Do you remember...
...when I bitched about the school district causing a fuss because Callan was a DAY early getting his Hepatitis B shot? And that I was making arrangements to get his Hep B redone after the New Year because of Aetna being a douche about paying for well-child visits and innoculations in the past? And that the school was constantly calling us about Callan's behavior in school and that we'd had multiple meetings about getting him occupational therapy in school to help him "overcome his deficits" because he hadn't had preschool?
Well.
Things have, as far as we knew, been getting better. He was graduated out of Title I Math and Reading after three months because he was exceeding expectations -- in fact, he was exceeding the standard K-level expectations by a considerable margin. At our parent-teacher conference, his teacher assured us that he was getting better and we were also assured that the occupational and speech therapy he was getting were having measurable results in the classroom. He's been bringing home green tickets (best behavior indicators, basically) and we've been using the same system that they use in school to help control his behavior at home. The only major sticking point that we've had with the school recently is their obsession with the fact that he puts things in his mouth and chews on them -- something, incidentally, that his father and I BOTH still do -- which, when I talked to the pediatrician about it at their insistence, I was informed was a fairly ordinary childhood behavior that most kids grow out of. The school district wanted that in writing; I told them I would ask the doctor to send them a letter when I took Callan in for his appointment.
Guess what happened today?
Child Protective Services turned up on our doorstep!
It seems someone "anonymously" called in a report to them, alleging that Callan has lost a "significant" amount of weight (the significant amount is five pounds, lost over a period of four months between September and December), that he is suffering from "severe" social developmental delays (I thought that the plan was to address his developmental issues through in-school therapy, a plan which I agreed with and approved, and which has apparently been working according to the regular updates that I receive -- delays, incidentally, that the school's own assessment stated outright did not rise to the level of an actual learning disability), and suggesting that he's being physically abused (he has a scratch on his neck from wresting with the dogs, a patch of dry skin on his belly BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING WINTER, and "someone" has suggested that his father beats him when, at most, he occasionally gets spanked and then only after time-outs fail to correct his behavior). Oh, and apparently the fact that Callan hasn't had his Hep B shot yet is now a major issue despite repeated assurances from the school district that, well, it isn't a major issue and seeing the doctor after the new year was not a problem.
On the plus side, the CPS person I talked to indicated that she thought there was nothing to support the allegations but that they have to investigate every report they receive regardless and so, at some point, I'm going to have to make the time to go to her office in Reading to talk with her and so Callan can be interviewed. So Callan is going to have to miss a day of school and a day of occupational therapy...to prove that we're not abusing him by pursuing all the options available to us at the school district level to improve his ability to function in a school setting. And, in all likelihood, we're both going to have to miss a day of work.
I am angry beyond the capacity for rational thought.
Well.
Things have, as far as we knew, been getting better. He was graduated out of Title I Math and Reading after three months because he was exceeding expectations -- in fact, he was exceeding the standard K-level expectations by a considerable margin. At our parent-teacher conference, his teacher assured us that he was getting better and we were also assured that the occupational and speech therapy he was getting were having measurable results in the classroom. He's been bringing home green tickets (best behavior indicators, basically) and we've been using the same system that they use in school to help control his behavior at home. The only major sticking point that we've had with the school recently is their obsession with the fact that he puts things in his mouth and chews on them -- something, incidentally, that his father and I BOTH still do -- which, when I talked to the pediatrician about it at their insistence, I was informed was a fairly ordinary childhood behavior that most kids grow out of. The school district wanted that in writing; I told them I would ask the doctor to send them a letter when I took Callan in for his appointment.
Guess what happened today?
Child Protective Services turned up on our doorstep!
It seems someone "anonymously" called in a report to them, alleging that Callan has lost a "significant" amount of weight (the significant amount is five pounds, lost over a period of four months between September and December), that he is suffering from "severe" social developmental delays (I thought that the plan was to address his developmental issues through in-school therapy, a plan which I agreed with and approved, and which has apparently been working according to the regular updates that I receive -- delays, incidentally, that the school's own assessment stated outright did not rise to the level of an actual learning disability), and suggesting that he's being physically abused (he has a scratch on his neck from wresting with the dogs, a patch of dry skin on his belly BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING WINTER, and "someone" has suggested that his father beats him when, at most, he occasionally gets spanked and then only after time-outs fail to correct his behavior). Oh, and apparently the fact that Callan hasn't had his Hep B shot yet is now a major issue despite repeated assurances from the school district that, well, it isn't a major issue and seeing the doctor after the new year was not a problem.
On the plus side, the CPS person I talked to indicated that she thought there was nothing to support the allegations but that they have to investigate every report they receive regardless and so, at some point, I'm going to have to make the time to go to her office in Reading to talk with her and so Callan can be interviewed. So Callan is going to have to miss a day of school and a day of occupational therapy...to prove that we're not abusing him by pursuing all the options available to us at the school district level to improve his ability to function in a school setting. And, in all likelihood, we're both going to have to miss a day of work.
I am angry beyond the capacity for rational thought.