A Plan, For Now

So, we started counseling for Sammy today.  I actually took both boys (since Jesse was working) and it was really just an introduction.  We played with toys and let our counselor observe.  Both boys did really well, but towards the end of the hour, Sammy decided he wanted to touch things that he was not supposed to and she got to experience Sammy in all his glory.  She and I agreed that it was actually good that he did that so she could see what we were dealing with.  He wanted to do things on his terms and when it was time to go he dumped out all the legos and got mad.  He then was given the choice to walk to the car holding my hand or to be carried and since he didn't choose to walk, I carried him.  He has now discovered that if I am holding his arms and legs, the way to escape is to bite me.  So, we battled home for about 30 minutes (an 8 minute drive), with kicking, hitting, screaming, biting, and spitting now too, but he is okay now.  It was hard, but I was able to keep my cool and it definitely helped Tekalegn deal with the situation better.  We will continue counseling once a week, for now, sometimes with me there and sometimes with me sitting in the waiting room.

We are basically going to take him out of school for now and use an alternate education set-up that allows him to still do ESL and a few other classes, if we choose.  We will not be homeschooling, per se, but rather his school will be learning to interact and bond in a family.  School will not do him any good, in the long run, if he does not bond with both of us.  And really, he is not horrid at home, it is when we go anywhere that he has issues, so I feel okay keeping him home for now.  Of course, we will still work on numbers and letters and reading and colors and whatnot, but maybe for 30 minutes day.  I think we will continue this until next August and then reevaluate.