A few weeks ago, Connor's occupational therapist starting talking to me about rethinking putting Connor into pre-school. About a year ago I had taken him for an evaluation and then decided he was too young and didn't even want to think about putting him into pre-school, but now Connor is going to turn 4 in a few months and he just seems to need some new stimulation and encouragement to branch out and learn new things and so I contacted the lady from the school board in our area, and got the ball rolling again.
A week or so ago I went in and visited Connor's classroom that he would be in, met the teacher, the teacher's aid and all the kids and was able to see exactly what he would be doing during his three hours a day at the school. I asked dozens of questions and really liked the teacher and teachers aid.
Two days ago I met with about 7 different people that would be involved with Connor on a weekly basis. His teacher, the teacher's aide, the speech therapist, the school psychiatrist, the teacher on assignment that is the go-to person for everything, and a liason that is basically on that parents support team and anything, and I mean anything that might bother you, worry you, or whatever, she very firmly speaks up on your behalf and makes sure whatever it is you need to happen, happens and then another lady was there that sits and takes notes and does all the paperwork for you. All the people are neat, clean, very well spoken and all go above and beyond to help you in any way. The teacher on assignment has already given me her home and cell phone numbers in case I need anything after hours and the teacher gave me her cell phone to call her anytime. I am so impressed with everyone that I have dealt with.
Today I walked Connor in to meet his teacher and class in the very noisy little cafeteria. The kids go to breakfast first thing in the morning. When I introduced him to Ms. Beth his teacher and she squatted down to be eye to eye with him, he gave a little smile and went in for a hug. It was so sweet and made me feel better instantly. When I introduced him to the teachers aide, he did this whole thing with her that he does with a friend of mine, Tara Hydes. He gets excited, gives her this smile and then keeps leaning up to make sure she is paying attention to him. She has Tara's same hair and they are about the same size and coloring, so he may have thought it was her. He really took to her and it was cute. All the kids immediatly said "Hi Connor" as they had been expecting him and then all called me "Connor's Mom" and were excited to see me again.
After breakfast we walked the long, winding way to the classroom. Connor was all eyes and we had to stop once in awhile along the way so he could explore his surroundings. Ms. Beth said every child does this on their first few days and she would just stop the class while Connor checked out his surroundings. We finally made it to the classroom and Connor at first resisted going in (I think he thinks any funny looking building, like this school, looks like a medical building.) but once he saw all the kids and spotted all the toys he marched in and immediately got down on all fours and went exploring and exploring and explored some more. Don't know why he was crawling, but that is the way he chose to explore, maybe to just be as close as possible to all this new stuff.
I was able to get him to sit in his seat a couple times and when I snapped a picture of him, the other kids imediately started asking for their picture to be taken also and then had to all see it on my digital camera. The kids are all very sweet and cute. There is only one boy that makes me nervous (the blond boy in the picture). He is incredibly sweet and loving most of the time, he has autism, and when he has a bad moment he sometimes loses control and can become very aggresive with whomever is closest. The teacher does well in keeping him in check and he has gotten to the point that when he feels about to lose his control he will sometimes march himself to the "safeplace" (a room in the back of the classroom that has a special soft circular thing, much like a kiddie swimming pool, that has the soft balls in it and they sit in their quitely until they feel like they have calmed down.) She told me a funny story this morning. She said they have been talking about nutrition and exercise and that some of the parents are getting aggravated because when they go grocery shopping the children will tell them that they shouldn't be buying junk food. Well, the other day Ms. Beth asked the kids about what were their favorite foods and then they would figure out if they were something that is good for you and should be eaten often, or not good for you and only should be eaten once in awhile. Well the little blond haired boy said his favorite foods were french fries and Ms. Beth held her thumb down and said french fries were something that wasn't very good for you and should only be eaten once in awhile. The little boy stood up really fast, put his hands on his hips and said "french fries aren't good for you? I can't handle this" and marched himself straight over to the safe place. Ms. Beth said it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. He still doesn't like the verdict but seems to be okay with the fact that he can still have them sometimes.
So the first day is underway. Yes, my eyes are puffy. I cried so many tears last night and was having difficulty, and Steve gave me a Tylenol PM to sleep as he knew I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep without it. I held it together very well during the whole experience this morning until I got to my van to leave and just put my head on the steering wheel and cried again. My eyes feel like two balloons, but Connor is just too special to let go of very easily. I never cried when Bryce went to pre-school or Kindergarten. I knew he was ready, was aware, was happy and liked both his teachers and trusted them extremely. I trust Connor's teacher and like her, but I know that Connor can get away super fast and isn't aware and doesn't really understand what is going on, so there is a lot of fears there. I just have to put my faith in God that he will take care of him and watch over him with a few dozen guardian angels surrounding him at all times.
Thank you for all of you that sent me emails and messages last night and this morning letting me know you were thinking about me and praying for us. That really means a lot!
