OT-Help I think I ticked off my sons teacher...

[torinsmom]

When did your DS leave special services? Was it before the school year started? At first, it sounded like you were saying he had been in it earlier in the year and then was taken out. I assumed that meant he had been out a month or two. If it has been since August, I would ask that his needs be reconsidered. In NC, you need to be identified as specific learning disabled, developmentally delayed, etc. This requires that your actual ability is separated by a certain amount from your capability. It is very complicated, and one of the reasons so few children qualify in the early grades is because there is so much variation in the "norm".

You said as far as you know she hasn't done anything to help. Maybe you could ask her what she had tried and then make some suggestions yourself. Put it this way- "What do you think about trying.....", "I was wondering if.......might help DS." Believe me, the teacher is not enjoying him not finishing his work or not getting to do fun things. She is probably very concerned as well and would love to get past the problem and see him be successful.

Right now, your DS is frustrated. The first thing you need to do is sit down and see if he can verbalize his frustrations. Ask him what his favorite work to do is and what his least favorite is. Ask him what he thinks would help him be more successful. Some kids cannot handle a workplan with everything they need to do that day. He may need just one thing at a time. Be sure not to villainize the teacher, because you guys are a team and you want him to trust her as well as you.

I would schedule a face to face meeting with the teacher. Be prepared with the points you want to address, or your emotions may take over. At this point, it is important that you let her know that your DS is frustrated and that you want to help her make him successful. If you don't feel this is successful, you could have an administrator or the former Speech teacher to join you for support for another meeting.

Marsha

 

[torinsmom]

Okay, now we're saying that the teacher is treating the child badly?! Where does the OP say this? It sounds like she is holding him to the same standards as the other children. I didn't see where this started after the email either. She isn't sure how to handle the situation, but that is something that has been ongoing.

I don't think the main problem was the first name thing. It was suggesting that the teacher ask for help from MORE EXPERIENCED teachers. That is implying that the teacher is incapable of finding a solution. And we don't have the exact email, so the wording may have been even more offensive. That is the problem with email; it is very easy to misunderstand without hearing a person's voice or seeing their body language.

As a nurse, you may not be offended if someone called you by your first name, but what if a patient told you to ask a more experienced nurse how to take their blood pressure or do a strep test? You may say you wouldn't feel hurt, but I know most people would.

Marsha

This is truely sad that referring to someone by their first name would lead them to treat my son poorly. I work at the #7 hospital in the nation and collaborate with physicians that are literally the best in the country. I always refer to them by their first name and I often hear them correcting people if they call them "Dr."

Respect is earned. If someone would be so petty that calling them by their first name would cause them to treat a child badly, this doesn't say much for a profession. With this attitude, I assume it would be equally acceptable for me to with hold appropriate medical care to you because you didn't address me as I wanted or you had the nerve to ask for a second opinion.

I have tremendous admiration for school teachers, but if their need to be called Mr/Mrs/Miss is such an issue, they need to get some self esteem and work on creating appropriate professional relationships with parents to earn respect.

Sorry for the rant, but the Mr./Mrs,/Miss thing is incredibly petty but clearly seems to be a huge deal for the teachers on here.

j

 

[eliza61]

First, I would take a deep breathe. I know it's really hard when it's your child but I think a big problem may be a breakdown in communications.

Remember just like when you post a reply, when you send a email your tone doesn't come through. So what you meant as just a suggestion for extra help may have come across as suggesting the teacher was incompetant.

I do agree with the other posters, I never address professionals by their first names unless they suggest it. Would you call a doctor by his/her first name? Teachers are just as highly trained. Keep it professional. You want her as an ally for your son not necessarily a friend.
Could you meet with her at a good time for both of you, face to face? Write down all your concerns. Discuss them calmly and go with a positive attitude. See if you can find out her support system, maybe she doesn't really have a "experience" teacher to help. maybe the school adminstrative team is not support. My first step would be to gather as much information as possible.

 

[eliza61]

Lynn,
You may have a few different issues going on that you may have to tackle. Is it he knows the work (site words) and just needs extra time or a different game plan to get it all finished?
Or is it that it is hard for him to do the work because he is actually not getting the words? If it's the latter you want more than just coming up with ways for him to finish the work, it could be that the setting he is in is not correct for him. Of course he wants to play, that's pretty normal. Heck you should see what it's like around here on Friday afternoon when all the "big" kids I work with want to play, They do a lot more than stash papers.
Hang in there, sending pixie dust you & your sons way.

