The great news and the bad news

Mauricio and I went to Michael's parent teacher conference yesterday. For a special education student, which Michael is, it's actually referred to as an IEP.

First, the bad news. Michael, as we've begun to suspect, is dyslexic. His teacher and the school's special ed. director confirmed this yesterday. This is incredibly difficult news to swallow as he's already been diagnosed and is being treated for APD (auditory processing disorder) and ADD (attention deficit disorder). To add another learning disability to the laundry list is both crushing and daunting.

Now for the good news. Michael's made amazing strides academically and is testing at or above average in almost every area and in the areas that he is deficient, he is just barely so. It surprised us to learn that his teacher actually considers him a math wiz. It has and will continue to take an enormous amount of effort on his and our part for him to perform on par with his regular ed. peers but it looks as though he's slated to be mainstreamed very soon, YAY!!!!

His teacher also added that he is an absolute joy to have in her classroom and is obviously extremely bright and talented in many areas. This meant the world to us. We have come along way with Michael and for those of you who have been along for the ride, you know this represents a spectacular turn around.

Along with putting in long hours working on reading and other areas of academic weakness, we made the decision a few months ago to hire U.C. Berkeley graduate, Dr. Leda Ciraolo, Ph.D. who's background includes working with and tutoring children with special needs. Leda is an amazingly gifted author, scholar and of course, tutor. She continues to work with Michael three times a week and they have formed a very special bond. We owe a serious debt of gratitude to Leda for Michael's academic progress which she's seriously helped facilitate.