A few weeks ago our eldest son participated in the OCCT. We had no positive thoughts about this test as we sent our special needs child off to take it, knowing that he was being set up (unfairly) for failure. Alex knew it too and his attitude about the entire situation was amazing. He was brave, he was positive, he was accepting, he was strong and he was mature.
We should have sent him off in spandex and a cape. His attitude was deserving.
Fast forward to today. Newspapers and media are posting articles stating that nearly 8,000 third graders failed the reading portion of the OCCT and will not be promoted to the fourth grade. 16%-20% of third graders are going to be contacted and told that, while their friends get to go on to fourth grade, they will spend another year in third grade. Alex struggles with reading so odds are, he didn't do well on this test and he is one of the nearly 8,000 who didn't pass. Before he took the test, Jacob and I worried about how this would affect him emotionally. Not only would his buddies go on to fourth grade, leaving him behind, but he'd now be in the same grade as his little brother. A little brother who isn't special needs and is reading at a much higher level than Alex. A little brother who can do math with very little help and writes stories. A little brother who can do all these things that Alex struggles to do . . . or can't do.
My Alex smiles up at me with sparkling blue eyes, shrugs his shoulders and says, "I'm just different." Who says different has to be a bad thing? I have had so many people tell me that Alex is going to do big things some day because of his personality and attitude. The older Alex gets, the more he notices differences in himself. He has amazing friends who encourage him, though. He is surrounded by so many amazing people at school and church who cheer him on and love him . . . differences and all.
Should he be one of the 8,000 who failed; should he have to repeat third grade, it will merely be one more obstacle in a line of many for him to overcome. Maybe (if he failed) he would benefit from repeating the third grade; however, he still will not be at the reading level "they" want him to be. He has an individualized education plan (IEP) for that reason (among others). One thing I do know is that no matter the outcome of all this, ALL of those people in Alex's life who love him and cheer him on will still be there loving him and cheering him on; reminding him of just how awesome he is. That's a win in my book! (Now, we wait for the results . . . )
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