Wow it must be a record, posting three times in one day. Often I can’t find enough to fit in to one week!
Seems like today went really well. Paul came with me to pick Bethie up as he hadn’t been to Emerson before. Clare showed us around and I think Paul was as impressed as I was. We spoke to the Vice Principal and both he and Clare told me that Beth had had a great day in the classroom. There had been a bit of bullying but nothing that seemed to bother Beth too much though she has mentioned it quite a bit since she came home. She is being matter of fact about it though instead of worried about it. Apparently she told one girl to F Off! Not sure if it really happened as Beth has never sworn before. Another girl was asked why she wasn’t playing with Beth and she said it was because that’s what Beth had said to her. When I asked Beth about it later in the car she firstly said she didn’t and then admitted to it. I don’t know if it was just to shut me up or if she really did it but I’m sort of glad that she stuck up for herself when people were being mean to her. When I apologized to the staff they said not to worry, they were pleased that she coped well with being teased for being the new kid. They said as they didn’t see it anyway it’s just one child’s word against another. Another child was having a trial too and I think he was the one doing the bullying as Beth said he didn’t have a school uniform on.
Despite this Beth seemed to have had a good day. She really enjoyed herself and has talked about her new friends quite a bit. I feel fine about sending her back again, if they’re on top of any bullying and Beth isn’t worrying unduly I think it’ll be ok. It will happen wherever we go to start with, that’s the nature of kids. Especially ones like Beth, there’s no censureship at all, they just say what they mean. And here I was worried that Beth would insult somebody! She loved music and told me that they listened to tv ads then she played them on the drums. They did science and she came home with a bag full of goo. She told me about Neil Armstrong on the moon and showed me pages of work that she’d done. She loved it! When her new friend Fiona brought her out Beth hugged her as she said goodbye. It was so cute!
When we left I tried to assess when we’d know if we’re accepted. They want Beth to have a few more trial days so she’s going back next Tuesday. It’s really all about if they think she fits and it seems that she probably does. The vice principal was as enthusiastic about the trials as Clare was so let’s hope it’s a good sign.
After Emerson I took Beth to her paediatrician’s appointment. I explained everything we had discussed at school about the possibility of depression and emphasised that she is just as miserable at home. As Beth had clearly told me about being bullied today I didn’t believe that that was what was happening at school, oherwise she would tell me. Dr Chin suggested that we had a gluten intolerance test. This surprised me as when I brought this up years ago the doctor scoffed at my suggestion! I suggested that as we are doing a blood test anyway we should do a hormone test which he agreed to. In the end he decided to change her medication from Lovan to Zoloft over a week. He said Lovan is more for obsessive compulsive anxieties whereas Zoloft is more for anxiety that comes with autism. It’s also an anti depressant. He also suggested going to see a adolescent gynacologist who sees autistic kids which I think is an excellent idea as Beth’s out of control moods started along with her periods.
All in all an excellent day. Still have to be patient as I know I wont know for a while about Emerson but I feel so much better than I did last week. I’m so glad that I pushed for them to see her at their school, otherwise I don’t think she would have gotten this far. Let’s hope we’ll be as lucky with this school as we have been with our primary school.
