Manifestation

I sat in on my first manifestation determination meeting today. There was a middle schooler with LD who threw urine on to another student. We were supposed to determine if the behavior was caused by (or a manifestation of) his disability. Here's what happened: The boy had to use the bathroom and school security didn't allow him go back into the building. He decided to urinate into a Pringles can and in order to get rid of it, tossed it from the can out the window of the bus. Meanwhile the bus was next to another bus, in which a student had his window down. The victim basically had urine thrown on him.

I still had questions about how all of this really happened, because I felt like there were some details missing. Nonetheless, it was determined that this was not a manifestation of his disability, so he was suspended.

It was nice to see that his mother was livid at the meeting. Cursing up a storm and disgusted with him. I'm so used to parents that look like they have given up, or have no control over their kids. I'm not saying she has any control, but at least she cared enough to put on a show. I just hope the kid doesn't get into further trouble while he's out of school.

And that was just part of a crazy day which included a girlfight in which a security guard got punched in the face when he tried to break it up, and a model student bringing a cap gun to school. Good times.

Sometimes You Do Get Through

I had a breakthrough today with one of the kids I counsel each week. One of his goals is to acknowledge his strengths and weaknesses and accept that he has a learning disability. After having some unsuccessful sessions with him, I finally sat down with him and talked about what he as good at in school. It was weird because, for some reason, he was more receptive to what I was saying in session. We were able to talk and discuss what he needed to work on in school, and he was able to tell me some ideas on how he could change. For this kid, it was a huge step towards meeting his psychological goals. This really made my day. I'm learning to appreciate those good days.

BBC