The muffins are in the oven and that’s not a euphemism, it’s a bribe. Well, not a bribe… just a thoughtful gift for the school Problem Solving Team.  We’re meeting tomorrow about Zoolander and I’m hoping banana-chocolate chip muffins will pave the way for detente between the two sides.

I know it’s supposed to be a lovey-dovey cooperative effort between parents and the school, but almost every meeting I’ve been to like this has been filled with unspoken tensions.

I can’t help but steel myself before these meetings.  I’m on their turf and there are hidden agendas, invisible rules and they all speak a foreign language.  Should I try to be knowledgeable and tough or passive and undemanding?  I know what happens when you’re nice. If you don’t go into those meetings with a clear idea of what your child needs, you ain’t gettin’ nuthin’.  If you don’t ask.  They don’t tell.

It doesn’t help that Zoolander doesn’t qualify for an IEP, a 504 or even the 2nd tier of an RtI. Why?  Because she isn’t sucking enough at school.  And why is she not sucking enough at school?  Because she’s using her cognitive gifts to compensate for her weaknesses.  

That’s the difficulty with Twice Exceptional kids.  It’s hard to get them help because many times, from the outside, they don’t appear to need it and they have to be doing really poorly to get action.  It especially helps if they do really poorly on state assessment tests.  

I still believe that’s the only reason I got real help for Lily, because her scores on the state assessment decreased from 4th to 5th grade.  Well, that and I wrote a few firm emails to heads of departments.  Oh, that AND I paid thousands of dollars to have outside experts assess Lily and provide the school with suggested accommodations and interventions.

Oops, wandered into Bitterville there.  Anywhoooo…..

I’m anxious about tomorrow’s meeting.  I’ll have to post more background on the specifics of Zoolander’s 2E learning issues at another time.  That’s at least a 3-parter, maybe 4.  Don’t wanna miss that!