Disability Harassment By Teacher ??
Q: My son had a similar experience, he has
a physical disability, as well as ADHD. He had difficulties with a couple
of his teachers, and I approached the school with my concerns. The teacher
did back off, but my son still had some social troubles with the other
children. That only changed when one particularly antagonistic boy left.
The social struggles persist for him, but to a lesser degree now.
I actually didn't pursue it any further than the school and the principal,
but rather took the opportunity to educate my son about the ignorance of
others. I told him that he would encounter this often, which I'm sure he
will, and preferred to teach him that it wasn't about him, but rather about
the teacher, who obviously had the problem. I also encouraged my son to
consider how stressful it was for the teacher to be dealing with the number
of children he was, and to consider that the teacher wasn't dealing with
stress in a healthy way. In short, I managed to convince my son, that it
was a situational thing, rather than anything to do with him personally.
can you give me advice?
A: I don't know what resources may be available to you, but you might consider looking for a support/social group made up of other ADHD boys or look for a social skills training group. My local elementary school used to have a group created by the school's psychologist made up of boys who, while they didn't necessarily all have an ADHD diagnosis, had trouble making friends with their classmates. The group met to engage in activities, like play board games, which could also help develop social skills. Just so the group wouldn't be considered the "dork" group, the psychologist always made sure that some of the class's more popular boys were included in group activities. I am also seeing more and more counseling or tutoring services in my area advertising "social skills training" programs for children with ADHD, Asperger syndrome, or non-verbal learning disabilities and others who have problem with social skills development. If you can't find an already organized group, perhaps you can find moms of one or two other boys who also have social skills problems like your son does and plan some activities for all of you. Your solution was perhaps the best one for your son, but besides talking to my son as you did, I think I also would have filed a complaint with the appropriate school authorities. The drawback to your solution is that it doesn't let the school know it has a problem teacher who will perhaps engage in