 

[dogluva]

Oh boy do I know where you are coming from......

speak with the principle, special ed teacher, special ed director, the super (that will get their attention!!), the board
Another thing that will get their attention is an advocate.

Start right now!, 3 ring binder, buy a mini tape recorder now! take and use it at EVERY meeting, discussion, chat, phone call........ just let them you are using it

Document EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what, where, when, how, time, date, what room, what building, save papers, photocopy, photocopy, photcopy!!

No, I am not over reacting. Been there, done that from BOTH sides of the desk. We have 2 boys in Special Ed, they are now 16 and 13.

From a parent and one that resigned from an Ed. Tech position due to "lack of admin. support", best of luck.
Please, please do not let this go on! Some will disagree with me but request to pull him from that teacher. At the worst of it for our youngest one I pulled him from one district and started the paperwork for him to go to the district I was working in. Amazingly the super had time for a face to face meeting

OK, stepping off the soap box, best of luck!

Are you serious? This post is disturbing on many levels. Over reaction, sorry,I think so. You don't know anything about this teacher except she is, maybe,a little defensive. Pull him out, tape recorder??? Oh, my.

By the way, your principal is always you "pal". Try to remember that when you spell it again. Did you really work as a Ed. Tech position? Wow. What did that involve?

Sometimes special educators are on your side. Not everyone is trying to ruin your child's education.

 

[Mkrop]

I use the rule of thumb that I always address the teacher as Mrs X until my child no longer has them.

Now I have been at DS5's preschool a long time and the teachers will address me by my first name if they call me on the phone and have TOLD me to call them by theirs.

DS's K teacher has me now call her by her first name but I will need to get in the habit again of calling her Mrs G bc DS5 will have her next year.

I also work with the librarian closely and she has me call her Peggy and one day with the kids present I slipped and called her Peggy. I immediately didnt like it and apologized to her after class. She was cool with it.

All the emails I have received from teachers are addressed Mrs Mkrop.

I also know you did not mean it but I think you asking her to consult with other teachers was insulting. How would you like it if she told you to consult with another mom on a parenting issue ya know only bc Johhny's mom has been a parent longer than you KWIM, see how that sounds.

GL and I would apologize for the miscommunication and then ask for a a face to face and go over all your concerns.

 

[Rylee]

My ds is in Kindergarten and is having troubles as far a getting his work done. He often misses out of the fun activities because he has not finished his work and this is really starting to upset him. He had been receiving Speech/Language therapy through the school district until this past Oct. At his IEP they said he didn't qualify for any special services any more, but according to the IQ test they gave him his comprehesion speed was on the slow side and the therapist did say he would have a hard time completing his work in the same time as the other kids because not all the little neurons in his brain were connected yet and he just wasn't capable. So thinks like writing, coloring, cutting were going to be very hard for him.

Anyway, I sent his teacher an email this morning because I'm concerned about his lack of progress. She has also expressed concern on how he's doing. So I asked for ideas and suggestions from her on things I can do with him at home and I also suggested that maybe she could ask some of the more experienced teachers (this is her first year) if they had any suggestions.

So I get an email back from her addressed to Mrs. tnkr_bell (I addressed her by her first name), with some suggestions. Then she goes on to say how she's very capable and very educated in what she's doing and this is actually her second year in the building...blah blah blah. I'm sorry, I guess I just think there's a lot to say for experience. I know when I was in my mid 20's I had the I know it all attitude and the older I get I realize how little I really did and do know.

I just don't know what to do at this point. Any thoughts?

Hi,

You need to get to the root of the problem before he can receive the correct help...

Is the work accurate if given extra time to complete it? Does he need extra time because he is easily distracted? Is the work above his developmental age? Does he have a true learning disability? Etc.

Work with the teacher -

You son's well-being and educational needs are far more important than any teachers feelings, BUT, she is his teacher for now, and your best link to seeing the district provides for his needs.

Call the teacher (not email) and ask for an appointment to go in and speak with her. Apologize for possibly offending her and explain you weren't doubting her knowledge or ability, only wondering if other teachers have dealt with the same issues your son is having and perhaps have found a method that would work well in this situation.

