The actual school part went well yesterday. From Little Bug's perspective, it was awesome because he was able to play Thomas and sign Wheels on the bus. He even ate some of his lunch.
From our perspective, it has worked out better than we had ever dreamed. Little Bug doesn't have an aide required by his IEP, but it has ended up that one aide in class is dedicated to him. The aide stays with him through out the activities to encourage social interaction, sharing, and to be an anchor for transitions. This is all because of his teacher. She has learned about ASD and feels that him having an aide is the best approach.
His teacher is AMAZING! We took the time to write a letter with areas that he struggles with and suggestions as well as commonly used signs. She not only read it, but responded with thanks as well as how she implemented our suggestions.
She has gone above and beyond. She and the SLP have created a picture schedule for him. The SLP is hoping that he will not need it based on language growth by the end of the year.
Last night, there was an open house- which Hama and Bumpa came up for. They loved his classroom and his teacher. We loved his teacher. She spent half an hour with us, asking questions, taking feedback, and actually writing things down. She was open minded and asked for help. Being that Little Bug is the first Autistic child she has taught, she was very eager to learn.
I was amazed that she listened to us. I am used to having our concerns down played and minimized. Suggestions ignored because we don't have a degree. Not her. She asked for help in making a support for "How is your engine running?" to help him stay on track with the speed of the class. We taught her how to pick him up when he is aggressive and she took our suggestions on how to create a better quiet spot. Hers was in the middle of the room under a play structure and bright lights.
Needless to say, we are happy and have lots of homework. I am glad to do it. She is willing to learn and try and it is our job to set her up for success and support her. For her, we are creating transition cards, "How's your engine running?", and providing feedback on how we are implementing goals at home. For the SLP, we are providing the sight words that Little Bug recognizes, what goals he has with his SLP, and how we are working on it at home.
There were some bitter sweet moments last night. When we walked into the school, a little guy from his class began yelling, "That's my MAN! I like him! We play trains!" Little Bug didn't even notice or acknowledge it. It took 6 prompts to get him to look up from the patterned tile floor to say hi. A little girl came over and introduced herself to me. She looked at me and said, "I play trains with him. I like him." Again, no acknowledgement from Little Bug. On the bright side, the kids didn't seem phased by his lack of response. They just accepted him for who he is.
I don't know how to say this in a PC way, but it is different seeing him with typical peers. At the last center, most of the kids had Autism and they all ignored each other except for rare spontaneous interaction. It is such a drastic change to see him with NT kids. I never realized completely how delayed his social skills are. How delayed his speech is compared to other kids. Don't get me wrong, he can chatter a mile a minute, but not in the same functional conversational way that these kids do.
1 comment:
Watching Hallie in the company of kids who are not disordered or delayed is shocking to us, as well. In Hallie's case, she is social, but she has no idea how to communicate effectively and cannot hold anything resembling a conversation with any of her peers, who are talking in paragraphs in sophisticated, interactive ways. But the preschool thing does get better. The first few weeks were hard for Hallie (she is in with mostly NT kids, although there is at least one kid at the school with PDD-NOS and a few kids with various other disabilities). But she has gotten with the routine and is making friends, of sorts, even with her limited skills and some of her eye contact issues are a bit better. Between school and Floortime and OT, she has made some progress (though not on eating) this summer and, while she is nowhere near typical, progress is at least something that gives us some solace.
I wish you guys luck with the school thing and I look forward to future updates on how Little Bug is doing.
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