A good meeting

At lunch time, I went to meet the new Principal. She was younger than I was expecting. I have no idea why I was expecting an older lady, but for whatever reason, I was.

I was very pleased to see that she had S's student record on her desk, and as we sat and chatted, she went through various sections of the record. Every now and then she would ask questions specific to the section she was looking at - such as suspensions.
It was pretty obvious from the start of the meeting that she has some educational background in special education. She knew things about Aspergers that the average teacher wouldn't now - unless they have either taught such a child, or had some formal training. I wasn't sure which is was until she made a few comments about his LD's, and his ADHD. Then I knew.

YES! (It really does help with the Principal has a good grasp of the issues.)

I was able to address my concerns about the EA and how Hubby and I had our reservations about her formal training. I used the fractured thumb incident as a "for example." The very first thing she said after I told her about that was, "Well, that is the worst thing you could say to a child like S - it would have made him even more anxious."
My heart did yet another happy dance.

I was told that funding has been cut (typical) and she would see what she could do to move the EA's around. For now, though, S will have the same EA as last year.
I also asked about the French teacher - were we going to have the same one? Answer - No. (yippeeee!!)
The Principal then told me that the SERT has requested to offer a Social Skills class, and would I be willing to have S participate in that? (Hmmm.... child with Aspergers and a Social Skills class - would that be helpful??) Of course I said that I would be pleased to have him take such a class, and then I was informed that the class would be offered at the same time of day as French would be. HA!
The SERT couldn't get S exempt from taking French, but she has come up with a viable way to have him excused from the class! :o)

I left the school feeling very positive.

Tonight, I had a minor anxiety attack when I couldn't locate S's records binder.
This binder is over two inches thick, and has to be upgraded to the next binder size. It is full of information pertaining to S - complete with his pshyco-educational report, all doctors reports, reports from his OT, his Play Therapist, all report cards, suspensions, letters to the school...in other words, it is not something you want to lose. I checked two spots then found it in the third.
When I had started to reorganize the boy's homework cabinet - putting away all the new school supplies - I found a number of pieces that needed to be filed in each boy's binder. I knew exactly where the A-man's was, but for some reason S's wasn't where it should have been.
Crisis has been diverted - now I just need to get a big binder and more sheet protectors.

(yes, I am a geek, I know...)