Whoa!!! First Grade???

Seeing it printed in black and white on orientation materials makes it so much more real. Kindergartners are still little boys, but first graders . . . they're not little anymore.

We had Spencer's open house yesterday. He kept telling me he didn't want to go to open house and didn't want to go back to school, but once we were inside he was bounding up the stairs with a big smile on his face to show us his new classroom. He is in a 12-1-2 again this year, 1st through 3rd graders (which is called E1 in the Montessori program). He already knows half the students in his class, one of whom is his bus driver's grandson and a good buddy of his. His bus driver was there and told us she'll be driving him again this year, which I was hoping for.

Spencer's new teachers are young, energetic, and positive people. They will be great facilitators for his learning. He will continue to have lots of opportunities to learn about the things he's interested in and work at his own pace on the things he struggles with, with lots of support and encouragement. I'm so excited for him and can't wait to see how he grows this year.

I'm Tired

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I'm having a hard time this week.  I hate to complain, because I'm grateful that my boys are as healthy as they are, but I'm tired.  I'm tired of taking a 5 year old to the bathroom every hour because he doesn't know when to go himself.  I'm tired of fighting with him to get him there.  I'm tired of fighting with the other one to wash his hands after using the potty.  I'm tired of cleaning up pee from two 5 year old boys who can't seem to get most of it in the toilet.  I'm tired of having to give Alex what amounts to feeding therapy at every meal.

I know there are people who have it a lot worse.  It's just hard this week because Spencer got a diagnosis and we're realizing that we really need to put a lot of time and energy into helping him, too.  I thought he was going to be my "normal"* child, after he got over the delays due to his prematurity.  I thought he would be the easy one, but he just keeps getting harder.  I know, I know: now we have a diagnosis and can get the help we need.  I'm just tired right now, tired of working so hard.  Parents of typicals have no idea how easy they have it!  I wouldn't trade my kids in for any others, I just wish I could have an easier day once in awhile.


*Normal is overrated, and non-existent anyway.

Where In The World Will Alex Go To School?

Alex's CPSE (Committee on Preschool Special Education) meeting is in two weeks.  This is the meeting at which the school district will determine what placement is appropriate for him when he transitions to kindergarten in the fall.  I got a letter from CPSE a few weeks ago asking for permission to have a psych ed evaluation done to aid in the process.  Okay, fine, I signed the paperwork and sent it back.  Last week the school psychologist showed up to evaluate Alex at school, without an appointment or any forewarning.  I didn't even know about it until it was over and done with.  Ally's teacher had no time to prepare him for the interruption in his day.  The psychologist didn't take any time to get to know him and appeared not to have even read his file.  She wasn't able to get any data for the tests because he was "non-compliant".  Well, what did she expect?  He's autistic, he didn't know her, and he had no forewarning.  To top it all off, last week was a horrible week for him, between potty training and getting over a bad cold.

The psychologist's conclusion was that the district doesn't have a placement for Alex right now.  She thought the 6.1.2 class in-district would work for him, but it's already full for next year.  She doesn't think the class at our local school, which is an 8.1.1, is right for him, but I've heard wonderful things about the teacher (she used to teach at Spectrum Services), and all of the children in the class are on the spectrum.  The district is required by law to provide the appropriate program for your child, but where do you go and what do you do with the child while you're fighting with the district and state to give him what he needs?!!

Alex's Communication

Last night my sister walked outside with Alex in her arms and he said "I see the car," with absolutely no prompting. Today I handed him a book, "Peekaboo Zoo," and upon seeing the animals on the front cover he said "Zebra!".

Alex and Spencer Update

Alex started school on February 11th. He loves it! He gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot in the morning and wants to run down the hallway to his classroom when we get inside. His class has eleven children. Five of them are universal pre-K students, the other six are special needs students. There's only one other child who is under the age of four. In addition to the teacher there are four full-time aides and one "lunch aide" (who is actually there for four hours). I'm very pleased the with adult-to-student ratio. In the afternoon it gets even better, because some of the children are only there for half the day. Alex gets plenty of one-on-one time. He sees his physical and occupational therapists twice a week. Right now the center is short on speech pathologists, so he doesn't have individual speech therapy sessions, but it's a language intensive program and I'm not worried.

In the few weeks that Alex has been there I have noticed that he pays a lot more attention to people coming and going, saying "hi" and "goodbye" more readily than in the past. He is also eating much better with a utensil. He is pointing to and labeling pictures in books. I've discovered that he thinks of himself as "Ally," not Alex; it's how he always refers to himself. Alex comes home in the evening very tired and usually doesn't want to interact directly with Spencer and me much, but he is still full of hugs and kisses for both of us. He shows that he misses us in his own, loving way.

Spencer is busy learning all kinds of new and fun things. His newest passion is puzzles. He is working on 12 piece jigsaw puzzles and actually doing quite well. He will focus on a puzzle for nearly half an hour without getting distracted or frustrated. I'm really amazed. Spencer continues to lag behind in his speech and language and is now receiving speech therapy twice a week. He continues to receive physical therapy once a week. He still runs like a much younger child and doesn't jump with two feet in the air (a 24 month skill). In all other respects he is pretty much caught up to his peers. At his appointment with the developmental pediatrician two weeks ago the doctor was amazed at the progress Spencer has made since his last visit six months ago. He no longer has to visit her unless a concern comes up.

Spencer gets to go to a preschool setting three times a week for four hours. I help out my sister with childcare and in return he gets to be with his peers in a creative learning environment. It is good for him; even his speech therapist has commented on how it's helped his language. He and Alex are about the same size now. Spencer has had a voracious appetite ever since he recovered from his Christmas stomach virus. Judging by the size of his belly I expect a good growth spurt this spring.

Just 29 days until Alex and Spencer's third birthday. My how the time has flown! They're not babies anymore, they're not even toddlers. My boys are pre-schoolers!