Yeah, I'm a little late to the party. Oh well.
Sissy started 1st grade this year. Her teacher has a different personality than her Kindergarten teacher so she's had to learn to deal with that. She is an excellent teacher who has helped Sissy thrive and reach high to her potential.
I found out the week before school starts that the school district had enrolled her in a special education program at the middle school. It was a small, unique class. Only her and 3 other students. She would have an interpreter. "Would the interpreter act as an educational aide also or would they be only an interpreter?", I asked. (Some interpreters ONLY interpret - it's a matter of their personal choice.) The district coordinator knows me really well by this point and she is wonderfully honest with me. The district subcontracts their ASL interpreters out to an outside company. Truthfully, they don't know who is going to show up until the morning of. But, if it isn't a good fit we'll try something else out. Okay, I figure I have to trust the process at some point.
This is happening so last minute that we haven't received anything in the mail from the middle school about touring the school grounds and such that all the other 6th graders have (technically Missy is still a 5th grader so she wouldn't be attending the middle school otherwise). But, my close friend whose youngest is a 6th grader suggests just heading over to the school that Friday before. No one will care if you take a look around.
So Missy and I head over there to take a look around. I want her to have an opportunity to look around and know where her classroom is. Long story short the front office has no record of her being a future student. They just want me to come back mid-morning on Monday. I try explaining that I've been working with So and So at the district and that everything is in place. Please fill out all this paperwork and prove you actually live where you say you live, they say. I'm livid and near tears. This isn't how I expected it to go.
So I do what they tell me to and make an angry call to the Special Education coordinator that I later apologize for. It wasn't her fault; information just hadn't made it out to the front office staff yet.
When I come back with the required paperwork all the staff is on the same page. Can I take her back and show her where her classroom is? Okay, they say, but let me check with the teacher first, technically they aren't in the classroom today. I try explaining it's okay, we won't go in, I just want to show her the classroom.
The teacher says fine, but the classroom isn't ready yet. No worries, I just want to ease mine and Missy's anxieties. Okay, maybe mine more than hers...
When we arrived at the classroom I wasn't planning to go in, but the teacher greeted us and invited us in. We visited for a moment, she knows some sign from a previous student, and she introduced herself to Missy, using the name sign the previous student gave her.
And come to find out, she had already read Missy's IEP. She knew her full history. I was floored. And thrilled.
Monday morning was a tad chaotic at the school as I tried to find the best place to park. I can't just drop her off in the circle like other parents. I was nervous about whether her interpreter/aide would be a good fit. I felt like her teacher was too good to be true, that must mean something else is going to be a pain, right?!?
Somehow I was wrong. The stars and planets aligned. God smiled down on us. However you want to look at it. I feel blessed, but then what does that mean for those that continue to struggle to find a good fit for their special needs kids?
Like my friend Sam's son, Jack. Or countless other children.
The difference is having someone in the profession that cares. Every encounter with Missy's Teacher and Aide shows me they care.
She was having too much fun in class and wouldn't let anyone know she needed to go to the bathroom, resulting in accidents. They set up regular bathroom breaks. They recognized she loves playing with hair and coloring so as a reward when she finishes her schoolwork, she gets to color and play with doll's hair. They help her go buy her lunch every day. And when she's sad and cries, they try to help her.
I don't know if they realize what a relief this is to Brad and me. We want her to be successful and independent, but it's not something we can do on our own. While we have prepared ourselves for the possibility that she will live with us forever, and I want to protect her from all the bad in the world, we'd love to see her do things that typical children do. We want her to find her place in this world.
Gratitude Journal January 15: I'm grateful for the kind heart Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share it with others and spread the love and grace that He wants all to feel while in this life.
