Monday, December 12, 2011

Completed Semester! ...What now?


Once again, feeling a little unprepared.
                Arrrrgh. I don’t know. I was not made for morning shifts. No, I don’t feel like I have the rest of the day to get everything done. I feel like I get off work and it’s a few hours until I have to go back again.
                Particularly frustrating when I feel like I’ve missed the mark when it comes to communication with Wylie’s school. Oh dear. So I thought his pre-preschool semester ended when his whole ABA school took a winter break. Found out a day before it ended that I was wrong and it ended a week BEFORE the break. And I, true to my very nature, felt slapped in the face by my own procrastination. (Shit). Yeah. Okay. What now??
                To catch everybody up, Wylie just completed 3 months of a pre-preschool program, specifically designed for children who are ready to transition into a classroom setting. This doesn’t necessarily only encompass “high functioning” “aspies”—some children in the class are bound for straight up regular ed, and some children have just been doing the ABA thing for a while and it’s time for a chance to figure out some new accommodations. Wylie, I’ve been assured, is Super Advanced. Maybe not even autistic, haha.
                But Wylie isn’t exactly ready for school. He talks in jargon more than actual words. His self sufficiency skills are a little behind—potty training and getting dressed are skills we haven’t really tackled yet. He’s not a stickler for routine, but transitions are still likely to leave him unfocused.
                He has gained some important skills and experience during this semester of school. He’s 2 years old, and he’s doing a full 7 hour day at school. Um, amazing? I think so. And he LOVES it. He loves the other kids. His social skills aren’t perfect by any means, but his social interest is encouraging. And there is no doubt that he is at like kindergarten level academics now. The actual SCHOOL stuff is a piece of cake for him. As much as I know about autism (which, you know, is a lot, but I’m a mom and not an expert) I find it incredibly bizarre that language still escapes him. Yes, I admit it, it’s harder and harder for my feeble brain to wrap my head around uneven skill development. I get that it exists. I get that the brain has all these different pathways n stuff. But watching it in real life still makes my own brain hurt. Were ya thinkin about speaking any time soon, Baby???
                Anyway. The semester is over. The semester was granted to us. We cannot afford the 2nd semester. No way. I was pretty resigned to max out my credit card for it—after all, how many semesters could he need?? He’s so smart, after all. But after a Family Discussion, I’ve been persuaded. I haven’t been strong armed, I’ve been thoroughly persuaded—maxing out credit cards is sort of a desperate act. We might find ourselves needing that safety net. And I would do anything for my child, but when you are poor and your child may need long term expensive services, you gotta sorta prioritize. I want him there SO BAD. Thinking about it just makes me cry. It’s almost an ideal situation. But I guess I can’t put all my eggs in one basket for “almost.”
                So I have a few options to pursue. I can awkwardly beg for more kindness and charity when I’ve already been blessed with so much. And let me tell you—I will. I don’t expect any. It’s too much to ask for. But it’s not for me so I have to ask. There are private preschools to look into. There is the public school system—he turns 3 soon, and technically I’m sure he still has an IEP from ECI 0-3. I’m not sure. A little apprehensive, tho.

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