This is a picture of Jake taken when we were staying in a motel once. He had been jumping from bed to bed and fell off. Instead of deleting this photo, I kept it because it reminded me so much of Jake – and his constant motion. Don’t get me wrong – he can stay seated at times, when he is involved in something like playing video games, drawing or watching a movie. But even then he often has to get up. It is not uncommon for him to start watching a movie, then stop it so he can go outside to play – then restart it when he comes back in – and then do it all over again – In and Out, In and Out. His need to move is good for his physical health – but it was a big problem at school for quite a long time. He started Middle School this year. New school, new teacher – thank God. His new teacher immediately recognized that Jake needed help. At my suggestion, she assigned one of her para-educators to work with him. Now after Jake does his reading in the classroom, he gets to go with his aid and walk. They walk around the school campus. Now and then they stop and do some work. They go to the wrestling room, the fitness center, and the football field to get some extra energy expended. Sometimes they walk alone, sometimes with other kids. And with all this walking, Jake is actually getting his work done, learning his basics and is able to stay at school the whole day!  That is a huge improvement and I am so happy it literally makes me cry when I think about it. He still has behavioral issues – I get called a couple times a month and hear him screaming in the background and I have to talk him down. But at his previous school I was called several times a week and had to pick him up because they couldn’t get him under control. They wouldn’t listen to me and kept treating him like all the other kids with the same expectations. It would have been easier on everyone, if they had just listened to me and allowed him to walk. But then, why should they listen to me? After all, I am just his Mom, not someone with a teaching degree. A teaching degree though, does not necessarily mean you have common sense. Thankfully, his current teacher has both – and because of that, Jake has the opportunity to enjoy school. And his enjoyment of school is key to his academic achievement. And his academic achievement will allow him to be successful in life. And it all comes down to one simple thing – allowing him to walk. How difficult was that?

14 May This entry was published on May 14, 2013 at 4:33 pm. It’s filed under Uncategorized and tagged achievement, active, ADHD, aid, bad behavior, behavior, bipolar, exercise, ODD, para, para educator, school, walk. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.