Out front before leaving for our first day of school!
ahhh..forced sibling love. :)
Nate wasn't diggin my photo session today. (Sorry, Buddy! I tried to be quick! You're just so handsome. :) )
First day went really well for both of them. I am so grateful that they both LOVE school so much.
Nate has 5 kids in his class with him. It is a self-contained Autism specific classroom with grades 1-3. He goes from 8am-3pm M-F, but we pull him out early 3 days a week to drive him to his therapy center where he receives additional Occupational therapy, Speech therapy, ABA therapy, and music therapy. At school there is his teacher, 3 aides, and various therapists there depending on the day (OT, ST, and PT). Nate thrives at school and his favorite time of day is "work with teacher" time. Thanks to his early ABA training, he does all his best work in a 1:1 setting. He is so smart and we can't wait for his language to develop more this year. He has a new communication device and we are in the process of taking our training classes (paid for through the State..woo-hoo!). We will be programming it the next few weeks with all of Nate's current words and favorite things. He has amazing finger dexterity and I know he is going to love it!!! I will post pics of that soon!
Neve loves her class too. She thrives in new settings most of the time and this was no exception. She is a peer model in a class with typical peers as well as mild to moderately disabled students. She has 9 kids in her class, one teacher, one aide, and a student teacher. She goes 3 days a week from 8-10:45am. Neve smooched us goodbye and ran right in to snag a good spot at the coloring table ;). I think our biggest problem with Neve is going to be the Queen-Bee complex she developed last year at her first preschool. She likes to rule the roost. I was the EXACT same way (LORD HELP US) but we will foster the strong leadership qualities and try to diminish the bossypants side...at least that's the plan! ha!
I am VERY happy to have 2 happy kiddos back in school...and 2 minutes TO MYSELF again!..now where's my mimosa?!.....
4 comments:
I just read your bio and want to say my heart goes out to you. You are right - as a mom of 3 "typical" kids I have no idea what raising a child with disabilities would be like.
I know this doesn't compare at all but my 2 year old daughter was a complete grump for 18 months - crabby, didn't smile, fussed a lot.
In comparison my 5 month old is the happiest baby I have ever met.
I know that during the 18 months of crabville I was somewhat depressed. It took a lot of joy out of parenting for me when she was so grumpy. Again, that doesn't compare but I know I was affected by a grumpy baby so I can't imagine how overwhelming dealing with a severely disabled child must be.
I am so sorry and if we lived closer would certainly want to get to know your kids and move in for a week to help. I hope Nate blows everyone away! Enjoy the peace you have while your kids are in school!
Hi!
Stopping over from Kelly's Korner. My 6 year old son has autism and I have a typical 3 year old. After reading your autism story from the beginning I feel like we have the same story! I hope the start of the school year goes well for your family. It was great to find your blog.
Meg, I also have an autistic son--is the center you take him to similar to Brain Balance? Have you heard of that program? I'm considering looking into it, but the cost is $$$.
Your first day of school pictures are so cute! I love their outfits.
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