oral report portion of this project, to be read in front of the class today.

In short, let's just say that someone whose name begins with N apparently was unwilling to do that portion of the report.

In short, let's also say that N's parents are, um, somewhat in disagreement with how to handle this whole issue.

I've decided that I, like my son, have special needs. My special need is that I need a special needs guru to tell me what to do in situations like this. But if I can't have that, I need a blunt object with which to bludgeon my husband until he agrees with my way of thinking about how to deal with these issues. (Kidding! Kidding! I swear!) [Edited to add: I can't figure out how to strikethrough, so that will have to suffice as a way to indicate that maybe, just maybe, I was overreacting a little, and maybe, just maybe, Baroy was on board with me and I just was too edgy to listen well enough to realize it. Maybe. Just maybe.]

I am tired, though. And this day is way too far from over.

[Edited to add, again: So there was a discussion about how to handle this with N's OT yesterday afternoon, in which I came out looking like I actually knew what I was talking about, thanks to some Twitter-coaching from some very smart ladies. And so, last night we videotaped N reading his report; we told him that it was so that he can see how good he is at reading aloud, and maybe it won't seem so scary to him. But, also, it's so that if the rest of our plan fails, we can always just send a DVD to school that the teacher can play for the class...a way to make sure he fulfills the assignment without totally freaking him out.

The rest of the plan involves having him read his report to his teacher during some "alone time" during recess or lunch, and then--and he agreed to this with his OT--reading one or two sentences of his report, while sitting at his desk if necessary rather than standing up in front of the class, which everyone agrees can be scary.

I emailed this plan to his teacher last night, and she's on board; not only that, but her reply made it clear that she not only 'gets' him, she really and truly cares about him:

N was so calm about the report; there were no discussions or early negotiations like we had with the poetry in December so I didn't even think to talk to him before hand about reading his report to the class. When I did call on him he calmly said he didn't think he wanted to and that was that. It was the end of the day and I told him we would talk tomorrow. So in the morning I will have him read it to me and we'll work through OT's recommendations. If they don't work, then send in the DVD. But it was nice to not have it consume him all day long the way the poetry practices did.

I love that woman.]