Its that time of year. We are starting the discussions of Bambam's placement next year. Mr. Fixit and I actually started the discussion this year. We've begun to wonder if Bambam's current placement is the best environment for him to learn and grow. We've been discussing it at home for months. And have now started discussing it with Bambam's educational team.
We love our neighborhood school. And they have been wonderful to Bambam. All of them. The teachers, his aids, the kids, the office staff, the librarian, even the janitor. Every single person there. He couldn't be in a place where he is more accepted, included, loved and even celebrated. Except maybe at home.
But here's the thing. He's now 8, finishing up 2nd grade. Well, his version anyway. And, he's yards behind. He is learning; always plugging ahead in his own way, in his own time. But so are all the other kids. And it's obvious he isn't going to catch up any time soon. Maybe never. His is a different path. And that's OK. We need to respect that, embrace it even.
3rd grade is a pretty big jump. All of a sudden the kids are in a more academic environment with far more self study. They need to be self starters. Gone are the story times and longer recesses. Gone are the classroom buddies from the older classes helping them with projects. Now they are the older class with kindergarten buddies to help. And honestly, Bambam is just not ready for that. Any of it.
While his classmates are reading small chapter books, he is learning to read sight words and short sentences. His classmates are learning multiplication tables and he's still correspondence counting to 10 and sorting like objects. They are writing in daily journals and he's learning to write his name. Self starter is not a word I would use to describe his learning style. Unless it involves a ball or an animal, his attention span is about 11 minutes. None of this lends itself very successfully to 3rd grade in a typical classroom. We've decided its time to look at all of our options.
We could continue on our current path. Assign him to a home classroom with a 1:1. Continue with the individualized education plan that includes his own academic goals, along with social, adaptive, speech, OT, and PT goals. But here is what happens. He gets overwhelmed with sensory input in the classroom. So he and his aid have a cubicle in the LRC where he spends 75-80% of his day doing 1:1 work with her. Isolated from all the other kids. Isolated from everyone. And I'm not sure this is what's best for him. It is the best the school could provide under the current conditions, and we are ever so thankful for that. But is it what is best for Bambam? I'm not so sure.
I've been watching Bambam at school, paying close attention to his non-verbal queues. And its very clear to me that he is starting to see the differences between his classmates and himself. Until now, he appeared to not notice. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. But now, I see hints of him seeing it, becoming aware of it. He wants to do what his classmates are doing, but he can't. He notices when someone is watching or staring at him. He may not totally understand all of the reasons why, but he's noticing that it is different. And in some ways it breaks my heart. Ignorance can be bliss.
But if he's noticing, I think it is critical that he know there are other kids like him. He needs to find "his people". He needs "neurological peers". He also need "neuro-typical peers". I think both are critical to his growth and well being. He needs to know he is not alone, but he also needs to learn how to function in a world full of "neuro-typical people". Because that is what we have. The truth is, he will always have to interact with NT people. Hopefully he will also be around those similar to him, others on the spectrum.
And so, we are going to visit the self contained classroom in our district. This has been a major evolution for me. In the past I was adamantly opposed to placing him in the self contained classroom. And now I'm asking to see it. Our growth as humans never ends, but that is a thought for another day.
Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, I will be sitting in the back of the self contained K-3 classroom located in another school. I'm both curious and terrified. I do not know what I will find there. I'm hoping to find children with varying differences but still similar to Bambam. I'm hoping to find a teacher and a whole slew of aids who are knowledgeable, patient, understanding, kind, encouraging, and loving. I'm hoping to find NT kids in the other classrooms that are accepting and inclusive but more importantly, kind and caring. I'm hoping to find administrators who "get it". I'm hoping.
But even if we find the most wonderful, best of all possible situations in that self contained classroom in the other school, we are still faced with a very difficult decision. Bambam loves his school. He loves his classmates. He talks about his friends constantly. He has play dates with them, goes to their birthday parties and they come to his. How can we pull him out of his current school where he's been in class with the these kids for 3 years? Kids who know him, understand him, know how to interact with him, include him, genuinely like him. And it is not just the kids in his class. It is the entire school. They are like part of our extended family. I wish the self contained classroom was in his current school.
These decisions are so hard. We so desperately want to make the right decision for our sweet boy. Sometimes I wish he came with an instruction guide.
