Hopeful, hopeless

I've felt both emotions today with Ryan.

He did get his green card today...but with an asterisk. Mrs C said she worked very hard with him today, because she wanted him to come home with a green card. And he still had some behaviors that on a normal day would pull a card. But I did have a nearly-40-minute conversation with her this evening. I have a clearer picture of how he is acting in class. I'm hopeful, because my biggest fear was put to rest. I was very afraid that he was unable to focus at all and that even as smart as he is, he'd start falling behind. But she told me this evening that he very much IS able to focus, that he understands the lessons, that he is listening to the stories and answering appropriately when asked questions, and responding appropriately in his work. His main problem seems to be personal space and the need to be touching, moving, swinging his arms and legs. And regulating his mood...once he gets to that place where he's negative or being silly or whatever, he's unable to bring himself back to center. He can and will remain there the rest of the day. That gives me hope that this truly is a sensory issue and that we might be able to get this worked out through OT and psychological/cognitive work.

Oh and the best news...:-) He was the only one in his class to get a perfect score on their baseline testing. Mrs C was way impressed! *I* know he's smart, but I love to hear it when other people notice it as well. Vain, I know!!

Then came soccer practice. He had a complete meltdown near the end of practice, during which he punched me, kicked me and slapped me, then tried to run away from me when I announced we would be leaving. He cannot seem to control himself when he gets this way, and it makes me CRAZY. I'm truly afraid he will do this at school, and he'll get himself suspended or even expelled for really hurting someone. I just feel like we haven't made any progress with that aspect and it makes me tired. I came home feeling defeated and like things were never going to change with him.

Monday is his evaluation.