Do You Validate?

No not parking, have you ever felt like you really just need someone to hear something that you went through just to make sure the way you are feeling is correct? After reading about a family in Ohio 

(see the link here: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/state/report-seclusion-misused-for-ohio-disabled-kids#ixzz22jiit0JH )

it got me to thinking about when we pulled our son from public school who also used a seclusion room (they called it a “recovery room” and to be let out you had to sit with your arms hugging your legs and shoes in front of you; now you weren’t allowed to let them know you were ready either. They just left you were in a room with absolutely NOTHING to do. The school never sent anything home when my Lego Man was in there either, the only way I knew when it happened was when either Care~bear or Lego Man told me so.

Okay without further ado here is part of our story that I posted:

My son was in a seclusion room when he was in public school; he was in there pretty much daily. The day that I pulled him from public school was the day that the principal and both counselors and the nurse were gone, the Vice-Principal couldn't use it without one of them being there so he called me within an hour of school starting to have me pick Lego Man up, "He is just not going to make it through the day" is all I was told. After telling the Vice Principal that I didn't have the car, my hubby did and I would have to call and have him pulled out of his class to pick our son up; also telling him that if he couldn't do it I would walk up and get him (school was 6-8 blocks or so, we walked it often...but my 4 year old was sick and there was heaps of snow) 12 minutes from the first call I get another (did I mention that at the times of both calls from the VP I had my hands IN bread dough?!?!? 6 loaves worth! (I literally had just hung up with hubby's school) "when are you coming to get him, when will you be here????" at this point I think that something must be so wrong, he's hurt somebody or destroyed property...Me: "what is he doing, what is going on?"....VP: "He is making noises and I want to know how long I have to occupy him"

I walked up to get him and when I get there he is crying because he wants to go back to class and he isn't being allowed, he asks if he can at least go get his strip of fabric that he has in his desk (comfort/sensory item from his Nana) he won't even let him do that, VP: "you can just get it tomorrow" ME: "nope his sister can go get it after school, Lego Man won't be back again" all because the VP couldn't use the seclusion room...I imagine Lego Man would have been there all day if he had been able to.

Tomorrow we go to Kansas City, Children’s Mercy to get results of the last 2 meetings and maybe find out if he is on the spectrum and just where my Lego Man is on it. We know that we have special needs; I get that now, even though I’m still calling them “Different Needs”
I promise that my next blog entry won’t take almost a year to do!