Talk to her about her expectations, priorities and goals for your son and express your concerns. Ask for her advice and recommendations... find out exactly what she thinks the problem is.

Explain how your son is feeling, and ask if maybe two days a week, he could complete unfinished work at home, so he can participate in socializing during some of the other activities he is currently missing out on.

For your son -

Ask to have your son tested again... if you put it in writing and address it to the committee for special ed, they have 30 days in which to do so, (if it is not in writing, your son may be bump to the end of the waiting list, as there are so many children in need of evals and special services).

Also, make an appointment with your son's pediatrician, (think I read in a later post, you have one scheduled) have a complete physical and discuss the problems your son is having in school. Ask the Dr. for recommendations, you may need to have him tested outside of the school district.

Talk with and acknowledge your sons feelings. Perhaps you could arrange a couple of special play dates with a classmate or two, to help with the "buddy bonding" he may be missing out on as he sits and completes his work.

For you -

Do your homework. Learn all you can about your rights. Contact a Learning Disability Association, or something similar, and engage their help if needed. Hopefully, you won't need to go above the teacher or committee for Special Ed, but knowing your rights will be very valuable if you feel your son is slipping through the cracks.

Good luck.

 

[Drewsmommybear]

I haven't read through all of the posts so I don't know if any of this has been suggested yet. Please forgive me. Most Kindergarteners do not qualify for special services unless things are very severe. What you can do is start by asking the teacher if he can modify your son's work load. His attitude about school is going to go downhill if he's forced to do all of the work and not able to do the fun stuff. Since his processing speed is low, it's going to take him twice as long to do the same amount of work. Any good teacher will be open to the idea of chunking his work.

The other thing I would do is to not let this die. Next year, I would make his first grade teacher aware of what has been going on. Then, ask for meetings. The sad reality is that most children do not qualify for special ed until second grade so this may mean waiting for testing but not waiting for helping. Find out what special reading programs your son's school has and how he can get involved. And, if all else fails and the teacher will not give you any extra help, send me a private message. I'm a reading specialist and I've worked with children in grades kindergarten-fifth for almost ten years now. Do I know it all like your son's kindergarten teacher? No But I'll be happy to try to figure it out.

 

[nascar-j]

Okay, now we're saying that the teacher is treating the child badly?! Where does the OP say this?

Marsha,

The OP didn't state that. But the post I quoted insinuated it. There were multiple posts commenting on the first name thing.

"The fact that you addressed her by her first name (unless she told you to do so) also shows a lack of respect."

"If a parent who didn't know me outside of school referred to me by my first name, ... I would be insulted too."

"I always address parents by Mrs./Ms/Mr even if they sign their first name. It's about respect"

Here's the full context of the post I was addressing:

"First, you want to always refer to a teacher as Ms. Whatever, not by first name unless that teacher requests you to do something else. You showed her a lack of respect in how you addressed her

I do think you offended her by not respecting her authority and position, and your son will have better second half of the year if you can clear this matter up with her first"

I took the last comment to mean if she didn't apologize, her child would have a rough second half of the year. My interpretation: The child would be treated poorly because of his mothers unintended slip.

As a nurse, you may not be offended if someone called you by your first name, but what if a patient told you to ask a more experienced nurse how to take their blood pressure or do a strep test? You may say you wouldn't feel hurt, but I know most people would.

Patients, as well as parents talking to teachers about a potential problem, are under a significant amount of stress. This stress in a patient (or family) often manifests itself in questioning, and sometimes accusatory, questions.
I work in an environment where you are expected to question everything. So, NO I would not and have not been offended when patients, co-workers and others question something I did. That's called a professional working environment.

Back to original point about being addressed by a title instead of your name. I am a nurse. In administration now, but I have as much or more education as teachers. (Since that seems to be the argument about refering to them as a title) If I was taking care of your loved one, standing at the bedside in an ICU, would you automatically think to refer to me as Mr.? Or "Nurse" (so 1950's) Let me change the context of the post I quoted originally. Say your son just had a hernia repair and is in the recovery area. His nausea and pain are well controlled by by the meds I've been giving him. You came in, nervous, under stress and referred to me a Nurse J. I was offended and you were told that: "you offended" my "respect, authority and position, and your son will have better" afternooon "if you can clear this matter up ... first"
The thought that I would with hold pain or comfort measures because I was not addressed in an appropriate manner makes me raise strong moral/ethical concerns about the person that made the original quote. (It wasn't you)

That is the "OP" that I was on a rant about.

