Dylan
My son Dylan started pre-school ten years ago. A month into the year, his teacher called me to suggest that I have Dylan evaluated. She told me that in her many years of teaching, she had never seen such an insecure student. She said, "He must ask twenty times a day, when his mother is going to pick him up." So, at age four, Dylan had the first of many evaluations and
psychological appointments.
Dylan was like any other child until he started school. Other than a few odd things like needing to keep the car doors locked, pretty severe temper tantrums, and being a quiet boy, he seemed very happy and "normal". His first evaluation through our school district indicated that we had "family issues". We were told to seek private counseling, but I didn't think we had any family issues, other than noticing that Dylan took a bit longer to connect with his new step father. We took their advice and so began our years of psychologist visits. The second psychologist said I was spoiling Dylan. The third thought he had slight language deficits. The fourth said I was obsessed with finding out what was wrong with him, and that I should just focus on correcting the symptoms. The fifth thought that he was hearing voices and wanted to put him on ant-psychotic drugs. There was a sixth, and a seventh, and many, many more opinions from other psychologists, neurologists and audiologists.
Meanwhile, Dylan was becoming a very sad and anxious child. He cried often in school. He was terrified every night, and he begged me not to take him to school every morning. He was constantly bullied, teased, and rejected by his classmates. He was not learning. Nothing I said brought any comfort to him. None of the letters I wrote to his teachers, principals, and administrators changed anything. Not knowing what to do or say, I began to tell him, "Dylan, you've got to toughen up!" But he would get out of the car still crying, and I would cry all the way home. At home, I worked on the daily chore of researching his symptoms and writing letters. By the end of third grade Dylan was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Finally I thought he would get the services he needed, but that did not happen. The next phase of letter writing, school meetings, and more frustration began.
Some of the books I read said that children develop empathy around the fourth grade. I hoped school would get easier and that Dylan's classmates would become "nicer", but that did not happen. By the end of Dylan's sixth grade year I was on a mission to save his spirit, and to restore his self-confidence and self-esteem. Education was no longer a priority. I just wanted him to be happy. Then I began hearing horror stories about junior high. I knew Dylan could not be in that environment. so we scraped together ever penny we had to put Dylan in a private school for children with learning disabilities. It was a very good school, and I had high hopes, but it was not the right place for Dylan. He still didn't fit in and he was not learning.
At my first meeting with the creators of Learning Circle Academy I was in awe. I could scarcely believe what I heard. They described a way to meet all of the needs of children like Dylan. At first, I thought it was too good to be true, and I was apprehensive. I could not imagine how they could accomplish this enormous task, but I was hopeful.
Since Dylan has been in Learning Circle Academy his interaction with other students has changed. An example occurred recently when Dylan had a small problem with another boy "copying" him. Dylan would occasionally come home and say, "He's driving me crazy because he copies everything I do. Then one day, he came home and said, "I asked the boy why he keeps copying me and he said because I'm cool. So I gave him a few pointers on how he could be cool". This is something I had never heard Dylan say before. He was happy.
Without seeming "overly dramatic" I don't know if I can put into words what Learning Circle Academy has done for Dylan. The school has made a tremendous change in his life. He even likes school now. And he is learning. For many years, I have believed that it does not matter how smart someone is, or what kind of degree they have. These things are meaningless if you are not happy, and if you do not have self-esteem and self-confidence. Because of Learning Circle Academy, Dylan is finally experiencing these very important emotions for the first time in his life.
Judy and Patrick