Everything is so... sleepy...

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My son, Lex (my wife let me name my boy after a supervillain, because she is that cool) is heading into the second grade. Not sure how that happened exactly, he was JUST BORN... but still, there it is.

Oh the delights of public schools. My behaviours, both ADD and ASD inspired made me "weird," but never so much that they provoked special education concerns (granted, growing up when and where I did that was basically "Down Syndrome or normal"... and I can't say we used the appropriate word)... I went through the mainstream system, and developed just enough coping mechanisms to come out the other side with a diploma and no criminal record.

Lex is going to get support.

Or... he would... if the system didn't want to throw him in a room with the other unique students and hope we don't make a fuss.

Oh... we're makin' a fuss, doggamit, we're gonna start a fuss breeding program right up in their face... (that DIDN'T sound any better in my head... but hey, I commited to it)...

We got through the initial "what are we going to do" with the traditional pitfalls:
1) Go to the school system with your concerns.
2) Breathe a sigh of relief when they explain how everything is going to be fine, and they have taken the time to get to know your childs needs and build a plan that suits them.
3) Realize you've been completely snowed.
4) Find alternatives, hear horror stories... cry... hear more horror stories about how you will be in meetings every day for the rest of your childs education and that basically, your life (which was already on hold because you are a parent in general) will now be sold in perpetuity to pay the debt to whatever gods shine a proper education on your kid.
5) Spend a couple weeks finding resources and talking to people who exist to help.
6) Realize it isn't that bad.

...we found a GREAT charter school, on the way to work even... toured it... with Lex in tow "they don't have cooking at MY school, I want to go to school HERE"

...and of course, they don't have room.

Sigh.

We have other solutions, but the kick in the groin here is that there is a FANTASTIC school for my son just a few miles from my house... and he can't go there. What we end up doing will suck for him, given the way the school system here in AZ works, in the long term, it will work out, and the system is very obviously moving to work with ASD kids in one fashion or another, and that is great overall. But man, I hate that a super positive solution exists out there that I can't give him.

Ugh.

My reply is not going to help you, so you may want to stop reading <HERE>.
Your post nearly made me cry - the solution is there, but no space, so awful. You may get good at another school, but you want best! I used to work as a Special Ed. Teacher for some years, and I remember fighting for "my" children to make sure they had the very best that education, the school and I could give them, and then some more! Don't ever stop fighting for your little one, this childhood is the only one he has.

Couldn't if I wanted to... he's my d00d... I would go to war for him for anything. Biology is weird that way.

...and I got the help I needed just writing that, I needed to vent more than anything, so thanks for reading!