Or maybe this is all just a regional thing.

j

 

[angwill]

This is truely sad that referring to someone by their first name would lead them to treat my son poorly. I work at the #7 hospital in the nation and collaborate with physicians that are literally the best in the country. I always refer to them by their first name and I often hear them correcting people if they call them "Dr."

Respect is earned. If someone would be so petty that calling them by their first name would cause them to treat a child badly, this doesn't say much for a profession. With this attitude, I assume it would be equally acceptable for me to with hold appropriate medical care to you because you didn't address me as I wanted or you had the nerve to ask for a second opinion.

I have tremendous admiration for school teachers, but if their need to be called Mr/Mrs/Miss is such an issue, they need to get some self esteem and work on creating appropriate professional relationships with parents to earn respect.

Sorry for the rant, but the Mr./Mrs,/Miss thing is incredibly petty but clearly seems to be a huge deal for the teachers on here.

j

I agree with you completely. I have worked both in a hospital and a school setting and I just don't get the big deal. To me it as silly as a parent being insulted if the teacher called them by their first name. We are all people with first and last names no matter what our education level. IMHO it shouldn't be such a big deal that offense would be taken unless we are a bit insecure in ourselves or have a superiority complex.

PS: I address all my DS teachers as Mr. Mrs. despite their usually addressing me by my first name.

 

[tnkr_bell]

OK, here is the first paragraph of the email I sent her today...

First of all let me apologize for yesterday. I certainly did not mean to insinuate that you were a bad teacher or didn't know what you were doing. Both my Dad and Sister have been teachers so I know that you put a lot of extra time and effort into your students that many people don't realize. You have been very helpful this year with Bryan and he is learning a lot. I guess I'm just grasping for ideas on things that will make this easier for him.

I also thanked her for her suggestions and that I would try and work with him at home. I also made some suggestions on ideas that I thought would maybe help him at school, like a quiter place to do his work or maybe just bringing some of it home to work on as homework.

I did however also remind her that developmentally he can not work as fast as the other kids and should have a reduced workload. I'm a little worried because in a second email I got from her she seemed very strong in the belief that the kids finish all their work before going to Centers (ie. fun play). Once again today ds did not get to go to Centers because he didn't finish his work. I did promise him that I was talking to his teacher and trying to work things out so that he would get to go to Centers more. Hopefully his teacher will be able to give me a call this afternoon.

So that's where we stand.

 

[Mkrop]

Can she really give him a reduced workload if he doesnt have an IEP anymore? Isnt he now expected to keep up with the rest of the class?

I am not trying to be difficult just understand. Isnt her (the teacher's goal) to get him to where the other kids are work wise?

 

[Metsoskil]

It seems to me that if he is indeed challenged developmentally and unable to complete work in the same manner as other children according to the school psychologist, that this should be reflected in his IEP - including how much his assignments should be reduced and when appropriate times are for him to finish the work he is required to do. This should be based on research regarding the specific disability, not teacher policy nor parental emotional wishes. If it is not already addressed in the IEP, you should request a meeting of the IEP team to address it.

If the problem is not developmental and your DS does not have an IEP, 504 plan, or identified disability, then the teacher is within her right to have a policy in the classroom that requires children to finish work before doing fun activities.

 

[MM27]

So I get an email back from her addressed to Mrs. tnkr_bell (I addressed her by her first name), with some suggestions.

You might want to read this line again. The teacher is the one that called the parent Mrs. Why is it offensive that the teacher did that? She didn't say, "Call me Ms. XXX, not XXX" I always call parents Mrs./Ms/Mr and always will. I don't have personal relationships with them and it is a respect thing. It doesn't mean that I demand respect. It means that I am being respectful to a parent. I can't believe that that is where the issue is when that does nothing to help the child. If anything, I think the teacher was annoyed by the fact that her ability was questioned.

This is truely sad that referring to someone by their first name would lead them to treat my son poorly. I work at the #7 hospital in the nation and collaborate with physicians that are literally the best in the country. I always refer to them by their first name and I often hear them correcting people if they call them "Dr."

