Tomorrow marks the end of The Bubbly One's first semester of Kindergarten, and today we went to the recognition assembly for the first half of the year. The Bubbly One wasn't getting any awards but it was one of those occasions where families are invited to come along and have lunch and hang out with their child's class and teaching staff afterwards. They did the same thing at the end of first term and it was great fun and a really good chance to get to know his teacher and aide better, and also to meet some of the other families and our son's friends. Daddy took the day off to come along today and I'm really glad that he did as it's really hard to convey to him how things work so well there. He also got to see The Bubbly One playing with other kids his age willingly, happily and without it being facilitated by an adult! We got his half yearly report and were so pleased with his progress, and also impressed with how it was presented. Each of his goals and key learning areas have been reported on of course, as per his IEP, and with each section there were photos of our son working on each area. There was also a digital copy containing additional videos of him at work, and work he does- with a gigantic smile on his face most of the time!
I never thought that we would ever find a place where our son was as valued and as happy as he was at the preschool and early intervention service he went to last year, and then he started school. After working in post school programs for over a decade I knew which schools in our area were amazing, and I knew the ones that I would fight to keep my son away from. There was no thought of mainstreaming- The Bubbly One has a severe global developmental delay as well as autism and he needed life skills teaching as well as academics. There is a lot said about special schools, and so much of it is negative- that they isolate children with disabilities rather than promoting awareness and acceptance, that they focus on life skills at the cost of academics and that the children are effectively babysat because their potential is not recognised. I've heard it all, and sadly there are schools and units within mainstream schools that are like this. At the same time there are others, and I believe that they are in the majority, that do everything they should do, and more.
In preparing for school placement for The Bubbly One I talked to a lot of professionals and parents. I looked at a lot of schools, and I absolutely fell in love with one that I knew well by reputation as being innovative and a leader in special education in our state. More importantly I knew that they championed their students- that they were brilliant at tapping the potential that so many failed to see in kids with more severe disabilities. I knew many of their former students and heard the most glowing reports from them and their parents, and I'd seen the absolute joyous reaction in the young adults that I worked with when we saw one of their old teachers in the community. As I walked around that school and I saw the relationships between the kids and with their teachers and aides I wanted that school SO badly for my bubbly little boy and I was overjoyed when he was allocated a place there.
The Bubbly One is in a class of seven kids. Many are somewhere on the autism spectrum, some have Down Syndrome, some have severe physical disabilities as well as developmental delays and sensory issues. Some also have life threatening health issues. He has a teacher, a full time aide and occasionally a third person if there are students doing placements. Each child has an IEP and their lessons are individually tailored to where they are at and how they learn, and he is not only surviving the transition to school, he is thriving.
I have watched him learn and grow, seen the knowledge that we know is in his head drawn out by a teacher who sees his potential and is brilliant at teaching him new things and helping him to retain them. He comes home excited to show us what he has learned, and today was so excited to show us where he learns it. His receptive and expressive language has improved, as has his behaviour and ability to focus and attend to what he is doing. His anxiety in groups has plummeted, and yes, his living skills are improving in leaps and bounds also.
My bubbly boy, so shy and anxious outside of our home, has gained a confidence that I never thought I would see in him, and while the amazing teaching staff and culture of the school deserve a lot of credit, I truly believe that the key to this newfound confidence has been that for the first time he fits in. I never thought that he was terribly aware of how different he was from the other kids at preschool until I saw him respond to his classmates at school almost immediately, and they to him. At preschool occasionally he would have a little girl take him under her wing, but when they didn't get much of a response from him they would drift away to more reciprocal friendships. I'm sure that plenty of facilitation happens during the day, and I know that social skills are a big part of my son's IEP, but this is what I see every morning:
The Bubbly One runs into school giggling, hands often over his ears, but with a huge smile on his face. He walks into his classroom and does a lap around the room to check out who is there. I call him back and he puts his things away, and then he runs to greet his closest friends. This is a ritual I never get tired of seeing because they are friendships formed by he and the other kids spontaneously on their first day of school.
The first is a little boy who he has much in common beyond the fact that they are both autistic. Handsome little boys with tousled blonde hair that rarely gets cut, and devilish grins, they run and spin around the room together like twin tornados. One bounces on the fit ball until the other steals it and they compete for the same musical toys. Both are naturals on the iPad which reveals an intelligence in both of them that their lack of language belies. In the morning they smile and dance in front of each other and then The Bubbly One puts an arm around him and goes in for a hug, only to be pushed back out of his friend's space- and then the giggly dance resumes. This little boy has some health issues and The Bubbly One always seems to know when he is not well. On those days he will very gently put an arm around his friend, pat his shoulder and kiss his cheek. The Bubbly One also annoys the crap out of this friend sometimes and thinks it's hilarious when he is saved from the pinch, hit or bite that he has thoroughly asked for by a fast moving teacher or aide!
The next is a little girl with Down Syndrome- small, blonde and oh so cute. Determined, curious and the youngest in a family of older kids she runs rings around the boys at school. The Bubbly One goes to give her a hug and she gruffly says "No!" (her response to most things), then giggles, hugs him back and licks his hair. The Bubbly One laughs and moves on- he knows better than to take her on!
Next is another little boy with autism. Tall, thin, quiet, and with the most expressive brown eyes I've ever seen. This friend taught The Bubbly One how to point- three years of speech therapy and he learned from this friend in a month! He gives me a big smile from across the room and points his long thin fingers at me, then at The Bubbly One, then at the baby. The Bubbly One wraps him in a bear hug and squeezes, just how he likes to be hugged- and his friend's eyes look like they will pop out of his head. "Gentle hands" calls the teacher and The Bubbly One lets his squashed friend go, gently rubs his shoulder and then runs to me.
