Gage had another great day!  I look forward to his class because he cracks me up!  He is a really funny guy.  I was talking with (his teacher) and she says the same thing.  He is doing so well and we are all so very proud of him.

This note came to into my email this morning from Gage’s P.E. teacher. I was leaving an appointment and I forwarded it to Julian on the blackberry. When I got to work Julian said, “I’m always so nervous when there is a forwarded note with the subject line GAGE in it. I could get used to notes like these.”

That had me thinking that part of being an involved parent for a behaviorally and academically challenged kid in school is hearing everything from everyone. It could be by email, call, in person during pick-up, and his planner. Nearly every single day up until about 2 weeks ago there was a message of some sort about all the bad situations Gage was creating at school. Be it shutting down, being disruptive, hitting, or general lack of any regard for school that wasn’t hatred.

This is hard to do for an extended period of time. Because on top of the way he is handling school you can surely imagine home life isn’t too grand either. We were so conditioned to hearing about bad things he’d done that we are still getting used to hearing all the praise.

Part of an educator’s job is letting a parent know the good things too - with the same veracity that all the negative feedback came. Because that positive feedback goes a long way with a parent and the child. I can honestly say, without reservation, that Gage’s school is as thrilled at his progress as we are and they are sharing it with us every chance they get.

Many people that have been involved in helping Gage with this latest crisis and his clinical depression, PTSD and associated issues. Teachers, principals, doctors, nurses, therapists, and us.

Gage can’t go without credit - he’s endured new meds, new symptoms, some 25+ additional appointments on top of an already grueling appointment schedule. I think he’s starting to feel proud about his progress.

It’s not over by a long shot, but for today, we’re all celebrating. All 17 people directly linked to his successes right now.