Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Juggler: I Just Do Not Know if I Can...

GB got off the bus Friday and said the aide yelled at her to knock it off and hit her leg. I immediately took Hope aside and asked her what she saw. She told me as GB was getting off the bus, and the aide hit her leg. I called the bus company. The owner  called me back  late Friday night and said he spoke to both the aide and the driver and they both said nothing happened and he was backing them. He said "The aide said GB was a fibber". I said GB might misinterpret the situation, but if she said the aide hit her leg and Hope independently said the same thing, then physical contact was made. He said " I am telling you, I am backing my people. I have known them a long time and they would never do anything like this"

I am so angry, I want to tear the people involved into a billion very tiny pieces. I am also so tired. I don't know if I have it in me to deal with all the ignorant people I would have to deal with. I am looking at Monday's calendar, wondering where I can squeeze in time to actually speak to the people involved and to the people responsible for their actions.  I have to figure out what complaint forms need to be filled out to go with my written letter of complaint. In order to actually get a response from the school district, I know I will have to escalate  to the State Education Department. Been there, done that.

I know what I should do. I know what I want to do. I am concerned that if I do it, that's one more ball in the air. That ball maybe the ball that pushes me beyond what I can do. It may the ball that causes me to drop all the balls I have been juggling for so long. What use is a juggler that can't keep the balls in the air?

3 comments:

Lisa said...

I've been there and I did drop the ball. My daughters told me both separately that the bus driver told my son to "get the hell away from me you stupid little ba---rd". My son confirmed this. Other kids on the bus also told their parents who called me. I told my son's IEP team, as we had a meeting the very next day. They all acted outraged and one immediately called the busing supervisor who immediately contacted the bus driver involved.

Lisa said...

oops - wasn't done.

The driver denied it. The busing supervisor said he didn't believe she'd ever say something like that. Everyone must have misunderstood. The tone in the meeting immediately changed to, "your children are all mistaken". Isn't it funny that when my son is claiming we beat him, starve him, etc. (when he's mad that we don't let him do or have something he wants) that he's the most credible person on the planet - and everyone rushes to his aid, but when he's making an allegation about one of the "professionals" he's just a delusional child who misunderstands the English language? It didn't happen again - to my knowledge - and it was the end of the school year, so I just let it go and he didn't go back to that school system again. Sometimes I am so tired of fighting for every little thing that I just want to throw up my hands and say to heck with all of them. I never thought life would be easy, but this is just way harder than it needs to be...

Anonymous said...

Of course I'm not reading this 'til Monday evening. But me? From past experience, I'd drop it, but remember. You've written something, so you have fresh-from memory documentation includng the date.

When I tried to get a mean aide fired, I couldn't. First she'd tried to make Ms A sit in an isle seat next to a boy w/ autism who flailed. Ms A has, um, a bit of difficulty with balance as, gee, she is paralyzed?! After I complained, the aide sat on the aisle w/ Ms A on the inside. (Yes, only 2 seats on that special needs bus.) But Ms A came home every day complaining the aide was shoving her. When I couldn't get the aide fired (or re-assigned), I told her boss that the aide should sit next to the boy who flailed, as after all she'd thought it was a good enough seat for my daughter. Then mostly I just waited for the school year to end.