Wow! Both kiddos had a great first day of school yesterday!  I took Allie first, and of course, as always, she hops out of the van, without even batting an eye.  Doesn’t even say goodbye to her Mama!  Then off we go to Christopher’s new school.  The day before he met his teacher and after explaining to her that he wouldn’t be eating breakfast, instead of him going to the cafeteria, she agreed to meet us in her classroom.  Well…I get there and wasn’t sure where to park, so I pull into the drive where everyone is dropping off the kids.  One of the ladies, helping with the drop off said that he had to go to the cafeteria, so I reluctantly let her take him.  So as I was driving off, I realized that I hadn’t pinned a name tag on him, and I started to panic.  I immediately called Steven asking him if he thought I should go back, he said I should if it would make me feel better.

So I whipped the van around parked on the street and walked towards the cafeteria where I saw Christopher sitting outside looking very alone.  I walked up to him, and I said, “Christopher, who are you suppose to be out here with?”  And there was a group of ladies standing off to the side.  One of them turned around quickly and said, “Oh…he’s with me.”  I told her that I was his mom and was just making sure that he got to where he was suppose to go.  She said that it was kind of loud in the cafeteria and he was covering his ears, and asked if he wanted to step outside.  She introduced herself, and said she is his Inclusion teacher.  She works with the SPED kids that have been placed in the mainstream classes.  So he will be working closely with her.  She seemed very nice, and I’m really glad that I got to meet her.  She did say that when Christopher was asked his name, that he said that it was “Thomas the Train”. LOL But when asked who his teacher was, he knew exactly what her name was.

Later that day, I was speaking with his Occupational therapist, and she asked who his teachers were and when I told her, her eyes lit up, and she kept going on about how wonderful they were, they have many years of experience, and that he was in the right place.  So that was really good to hear and when I picked him up, they said he had a great day.  So, I really feel optimistic about this year.

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Technorati Tags: Autism, first day of school, special education

Being that it is the last day of Autism Awareness Month and as part of Blogging for Autism Awareness, I’ve decided to close it with an amazing update that I’ve received about my son, Christopher, during the IEP meeting I had with his teachers last week. I want people to know that I’m not trying to brag about my son, I am just so happy about the progress he has made, and I feel the need to share it and hopefully Christopher’s story will give hope to those parents out there, that are dealing with a similar situation.

First, these meetings always make me nervous. This time, I had a feeling it would turn out good, because of the wonderful progress reports that were being sent home. There was no doubt in my mind. But at the beginning of the year, things started out quite rough.

Christopher was having trouble adjusting to the schedule and his teacher, and I have to admit, I was very discouraged. You see…when Christopher was first enrolled and evaluated, it was recommended that he be placed in a 4 to 5 year old preschool class, that would allow him to be in a more restrictive environment. Whatever that means, but upon hearing this, my husband and I were not very happy about this placement. I wanted him to be placed into a regular Kindergarten class. Given, my son had issues, but we knew how smart he was, and we strongly felt that this was not the correct placement for him.

So, after discussing this with the SPED department, they agreed to put him in an inclusion Kindergarten class (a mainstream class, consisting of typical children and children with special needs). First day of school wasn’t too bad, but after going one day, Christopher started refusing to go, crying and pleading for me not to leave him. Now remember, this is my first child, on top of that, he has special needs, so I didn’t know what to do, but to just bring him home with me. I immediately called the school and arranged for a meeting to discuss our options. I was feeling like I had made a mistake having him placed in the Kindergarten class. The meeting was held, and although the topic of moving him back to the pre-school class was discussed, it was ultimately decided that he just be switched to the other inclusion class. The teacher in this class had a different teaching technique and her class was not as structured and a little more laid back. And I’ll admit the minute I met this woman, I took one look at her and immediately knew that she would be the perfect teacher for my son.

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Technorati Tags: Autism, Autism Awareness, Blogging for Autism, IEP Meeting

And he did great! This video is a little over five minutes long, so I don’t expect anyone to watch it in its entirety, but it will just give you an idea what my son has accomplished over the last year. About this time last year, I posted about an “End of the Year” singing program that his preschool class performed. Christopher had just been diagnosed, and had only been attending his therapies for about 6 months. Although, he had made tons of progress by then, we still couldn’t get him to stand with his class and sing the songs. He would jump right off the stage. Even though we knew he would do this, we still wanted to give him the opportunity.
Well…almost a year later, and Christopher did a wonderful job standing with his class, and although he didn’t do all of the hand movements with them, he did sing the songs, and we were soooo proud of him! He’s the first one on the first row with his hands in his pockets. Oh yeah, and you can’t miss him, because he’s the one that jumps around and claps after each they sing each song.

As many of you may know, I have a 6 year old son that was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in March of last year. Since his diagnosis, my son has been attending 2 Occupational Therapy sessions and 2 Speech Therapy sessions per week. I can definitely say that he has made tons of progress over the past year. He is doing very well in Kindergarten, learning math, and learning to read. Many of the characteristics related to his disorder, I can honestly say, have completely diminished.

I received an email from Autism Speaks, that I would like to share. Today, April 2nd, marks the very first World Autism Awareness Day. Which I think is very exciting! Here’s the email, and I hope that it inspires some of you to take action in your own community.

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Technorati Tags: Autism, autism speaks, world autism wareness day

If anyone is interested in watching this and you don’t have access to HBO, you can view the critically acclaimed documentary “Autism: The Musical” NOW online for a limited time in its entirety. Here’s the link to the streaming video. I, personally, do not have HBO, and plan to watch this online. It is available from March 26 - 30.

Autism: The Musical

Technorati Tags: Autism, autism spectrum disorder, HBO, HBO Autism the Musical