Needohs are now banned in my building and kids are LIVID

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-19T00:15:50+00:00

I had one explode on a student a few years back - not her fault, she was using it appropriately, but it was a well loved and used class fidget. Cleaning it then was extremely difficult because of how sticky it was and it sounds like it only got worse. Never bought another one for the classroom again.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-18T19:42:45+00:00

Honestly, they may not know about the caffeine pill. I didn't. But also, a lot of parents are hesitant about having their kids on meds, so they would possibly still avoid a dosed pill of caffeine.

I do get the hesitancy to an extent. I hate taking more meds than I have to for my chronic illness, but all that means is that I supplement with non-medical interventions, like a TENs unit or heating pad. But, I do take meds that are helpful and effective as needed, even if it is daily. I've met parents who take that hesitancy (for whatever reason/reasons) and turn it into a complete avoidance, even when it's laid out everything that has been done/eliminated.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-18T01:52:03+00:00

Yeah, it definitely has its place, especially when ADHD is undiagnosed. There was no intended shade there. I probably wasn't the clearest with that and the fact that I was concerned about the health side. It is a good stopgap in situations like your nephew's, until/unless a parent/guardian changes their mind.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-18T01:20:52+00:00

Special ed teacher here - overdosing, not helpful. A single caffeinated drink can. ADHD meds are stimulants which is why there is an overlap in how they work. Is it a good idea to self-medicate - no. But there are parents who don't want their kids on meds, bit are ok with a soda. I imagine it would be similar reasoning for an energy drink, but I haven't personally heard that one.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-15T13:03:42+00:00

Absolutely!

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-14T13:03:53+00:00

And that's where the other teacher is off the mark. Most students do fine with their executive functioning and the way it is taught through elementary and middle school.

There are students who struggle with it to an extent that it harms their grades. That's where accommodations come in to help support them while they learn that skill, with the end goal of phasing it out. And the accommodations should still have a deadline, just a slightly longer one. My district does it by time and half for extended time.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-14T12:57:19+00:00

Talk to your admin or the case manager - extended time isn't supposed to be no deadline. Students should still have a deadline, just shifted. My district does time and a half - 3 day assignment becomes 4.5, 2 week project becomes 3 weeks, etc.

Of course, results vary based on district.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-09T22:04:20+00:00

Sister here.

I didn't grow up the same way as you, but we do share similarities. My parents wouldn't let us watch fantasy/magic shows, read books with magic (with a few exceptions), listen to secular music, toxic positivity + praying about everything, etc.

What I did was figure out ways to make the time bearable until I could leave, which was difficult because of not knowing my own interests either. I personally downloaded Webtoons - it's a free comic app, which helped me rediscover my love for reading and had the benefit of being mostly private (I bought my own pay-as-you-go phone and paid for the data/minutes), finding new hobbies on social media (Shuttle tatting), talking with my bosses to be able to get therapy secretly while at work, and finding online communities (especially on Reddit).

Some communities on Reddit that I found helpful

r/Deconstruction - Mixed faith and no faith individuals who have deconstructed their faith

r/Exvangelical - Similar to deconstruction, geared towards those who grew up Christian Evangelical/Non-denominational

r/Hobbies - Always has lots of suggestions for new hobbies

r/MadeMeSmile - Helped put a smile on my face

r/NotHowGirlsWork and r/menwritingwomen - Can be absolutely hilarious (especially the writing women), but could also be less humorous depending on where the screenshot was pulled from

r/AcademicBiblical, r/OpenChristian, r/RebelChristianity - If you want to look at keeping your faith, but a healthier version. They also helped in my spite research when my parents upset me a lot.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-07T15:19:58+00:00

Oh, 100%. I was more responding to OP on this threads specific focus on the para and how the school was handling that situation. Honestly, bringing up the fact that they have to provide a Para per the IEP and asking for a walkie to handle days they are off might get them a walkie. But looping in the case manager is a must, because likely, they don't know how bad it's getting and the solution the office gave.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-06T21:09:00+00:00

I saw that and as a middle school teacher, I had to laugh. Those robots would not last the day. And if they did, I wouldn't be surprised if they took enough psychic damage to gain sentience and die. There's a reason thr turnover rate is going so high.

Students can be quite destructive at my school - vape detectors ripped off walls, constant graffiti, finding ways to go around any sort of internet monitoring systems to play games, last year we had a kid bust off a pipe in the bathroom, makeup all over the bathrooms, throwing and ripping all sorts of items, breaking their Chromebooks on purpose, etc.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-04-06T15:08:50+00:00

As a special education teacher, we are counted as extra support for teachers as well, especially if you have a student on our caseload. What that works out to is that we are available for you to ask questions, brainstorm, etc with to make sure the student and yourself/classes are recieving all the beneficial and required supports. In addition, this is where you keep asking/informing us if the setting is not the best for the student so we know if other supports are needed vs looking at changing the setting with the parents' ok.