Respect is earned. If someone would be so petty that calling them by their first name would cause them to treat a child badly, this doesn't say much for a profession. With this attitude, I assume it would be equally acceptable for me to with hold appropriate medical care to you because you didn't address me as I wanted or you had the nerve to ask for a second opinion.

I have tremendous admiration for school teachers, but if their need to be called Mr/Mrs/Miss is such an issue, they need to get some self esteem and work on creating appropriate professional relationships with parents to earn respect.

Sorry for the rant, but the Mr./Mrs,/Miss thing is incredibly petty but clearly seems to be a huge deal for the teachers on here.

j

I would never treat a child in a negative way whether I had an issue with their parent or not. If any teacher did that, then they are really in the wrong profession the same way a nurse would be if he/she withheld treatment for hard feelings.

To the OP, I would suggest a face to face meeting with the teacher. Go in with your own ideas and ask for hers. Maybe a joint venture with the teacher where you can reward him for successes (start with little ones). Through modified assignments or time limits, she can keep you informed daily/weekly on his achievements and maybe you can reward him at home when he reaches a set goal. Whatever you do, you don't want him to start hating school because he gets frustrated. Good luck to you.

 

[labst60]

OP - I didn't read all the responses - so I apologize if any of this is a repeat - but anyway...

First of all - don't ever be afraid to "rock the boat" when it comes to your child's health or education. Sure- there are proper ways to do things and a right time/place to handle things - but don't hesitate to explore every channel that may help because some may percieve it as "rocking the boat."

Second - Regarding calling the teacher by her first name - I wouldn't even give it a second thought - perhaps she just addressed her email to you Mrs. Tinkberell out of habit, but I would most certainly call my child's teacher by their first name in "private" correspondence (i.e. emails, phone calls, meetings w/out the child) - in front of the child, Miss X - but privately, you are both adults - I see no problem with it. (Of course, next time I spoke, and she referrred to me as Mrs, I'd say "please call me ____".) When I worked it was in a corporate environment and there was just NO "Mr." or "Mrs." anymore. My job put my in the position to talk regularly with people at all levels of a company/organization and even though we were the service providers (auditors) and "they" were the client, everyone was on a "first name basis" - be it the CEO, CFO, board members or elected officials that we dealt with. I would have **never** expected anyone to call me Mrs. and would have immediately corrected them if they did. And the teacher - as the service provider for you (the parent) shouldn't expect to be addressed by "Miss" outside the company of her students. (And my guess is that really, she doesn't feel that way -this was just blown out of proportion on this board.)

Third - it sounds like she was offended by you askign for her to get other opinions- but that is just her insecurity speaking. If she had these great ideas that were working - there would be no situation in the first place - right?? Back to my past -but in my profession (and most I would think) no offense is taken when the client asks for a consulatation with a more senior or experienced member of the team. My thought is that if she isn't willing to ask the other teachers for different suggestions of ideas to help your son - you'll have to do it youself via the principal - but I'dprobably try to arrange a face-to-face mtg first. Tone/intention is often hard to gauge in email.

Finally - to the spelling/grammer police - my apologies if I had any errors in my post. I was nursing a baby and holding a toddler while I typed - so I assure you that any errors are not a reflection of my ability or education.

 

[disney_family_1247]

I'll share an offensive parent story with you. When I was in my second year of teaching, my dad happened to see my class list one day. He recognized the last name of the first kid on it. He worked with her father. He mentioned that to the guy because he thought it was funny that his daughter was teaching the man's daughter. A couple of months later, the little girl brought home what her parents thought was too much homework (long story short, this girl wanted every letter to be perfect and would erase perfectly fine sentences and write them over). I got a nasty note from the mom (who let the kid work for hours when it should have been thirty minutes and didn't seem to notice the OCD). I wrote her back nicely and explained. That evening, my dad called me up to say that the father had come into his office to complain about me!!! He told my dad that I must be too new to understand what I was doing!!! Talk about offensive. My dad pointed out that I have a Masters Degree and that it wasn't my first teaching job. He also said that I was an adult and there was nothing he would/could do about the man's complaints. That jerk actually called me at home to warn me that he'd told on me to my father!!!!!!!!

