What comes next...

In the past, I've known (and accepted) that Evan was a special needs child (if only because of his sensory processing challenges). When I moved here, I think I hoped that we could keep it under wraps. Maybe things weren't severe enough to need to tell anyone, I thought. I never like people to think I'm making excuses, not for myself, or my child. I think we were doing a pretty good job, too. Somehow, in the past month, all of that seems to have fallen apart. In a way, I think I was in denial, the past year. But, then I have to be kind to my self, and admit that adjusting to a new phase of life (Post-school), and new country, and being pregnant all in one year was all I could handle.
I've spent a good deal of time lately thinking about and trying to come to terms with the fact the journey I'm embarking on. Delving into the world of resource, IPP's, and navigating the educational system to aid my child... How much do I want other people to know? Who will judge us for making explanations, and who will judge us for looking for help?
The Calgary Board of Education works slowly. At least, it feels slow, as each week that passes is is riddled with reports of the times he is disruptive during carpet time, the odd noises he makes when it's noisy, how he pesters the other children... In so many ways, I'm a conformer. It's hard to hear about my child failing to conform to society's expectations for him. But more than that, it's painful, as I hear his brief mentions here and there of his frustration that he gets in trouble wherever he goes. (Today during a time-out at church he said, "Can we just go home, mom? I get in trouble everywhere I go.")
The Calgary Board of Education has one part-time psychologist to serve the 7,000 kindergarten children in the district. I don't know how many of those 7,000 get referrals to the psychologist... We've chosen to go ahead and start having evaluations done by a private psychologist ($160/hour in case you're curious, like I was. Luckily we have decent coverage). We were blessed to learn about a psychologist who works with families and tries to find and deal with any undiagnosed food sensitivities, learning disabilities, giftedness, environmental factors, etc. before trying medication for ADD. Evan's first appointment in Jan 3rd. We know that he has food sensitivities. Based on my reading, and observations, I think that they will find that he is highly gifted, in a few areas, but also that he does have some attention problems and possibly some learning disabilities. "Dual exceptional" they call it.
So, for now, I will be delving into the world of resource, the world of giftedness, and deficit to try to find solutions to help my dear, sweet wild boy.