A week or so ago I went in and visited Connor's classroom that he would be in, met the teacher, the teacher's aid and all the kids and was able to see exactly what he would be doing during his three hours a day at the school. I asked dozens of questions and really liked the teacher and teachers aid.
Two days ago I met with about 7 different people that would be involved with Connor on a weekly basis. His teacher, the teacher's aide, the speech therapist, the school psychiatrist, the teacher on assignment that is the go-to person for everything, and a liason that is basically on that parents support team and anything, and I mean anything that might bother you, worry you, or whatever, she very firmly speaks up on your behalf and makes sure whatever it is you need to happen, happens and then another lady was there that sits and takes notes and does all the paperwork for you. All the people are neat, clean, very well spoken and all go above and beyond to help you in any way. The teacher on assignment has already given me her home and cell phone numbers in case I need anything after hours and the teacher gave me her cell phone to call her anytime. I am so impressed with everyone that I have dealt with.
Today I walked Connor in to meet his teacher and class in the very noisy little cafeteria. The kids go to breakfast first thing in the morning. When I introduced him to Ms. Beth his teacher and she squatted down to be eye to eye with him, he gave a little smile and went in for a hug. It was so sweet and made me feel better instantly. When I introduced him to the teachers aide, he did this whole thing with her that he does with a friend of mine, Tara Hydes. He gets excited, gives her this smile and then keeps leaning up to make sure she is paying attention to him. She has Tara's same hair and they are about the same size and coloring, so he may have thought it was her. He really took to her and it was cute. All the kids immediatly said "Hi Connor" as they had been expecting him and then all called me "Connor's Mom" and were excited to see me again.
After breakfast we walked the long, winding way to the classroom. Connor was all eyes and we had to stop once in awhile along the way so he could explore his surroundings. Ms. Beth said every child does this on their first few days and she would just stop the class while Connor checked out his surroundings. We finally made it to the classroom and Connor at first resisted going in (I think he thinks any funny looking building, like this school, looks like a medical building.) but once he saw all the kids and spotted all the toys he marched in and immediately got down on all fours and went exploring and exploring and explored some more. Don't know why he was crawling, but that is the way he chose to explore, maybe to just be as close as possible to all this new stuff.
I was able to get him to sit in his seat a couple times and when I snapped a picture of him, the other kids imediately started asking for their picture to be taken also and then had to all see it on my digital camera. The kids are all very sweet and cute. There is only one boy that makes me nervous (the blond boy in the picture). He is incredibly sweet and loving most of the time, he has autism, and when he has a bad moment he sometimes loses control and can become very aggresive with whomever is closest. The teacher does well in keeping him in check and he has gotten to the point that when he feels about to lose his control he will sometimes march himself to the "safeplace" (a room in the back of the classroom that has a special soft circular thing, much like a kiddie swimming pool, that has the soft balls in it and they sit in their quitely until they feel like they have calmed down.) She told me a funny story this morning. She said they have been talking about nutrition and exercise and that some of the parents are getting aggravated because when they go grocery shopping the children will tell them that they shouldn't be buying junk food. Well, the other day Ms. Beth asked the kids about what were their favorite foods and then they would figure out if they were something that is good for you and should be eaten often, or not good for you and only should be eaten once in awhile. Well the little blond haired boy said his favorite foods were french fries and Ms. Beth held her thumb down and said french fries were something that wasn't very good for you and should only be eaten once in awhile. The little boy stood up really fast, put his hands on his hips and said "french fries aren't good for you? I can't handle this" and marched himself straight over to the safe place. Ms. Beth said it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. He still doesn't like the verdict but seems to be okay with the fact that he can still have them sometimes.
So the first day is underway. Yes, my eyes are puffy. I cried so many tears last night and was having difficulty, and Steve gave me a Tylenol PM to sleep as he knew I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep without it. I held it together very well during the whole experience this morning until I got to my van to leave and just put my head on the steering wheel and cried again. My eyes feel like two balloons, but Connor is just too special to let go of very easily. I never cried when Bryce went to pre-school or Kindergarten. I knew he was ready, was aware, was happy and liked both his teachers and trusted them extremely. I trust Connor's teacher and like her, but I know that Connor can get away super fast and isn't aware and doesn't really understand what is going on, so there is a lot of fears there. I just have to put my faith in God that he will take care of him and watch over him with a few dozen guardian angels surrounding him at all times.
Thank you for all of you that sent me emails and messages last night and this morning letting me know you were thinking about me and praying for us. That really means a lot!
1 comment:
Hi,
I just happened to be surfing by your blog and decided to take a minute and stop in. I so identify with your "Daily Thoughts". Thinking on the positive side is a MUST when you deal with a child with learning or other difficulties or if you yourself as in my case deal with both a child with learning difficulties and physical difficulties to boot!
I appreciate what you are going through.
Drop by my blog for a visit sometime.
Marsha
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