Anyway, you have valid concerns about your son. I hope you plan on putting him in Transitional First or have him repeat K next year, for his sake. It was great of you to ask his teacher for advice and ideas. It was awful of you to tell her to ask more experienced teachers. Imagine if someone told you to consult other moms with older kids to determine the best way to raise your son? Believe me, teachers talk to each other about ways to work more effectively; you don't have to suggest it. In a lot of ways, new teachers have an edge over more experienced ones because they are full of fresh ideas and are up on the newest research. That's not to say that experience doesn't count, but it's not everything.

 

[tnkr_bell]

It was awful of you to tell her to ask more experienced teachers. Imagine if someone told you to consult other moms with older kids to determine the best way to raise your son? Believe me, teachers talk to each other about ways to work more effectively; you don't have to suggest it. In a lot of ways, new teachers have an edge over more experienced ones because they are full of fresh ideas and are up on the newest research. That's not to say that experience doesn't count, but it's not everything.

That's just the thing...If I was raising my first child and was having a problem say getting a baby on a schedule, I would certainly ask another Mom who has been through it before. Or if someone suggested to ask so and so because she's raised 6 kids or runs an in home daycare for some ideas, no I would not be offended. I'd be like hey, that's a good idea.

The fact is this has been going on for several months and she hasn't done anything differently than she did 2 or 3 months ago. So my logical conclusion is she doesn't have any ideas except to make him sit at the table while all the other kids are having fun. Not my idea of a good solution.

 

[tnkr_bell]

Can she really give him a reduced workload if he doesnt have an IEP anymore? Isnt he now expected to keep up with the rest of the class?

I am not trying to be difficult just understand. Isnt her (the teacher's goal) to get him to where the other kids are work wise?

To be honest I'm not really sure how this works, and I will definitly find out though. All I can say is that at his last IEP meeting he tested high enough that he no longer qualified for services. They did have an "area of concern" where he tested "High Average" for Perceptual Reasoning and "Low average" for Processing speed. There was more than a 15 point difference between the two scores which raises a yellow flag as far as something to watch. He also was unable to draw a triangle shape which apparently told the psychologist that his brain had just not developed enough yet and that he would find things like coloring, cutting, writing, etc very difficult and frustrating (which he does hate to do). Apparently his brain sees how it should be, but he can't make his hands write it that way or good enough to match what he sees in his head. Anyway, then she point blankley told his teacher that he simply would not be able to do his work as quickly as his peers and to not expect him to. It would just frustrate him and make things so hard that he simply would not want to do them anymore.

So, do I think his teacher should push him to do his best and encourage him to do as much as he can...Yes. Do I think she should require him to more work than he can handle and therefore miss out on the fun activities...Absolutely not!!!

 

[Teacher03]

That's just the thing...If I was raising my first child and was having a problem say getting a baby on a schedule, I would certainly ask another Mom who has been through it before. Or if someone suggested to ask so and so because she's raised 6 kids or runs an in home daycare for some ideas, no I would not be offended. I'd be like hey, that's a good idea.

The fact is this has been going on for several months and she hasn't done anything differently than she did 2 or 3 months ago. So my logical conclusion is she doesn't have any ideas except to make him sit at the table while all the other kids are having fun. Not my idea of a good solution.

Do you want him to have a reduced workload? Or do you want him to bring the extra work home? To be honest, I don't think there is much the teacher can do to get him to work faster. Without an IEP, she doesn't have alot of options. As a teacher, I would have been offended if you suggested I ask another teacher. My guess is she probably has. Will he go onto first grade next year, or is there a possibility he may repeat kindergarten? Maybe you should request a conference to discuss that option.

 

[Aliceacc]

I think it all goes back to the IEP--THAT'S where your energy should be focused. Without it, there's no reason why she should expect any less of your son than of the other kids-- how would she justify it?? With the IEP, she has no choice.

(And to add to the hijack about parents and teachers: last year I taught the son of someone my sister worked with. He was notorious about not doing any homework, and it was causing him trouble in passing a number of his 7th grade classes. One day my sister called-- from vacation in Mexico!! She had her friend, the mom, on the other line. Mom wanted to know about the project her son had failed to turn in. I asked my sister to tel mom she was unable to reach me.)

OK-- back on topic: Have him re-evaluated, have that IEP reflect his issues.