First of all, let me let everyone know how sorry I am for not keeping up with the blog! As usual, things get busy and I get so involved with everyday life that I don't make time to sit down and update. One good thing is that in general, if I haven't posted, it probably means things are going fairly well, and I haven't felt the need for theraputic writing!
I was just reading over my previous entry on June 1. I'm happy to say that we are feeling better about things since that post, largely because the program we went to see at Bradt Elementary School in Rotterdam turned out to be a postive thing. We went into the visit there not expecting much, and we were pleasantly surprised.
The classroom is run by BOCES in a primary school in the Mohonesan school district. The whole school is only K-2nd grade. It's pretty big, but also nicely laid out and pretty convenient to get to. The class itself is going to have 8 students, with one teacher, Miss Breeyear, and 2 aides. There is also a social worker, and the usual army of therapists. While we were there, all the kids seemed to be functioning well in the classroom environment. The teacher had a good handle on the class, and the kids were all participating like you would expect kids in school to do. While the teacher was talking to us, the kids all did a craft project at the tables with the aides helping them, and we never even noticed how efficiently they did the project, no hassles, no issues. The teacher is young, and seems very nuturing and enthusiastic. She was very receptive to the idea of me coming into the classroom once in a while to help. The structure of the class seems very appropriate for Sam, and also there is the aspect of being able to adjust the curriculum to his abilities. I was able to bring him over the class to check it out the day after Tom and I were there. He joined right into an activity that they were doing, and he seemed quite happy with it. Honestly, he's nver had any trouble walking into a situation, the issues only come later once he's figured out what he can and can't get away with. But I am cautiously optomistic that this program will be able to deal with his quirks.
The distance from home is probably my biggest concern. Transportation issues are going to be worked out, but if it's going to be acceptable to us is another matter. The thought of him being on a bus for hours isn't appealing to us at all, so we'll have to see what happens. I'm not opposed to transporting him one way myself- hopefully it would be on the way home.
I feel somewhat better about how things were left at CES. I've come to realize that the bottom line is the quality of the education that Sam receives in the appropriate environment for him. I know I wouldn't feel as confident about first grade if he were staying at CES. It's just been demonstrated this year that they are not able to handle it. I'm annoyed that I was led to believe that it would all work out, and that interventions and strategies to help Sam only went so far there. I also realize that maybe our case is somewhat unique, we never had the preschool situation that would have prepared him for kindergarten, so he started out behind the 8 ball. There are times I really blame myself for not seeing his issues earlier, so he could have had a better head start. I'm trying to just look ahead and hope that we can play catch up in the next couple of years. I have no doubt that he'll be able to return to CES, and I hope I feel confident about that return. I'm glad that we won't have to deal with the whole temporary classroom issue (I've heard nothing positive about that so far).
I am feeling better about how things might go in the fall. I know it will be a rough start with the changes and everything, but I'm hoping at least this environment will be one in which he can learn a lot, have his issues worked on in a positive way, and feel comfortable about school. In the meantime, I'm hoping to enjoy the summer. There was no place left for him in summer school, which I'm glad about. I feel like we all need a break from the day to day grind. I'm not convinced that summer school does as much good as it might seem to. He will be continuing therapy 2 days a week with his therapists from CES, so that's a good thing. They were all very effective, and never had any problems with him. We'll be doing some traveling, and seeing some friends. Probably by the beginning of September, I'll be glad to hand him over to teachers!
