Since Amy and Isaiah have moved on to greener pastures, I don't have as much fodder for my little blog. But, Amy gave me some really good stuff the other day when we were talking on the phone.
Isaiah has a tendency to "flap" his arms when he is excited or concentrating on something. That is somewhat distracting for others around him. It also is something that can be used as a method of teasing. Isaiah is so sweet and naive that he doesn't even realize that he's being teased when kids "imitate" him. But, his teacher is really sharp and she caught on very fast that other kids were making fun of him.
To counteract this, she had Isaiah come to the front of the class and explained to EVERYONE that Isaiah was born "special" and that sometimes he has body movements that he cannot control. His movements do not give the other students permission to make fun of him. That solved a potential problem before it got to the point where Isaiah noticed that others were making fun of him.
In addition, his teacher is constantly looking for ways to encourage and motivate Isaiah. She quickly learned that focusing on his POSITIVE actions instead of his negative actions and she's seeing marked improvement in areas where he had been struggling. This is really BIG.
Isaiah is also very close to earning his first Boy Scout badge. He can nearly say his pledge without any prompting.
One thing the teacher was very right about... He is special. Very special!
