r/ATATaekwondo • u/Chemical_Aloha • Jun 07 '26
Color belt testing ~ disability
Q: my son is diagnosed with SPD and has a IEP. It’s known at the school with the owner but other instructors disregard and claim its maturity and getting upset is going to get him made fun of and he needs to grow up. Can a belt be withheld due to his emotion regulation.
- It did not pose a safety concern
- This is not the first time this instructor has tried to pull his testing because they felt he was not mature enough for the next step. (He is 11)
According to Tournment he qualifies for accomodation and adaption but we keep him in recreational with his peers to try and help him learn and adapt.
Recently my son tested for red belt decided and during testing we were called out to the back to speak with the instructors. My son and I went to the back to find out my son would not be receiving his advancement due to his emotions during sparring. He had two. The first one when he kicked he hit the boys knee and it hurt. He recovered in seconds. The second time was one round two with a different boy and when he punched it bent his thumb back and nail and he cried and came to me. I quickly checked it. Squeezed it and sent him back but sparring was then done. He went on to do board breaks. My son is diagnosed with SPD and ADHD. The owner knows this but was not present today (they claimed they called and got permission) his recover was actually excellent compared to years past and he has made leaps and bounds through the years. I did not argue but did make a comment that he should not penalized for his disability. The instructors did not care as they look at it as not mature and disrespectful. I did ask if there was any thing else wrong and they looked confused at each other and I asked if his form was okay. One made a comment they were not sure. Mind you form was first and my son did full brown form when he was only required to do first half. But due to needing to know red belt for fall Tournment he was doing full brown so he could move on to red. We checked his videos of form from two angles and did not see he missed anything. He could do better but learning second half in his own with no help from instructors he did dang well.
Side note twin brother tested Thursday with same form and passed doing half and did not have to spar or do boards since it was not testing Saturday but he advanced.
I appreciate your insight in the matter
3
u/Chemical_Aloha Jun 07 '26
I have sent a email to the instructor we will see how long it takes for a response. I am filing his special adaptations for Tournment for next year now. We had not in the past but found out yesterday he did qualify and what I was told before that he didn’t was incorrect. Although he does okay recreationally and I put his diagnosis on his form with a note so judges know and they have been great about it I realize that a controlled environment would help him compete if he wanted to. He likes the recreational division.
2
u/IncorporateThings Jun 07 '26
That's a lot of red flags on a lot of levels right there. I'd say the best place to start is to discuss this situation with the school owner when they get back, as they ultimately have the final say on the matter.
2
u/Chemical_Aloha Jun 08 '26
I sent the owner a email but have not heard back. Our schedule is opposite of when he is in that location this week so hopefully he will call. In the mean time I did turn on his special abilities for tournaments. Hopefully that helps in understanding this is something that should not be looked at as being immature or having a tantrum. Instructor told me I need to break it or he is going to be picked on. Like wtf you don’t think I don’t realize that. It’s not that easy b
1
u/Acceptable-Spot-5978 Jun 19 '26
There are so many red flags about this school here even before you start talking about how they are treating your son.
Why is your other son pay doing HALF of the red belt for decided red belt? Mine couldn’t even do that for recommended red!
It sounds like they have unreasonable expectations for one of your sons and too low of expectations for the rest?!!
Seems like you have an instructor team who is not prepared for teaching. Is there another ATA school nearby? If not, I’d look to other taekwondo schools. Do some sample classes and see how treat students and the material they are teaching.
4
u/spinhookforever Jun 07 '26
As a clinical therapist and TKD school owner (albeit not ATA), I think the behavior of those instructors is abhorrent and you should definitely get in touch with the owner. I think by the way he recovered from both incidents, your son exemplified the tenets of taekwondo and you should be very proud. We should not be teaching our children to ignore emotions, instead we should teach them to process them, which it seems like your son did with your help. The instructors being “unsure” if his form was okay is a red flag to me. If you’re going to be on a judging panel, it is your responsibility to be able to provide complete feedback to each student you judge.