I give him the squeeze that he is craving and he puckers up and kisses me on the lips. I give him one more squeeze and say the words I know he is waiting for: "Love you buddy, work hard.". And I am dismissed. : )
I never thought that we would ever find a place where our son was as valued and as happy as he was at the preschool and early intervention service he went to last year, and then he started school. After working in post school programs for over a decade I knew which schools in our area were amazing, and I knew the ones that I would fight to keep my son away from. There was no thought of mainstreaming- The Bubbly One has a severe global developmental delay as well as autism and he needed life skills teaching as well as academics. There is a lot said about special schools, and so much of it is negative- that they isolate children with disabilities rather than promoting awareness and acceptance, that they focus on life skills at the cost of academics and that the children are effectively babysat because their potential is not recognised. I've heard it all, and sadly there are schools and units within mainstream schools that are like this. At the same time there are others, and I believe that they are in the majority, that do everything they should do, and more.
In preparing for school placement for The Bubbly One I talked to a lot of professionals and parents. I looked at a lot of schools, and I absolutely fell in love with one that I knew well by reputation as being innovative and a leader in special education in our state. More importantly I knew that they championed their students- that they were brilliant at tapping the potential that so many failed to see in kids with more severe disabilities. I knew many of their former students and heard the most glowing reports from them and their parents, and I'd seen the absolute joyous reaction in the young adults that I worked with when we saw one of their old teachers in the community. As I walked around that school and I saw the relationships between the kids and with their teachers and aides I wanted that school SO badly for my bubbly little boy and I was overjoyed when he was allocated a place there.
The Bubbly One is in a class of seven kids. Many are somewhere on the autism spectrum, some have Down Syndrome, some have severe physical disabilities as well as developmental delays and sensory issues. Some also have life threatening health issues. He has a teacher, a full time aide and occasionally a third person if there are students doing placements. Each child has an IEP and their lessons are individually tailored to where they are at and how they learn, and he is not only surviving the transition to school, he is thriving.
I have watched him learn and grow, seen the knowledge that we know is in his head drawn out by a teacher who sees his potential and is brilliant at teaching him new things and helping him to retain them. He comes home excited to show us what he has learned, and today was so excited to show us where he learns it. His receptive and expressive language has improved, as has his behaviour and ability to focus and attend to what he is doing. His anxiety in groups has plummeted, and yes, his living skills are improving in leaps and bounds also.
My bubbly boy, so shy and anxious outside of our home, has gained a confidence that I never thought I would see in him, and while the amazing teaching staff and culture of the school deserve a lot of credit, I truly believe that the key to this newfound confidence has been that for the first time he fits in. I never thought that he was terribly aware of how different he was from the other kids at preschool until I saw him respond to his classmates at school almost immediately, and they to him. At preschool occasionally he would have a little girl take him under her wing, but when they didn't get much of a response from him they would drift away to more reciprocal friendships. I'm sure that plenty of facilitation happens during the day, and I know that social skills are a big part of my son's IEP, but this is what I see every morning:
The Bubbly One runs into school giggling, hands often over his ears, but with a huge smile on his face. He walks into his classroom and does a lap around the room to check out who is there. I call him back and he puts his things away, and then he runs to greet his closest friends. This is a ritual I never get tired of seeing because they are friendships formed by he and the other kids spontaneously on their first day of school.
The first is a little boy who he has much in common beyond the fact that they are both autistic. Handsome little boys with tousled blonde hair that rarely gets cut, and devilish grins, they run and spin around the room together like twin tornados. One bounces on the fit ball until the other steals it and they compete for the same musical toys. Both are naturals on the iPad which reveals an intelligence in both of them that their lack of language belies. In the morning they smile and dance in front of each other and then The Bubbly One puts an arm around him and goes in for a hug, only to be pushed back out of his friend's space- and then the giggly dance resumes. This little boy has some health issues and The Bubbly One always seems to know when he is not well. On those days he will very gently put an arm around his friend, pat his shoulder and kiss his cheek. The Bubbly One also annoys the crap out of this friend sometimes and thinks it's hilarious when he is saved from the pinch, hit or bite that he has thoroughly asked for by a fast moving teacher or aide!
The next is a little girl with Down Syndrome- small, blonde and oh so cute. Determined, curious and the youngest in a family of older kids she runs rings around the boys at school. The Bubbly One goes to give her a hug and she gruffly says "No!" (her response to most things), then giggles, hugs him back and licks his hair. The Bubbly One laughs and moves on- he knows better than to take her on!
Next is another little boy with autism. Tall, thin, quiet, and with the most expressive brown eyes I've ever seen. This friend taught The Bubbly One how to point- three years of speech therapy and he learned from this friend in a month! He gives me a big smile from across the room and points his long thin fingers at me, then at The Bubbly One, then at the baby. The Bubbly One wraps him in a bear hug and squeezes, just how he likes to be hugged- and his friend's eyes look like they will pop out of his head. "Gentle hands" calls the teacher and The Bubbly One lets his squashed friend go, gently rubs his shoulder and then runs to me.
I give him the squeeze that he is craving and he puckers up and kisses me on the lips. I give him one more squeeze and say the words I know he is waiting for: "Love you buddy, work hard.". And I am dismissed. : )
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