We Took the Leap

Last weekend, I took a leap, and decided to give homeschooling a try with Brother. I knew it would take some help from a tutor, as my work doesn’t leave me time to fit everything in. The grandparents are home to help out a bit, but at 75 years old, they aren’t much into the rigor of today’s texts and lessons. As it happened, I came across a tutor on a job seeking site, and set up an interview. I was only slightly hopeful going into it.

We met at a local coffee shop, and it didn’t take long to realize that we were kindred spirits. The situation was perfect for her, as she has a child the same age as Brother, whom she is homeschooling. She has three other kids who have graduated and moved on. We arranged to have Brother meet with her and her child. When we got together again, the kids connected!

We started that week….not waiting around to give the window of enthusiasm time to shut. I won’t say that it is working out perfectly…there are some bumps. We are figuring out the timing for everything. The medications Brother is on make him fatigue easily during the day. He goes in spurts, then falls asleep. It is obvious that a great burden has been lifted from him. He is not isolating himself as much, and has a new spark in his eyes. It is like we are connecting in a way that should have been done years ago, during the time he was being psychologically tormented.

I don’t know how long this will last. I will reassess his progress at the end of the year, and make adjustments. His therapists are a big part of his healing, so their input is valuable to this effort.

Part of me is very sad and disappointed that our public school can’t follow a pretty simple behavior plan that means the difference between success and psychosis. I will continue to advocate for students who live with mental health issues! They all deserve to receive a public education without being bullied or discriminated against!

~AoA