Mission Not- Impossible

Here’s to new beginnings… working toward a new home, new outlook, new school for Ricci, and new possibilities. Ricci started at a new school a few weeks ago and per the IEP laws, they had 30 days to evaluate him and create their goals and Education plan.
I have been to many of these meetings for Ricci and some were awesome, and some were, well let’s say…. Not so much…... I've been told, "Oh he'll get better, it just takes time, after the medication they just catch up..." And I've been reminded of the painful fact that Ricci requires up to twenty verbal prompts and maybe ten physical prompts to stay in his seat. That he takes away from other students, and I've even had a teacher blame his behavior on the fact that he has been "enabled."
Here at this new school, I was blown away and I mean that in a positive, new hope, super excited way. And I owe it to a brand new teacher, in her first year, equipped with her passion, her innovation, and her fortitude. At the IEP, it had only been two weeks, and so I will not say that I expect it to be perfect all year, in fact we already had one minor hiccup, but I know that this teacher and this team is DIFFERENT! The team presented us with tangible goals and concrete strategies they plan to use to help modify behavior...which honestly is the primary thing holding Ricci back!
I knew this on day four when we received the class weekly newsletter and she introduced Ricci as a little second grader who "loves to draw," while this may seem like a minor detail, it is huge because in five days with my son, this brand spanking new, ball of light of a teacher, actually SEES Ricci. She sees his interests, and she listed it as his strength publicly. She honored my son to the class and the community of families, and in doing so she did something I have not seen in my entire time walking Ricci through the school experience.
Then they called me to have his IEP on week two, and already they had strong observations on his triggers, they learned how to push through those triggers and then to reward him with physical activity in order to motivate him!
I sat across the table, 36, in my fourth year of IEP’s grinning and nodding, and hopeful at this new school and their understanding of Ricci’s true needs to move, and that he was not defying them on purpose, but that to him focusing all his energy on a worksheet takes all he has...usually lasting only about eight minutes... (they documented this too!!), and they pushed him in those eight minutes and then recognized he needed breaks to concentrate. I could feel my hope building when all of a sudden that lovely ball of light, that brand new teacher said the words that made me realize this is where Ricci is supposed to be in this very minute, in this time of flux, he has finally found someone other than his dad, Scarlett, Papa, Aunt Anielle, Aunt "Ananaannne," and the rest of our most likely undiagnosed-special needs family,.. that GETS HIM!!!!
The young light emittining teacher said,“When Ricci gets anxious and needs to get out, I sometimes send him on secret missions, I might say ‘go check the swings, the janitor needs to know if any are broken..”
Secret Missions, what a stroke of genius, and to the boy who feels he is a super hero- ninja- fighter for justice, these missions are perfect…. And then she shared how after reading a book involving a scavenger hunt, she allowed Ricci to create signs around the school to lead his own class on a hunt; therefore motivating him to produce three independent writing samples, to lead his class. The teacher explained how she didn't knwo what Ricci had planned for his much anticipated treasure waiting at room eight, but that she let him lead, The hunt ended in him taking them back to room eight where the treasure was simply a Lego figure hiding in his backpack, and the kids loved it….
Listening to these details of Ricci’s first days in room 8, I fought so hard to hold back tears of appreciation for this beautiful shiny soul sitting across from me. (She was probably looking at me thinking, whoa! What the heck is wrong with this woman!!!???) masquerading as a simple second grade teacher in her first year of teaching, and I thought, FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY...this lady can do it, she can teach Ricci that school is fun; learning is fun.. and that this finally is not an impossible mission to ask of the education system!