Transitioning to Kindergarten

Yesterday I went to the elementary school that my son might be attending. I wanted to see the classrooms to get a feel of what type of program they ran. I am really nervous about him slipping through the holes and not receiving the services he needs in order to succeed. I was met with what I perceived as a brick wall at the school. They told me that we had to schedule an appointment (which I was fine with), but it had to be approved of by the school board. What is that all about? I immediately put my guard up. I am sure that most special needs parents have heard of the horrific happenings in school with our children and while it doesn't seem to happen to your child it very well could.

This has always been a concern of mine since my son has a lot of difficulty expressing his needs and often need to be questioned specifically to find out about his day. Therefore if something bad happened at school, I may not find out about it. That concerns me which is why I am implementing the PEC cards and a communication board. At least I know he would have the ability to let me know what he needs as well as if he was injured. That should resolve that issue and so now onto the next one. How do I know that they are going to place him in the proper setting?

Well, the Special Education director called me this morning about my request for a tour. She wanted to ensure that I knew she was also concerned about my son's placement and that they have a very vigorous process for placing children. I will go through this with you as I feel it is a wonderful way of finding the best placement. First off I must state that no one can ensure that the placement of your child is absolutely going to work and there will always be some tweaking to the program. With this in mind, they can do their best to place them in the environment that the team(which includes you), feel is best.

Our school district meets with the Kindergarten teacher in mid January. At this time they arrange for the teacher to go to the Pre-Ks so they can observe the students and report on whether they would be good for their class. Then the parents get to go to the school and observe the classes that best suit their child. In March  there is a Pre-CPSE meeting where everyone discusses the goals and opinions on services and applicable class placement. All opinions are then heard and discussed and a placement is agreed tentatively until the May meeting. Any concerns in between are easy to deal with as they will call another meeting and discuss so that all of the team is together as a team when it comes to the final decision.

The conversation I had today was wonderful. They were prompt on returning my call and they were very clear on the way the process works. She also was very knowledgeable of my son and seemed to really care about his improvement. She also suggested ways to help him at home as well and assured me that while I may feel crazy, I really am on the right track. I think for any parent, it is vital to have open communication with your child's team. It is most successful when you can all work together for the same outcome. I learned a lot in the last four years but I also realized a lot about myself in the last two days.

While I have been advocating for my son diligently. I think I convinced myself that he would start school and everything would just get better. Let me explain, He is four with the functions of a two and a half year old. I had myself so convinced(I think for my own sanity), that he would be at age level and functioning as a typical child once he became school age. I have to stop that thought process as I am expecting way more from the school then my son can perform. They are not miracle workers, they are teachers. If my son is having trouble processing then they can't fix that. But it is an elimination process to find the way to engage him in our world.

It is all a process. Sometimes tiring and exhausting, sometimes making me want to crawl in a hole, but all it takes is that one small thing,(openly giving me a hug, jumping with 2 feet off the ground), that most parents overlook cause they are so common that makes me realize that this is all worth it. He is worth it and I am blessed to have my wonderful children.