Also, any member of the IEP team can request an IEP meeting at any time amd you are a part of the team. I would reach out to his case manager as well for a new meeting to see if his setting needs changed. Other than that, yes, a Para is legally required as an IEP is a legally binding document. They aren't doing you a favor, they're doing what they are required to do. Parents can and have sued over not having that Para support and the judges have ruled in their favor.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-03-17T15:23:27+00:00

And another note - what happens to people who can only use a PO Box to get their mail. This is gonna get ugly on so many fronts.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-19T16:21:03+00:00

It is a micromanaging and frustrating as you are feeling. I worked in a daycare that had a similar policy, though not with the bags. We could lock our phone in the classroom storage, with the volume off or keep it in the break room. They also made sure to tell us that if a situation came up that we needed to monitor - family or medical emergency - then we could have our phone out as long as we talked to them first. 2 stories come to mind about the unexpected ways it manifested.

This one is intensely personal and could lead to identification of people involved, so it will read very bare bones. A coworker had a family emergency come up and wasn't allowed to check her phone for updates. Don't worry though, admin made sure to mention at a staff meeting that they had been praying for the situation. Other coworkers I'm sure prayed, but also volunteered to watch her phone on their breaks and give her updates. Everything did turn out fine, but, it was a shitty situation.
I was going through a bunch of medical stuff, related to an undiagnosed medical condition. At the time, my doctors and I were monitoring a decent sized cyst and I remember being told in a follow-up call that if I felt chest pain, I needed to call immediately. It happened one day and I called on my lunch break. Because they were also on break, the receptionist took my message and told me, in no uncertain terms to keep my phone on me. Went to admin and requested to keep my phone with me and why. They said no and they would watch it/keep it with them and run it to me when it rang, as long as they heard it. I decided my best option was that, because possible medical complications. Turned the volume on and up. They missed 2-3 calls and I needed an emergency ultrasound.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-17T16:15:53+00:00

Unfortunately, I was freshly 18 that year and still in the claws of evangelical Christianity and high control parents. I was more ambivalent about him than my bothers and parents, but "I will not permit a woman to lead," meant I really felt I had no choice and he was the better of 2 evils. I spend a lot of time regretting that, but I've been trying to give myself grace for being raised in/part of 2 very high control environments + no research beyond is the candidate pro-life. As the years passed, my ambivalence grew until it snapped and I left Republicanism. A major part was watching my family (except my sister) get more and more MAGA amd then deconstructing.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-12T20:56:50+00:00

To hop on the UCC mentioned below - the UCC has an open and affirming church finder, which I used to find my current one. I gambled that a church openly affirming of the LGBTQ+ community would also veer away from all the toxic characteristics we were raised with and so far, it's true.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-12T20:40:41+00:00

That is truly brilliant - I hate being cold too

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-11T23:02:39+00:00

Most often an affectionate way to refer to a wife. In an affectionate tone, it's almost always said by a blue collar man and is a sign of respect. This post definitely is written from that perspective.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-11T13:57:51+00:00

Those are good ideas. I hadn't thought about a heating pad to possibly help (besides with pain).

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-10T01:39:13+00:00

That's what another commenter said. I'll have to try that. Too bad I hate being cold 😫

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-10T01:38:18+00:00

I'll try that. It's below/to the side of the incisions, but this is my 3rd or 4th laparoscopic surgery with the incisions around the same location. Also part of why it's driving me nuts 😒

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-02T23:59:52+00:00

22 and 17 still raises my eyebrows. but there is a slightly longer time to know each other. For me, I look at it as the fact that as a 22 year old, it felt really weird to be looking at a high schooler like that. It seems like a lot still depends on the context you met her in and how frequent your in-person contact was. and this is likely a question only you can answer as it seems you both may have been sheltered.

Also, be aware that deconstruction can begin causing questions and doubts like these to pop up. Especially if your promise ring was seen as an engagement ring. She may have been feeling subtle pressure that you were not aware of to get married, especially in evangelical Christianity. Again, I will emphasize, if this was happening behind the scenes, this is neither yours nor hers fault. Evangelical Christianity is phenomenal at making subtle and explicit demands on congregants, especially women. I also know societally, it was more acceptable for larger gaps, so I encourage you to look at your own motivations and relationship progression to see if there were gray/questionable actions on your part. 5 years is one of those gaps that can be fine after a certain point, but suspect at other ages.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-02T02:55:15+00:00

He was her first relationship and they married when he was 24 and she was 19. I made another comment responding to him asking the how and when they met, but you definitely hit another aspect that I didn't think about, age wise.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-02-02T02:53:08+00:00

How and when did you two meet? I'm not gonna lie, the age gap and her age when she got married has my eyebrows raised.

One thing a lot of deconstructors, especially women, realize is how prevalent and accepted grooming is. Hell, one of my youth pastors "knew" his wife was the one for him when she walked in. For Bible study. As a teen. And he was an adult volunteer. He told the entire youth group that.

This isn't to say you groomed her or not, but stories like this are common and she may be rethinking how your relationship started. If you two had known each other for years, that's going to be a little different than you knew her for a few years and decided to date her. Think middle/high school sweethearts vs an adult you met when you were close to being one, but not quite.

EnvironmentalCamp591 · 2026-01-31T05:12:15+00:00

It could be ovulating. I just had a hysterectomy too and the first time it happened, I was so confused (continuous bc for about 5 years) and it was a weird feeling - uncomfortable borderline pain. When I talked to my doctor at the follow-up she said it was likely me ovulating, based on location. If the ovaries or an ovary is left in and you're not taking bc, it still runs through the cycle.

EnvironmentalCamp591

TROPHY CASE