The calm before the storm...

I haven't kept up with the blog lately because, well, I didn't have a whole lot to say. School started, and Andy was doing well in second grade. Nate started kindergarten and was thriving.

And, quite honestly, their SPD seemed to be pretty under control.

But, as any good SPD parent knows, times like that are usually the calm before the storm...

Apparently that was the case. Andy had a "not so good" day at school today. He got a "blue" day, which means he had to pull three cards. Yikes. Andy is my child who never gets in trouble except for the occasional blurting out an answer without raising his hand. A "blue" day is way out of character.

The note his teacher sent home listed the following as his infractions:

1. He blurted out an answer when it wasn't his turn.

2. He was "moving about" during instruction time.

3. He was talking during instruction time.

Do you see the problem with this? All of these are SPD related.

And, I can tell you what the trigger was. Today was picture day. Andy is very OCD about his schedule/routine, and anything out of the ordinary is a problem. Can it get more disruptive than picture day? There was a constant flow of children in the hallway walking to and from pictures, his normal routine was disrupted while his class went to get their pictures, and he was herded into a classroom full of bright lights/cameras where he had to stand in line surrounded by kids waiting for pictures...you get the idea.

I guess I'll have to go to school in the morning to speak with his teacher. I certainly don't want Andy to be a disruption in the classroom, nor do I want bad behavior excused. However, I feel like there maybe should have been some verbal reminders about his behavior instead of punishment. His behavior was well out of the ordinary for him, so I would think the teacher would try to get to the root of the problem.

This is the part of parenting that I don't enjoy. I wonder when the next calm will come...