Dear School Team Jack (as I've come to affectionately know you all),
I just have to let you all know that after multiple IFSPs and a previous IEP, I believe that yesterday's meeting was a glowing example of just what can happen when good people really put their heads together for the sake of one very special little boy. We came up with solutions, ideas, and a package of services that I believe - I hope - will produce a year full of wonderful things for my sweet boy.
Now, forgive me if I gush for a second. You see, I know that you all care about Jack. You abundantly demonstrated that to me yesterday. I know he's in good hands, under watchful eyes - his Grandma's included - as he takes these next steps, but there is still a part of my heart that left with me this morning when I put my little one on the school bus. Today is his first day going to full-day SN Pre-K like a "big boy", and there is something in my heart that really began to hurt this morning as I watched my boy go.
I agree - this is good for him. It will allow him to work on those critical skills of eating his lunch at school, plus it will give you all more time to work on the myriad of social, communication, and self-help goals that we put in place yesterday. However, me with my Mommy naivete did not anticipate that my sweet boy would start going full-day the very next day. I know it's for the best. I know this will give him a full-day to test the waters and then a weekend to relax and regain his strength. For Mama, there is no such thing as ripping the Band-Aid off to get the pain over with quickly. Instead, the pain is a slow pull for this Mama, no matter when it happens.
You see, today is a stark reminder that in spite of the fact that my boy still needs help eating, that he still is in diapers with no potty-training end in sight, and that he still communicates and thinks like a toddler, my baby isn't a baby anymore. As a parent, that's a tough and painful reality to face. Being a mom of a special needs child, it's is a particularly difficult reality, as time never seems to be on our sides. Time steals away the days, months, and years as our children's bodies grow faster than their skills seem to develop, yet time also seems to preserve our children in a state of prolonged babyhood, making the transition to the rites of passage of childhood - like full-day school - even tougher to weather.
So forgive me if I'm weepy today. Forgive me if I'm not excited about my newfound freedom, planning to go get a mani-pedi in my son's absence this afternoon. I'll probably be doing what I did during his first day of SN Pre-K last March, which is cleaning and trying to keep so busy that I don't notice the hours stretch on until time to go get my little boy.
Thank you all. There are heroes in this world who seem to go unnoticed, but know this - your heroics are observed and appreciated in this home.
~ Jeanie (RM)
I just have to let you all know that after multiple IFSPs and a previous IEP, I believe that yesterday's meeting was a glowing example of just what can happen when good people really put their heads together for the sake of one very special little boy. We came up with solutions, ideas, and a package of services that I believe - I hope - will produce a year full of wonderful things for my sweet boy.
Now, forgive me if I gush for a second. You see, I know that you all care about Jack. You abundantly demonstrated that to me yesterday. I know he's in good hands, under watchful eyes - his Grandma's included - as he takes these next steps, but there is still a part of my heart that left with me this morning when I put my little one on the school bus. Today is his first day going to full-day SN Pre-K like a "big boy", and there is something in my heart that really began to hurt this morning as I watched my boy go.
I agree - this is good for him. It will allow him to work on those critical skills of eating his lunch at school, plus it will give you all more time to work on the myriad of social, communication, and self-help goals that we put in place yesterday. However, me with my Mommy naivete did not anticipate that my sweet boy would start going full-day the very next day. I know it's for the best. I know this will give him a full-day to test the waters and then a weekend to relax and regain his strength. For Mama, there is no such thing as ripping the Band-Aid off to get the pain over with quickly. Instead, the pain is a slow pull for this Mama, no matter when it happens.
You see, today is a stark reminder that in spite of the fact that my boy still needs help eating, that he still is in diapers with no potty-training end in sight, and that he still communicates and thinks like a toddler, my baby isn't a baby anymore. As a parent, that's a tough and painful reality to face. Being a mom of a special needs child, it's is a particularly difficult reality, as time never seems to be on our sides. Time steals away the days, months, and years as our children's bodies grow faster than their skills seem to develop, yet time also seems to preserve our children in a state of prolonged babyhood, making the transition to the rites of passage of childhood - like full-day school - even tougher to weather.
So forgive me if I'm weepy today. Forgive me if I'm not excited about my newfound freedom, planning to go get a mani-pedi in my son's absence this afternoon. I'll probably be doing what I did during his first day of SN Pre-K last March, which is cleaning and trying to keep so busy that I don't notice the hours stretch on until time to go get my little boy.
Thank you all. There are heroes in this world who seem to go unnoticed, but know this - your heroics are observed and appreciated in this home.
~ Jeanie (RM)