Sunday, October 30, 2011
Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag
Well little man mommy has been holding onto a secret. Only our closest friends have known this, and you have known something is going on but it is a little difficult to explain to you at this time. But, next week we will be leaving for Ohio, for good. This was not an easy decision for me to make for us but I had to put your best interest in mind, look at the whole picture, and decide what was going to be the right move for us not only now but for our future.
I have found a wonderful school for you in Columbus Ohio called Helping Hands Learning Center. This is a private school for children with special needs that is fully based upon the principals of ABA therapy. The golden ticket to this school is that they are a LAMP (language acquisition through motor planning) center for excellence meaning that everyone is trained in device usage and teaching language through a device. This is going to be huge for you, your communication, development, and prospects for the future. In addition, their speech therapy team is trained in PROMPT which is a methodology that has worked extremely well for you from your private therapist. As much as your expressive language grows everyday and we hear new phrases and words, there is still a connection missing for you.
It is as if you have this huge brick wall around you and we have been able to move some of the bricks, here and there, and create "peep holes" for you to see the world and interact in small segments but not enough bricks have been removed for you continue to grow and develop. We need the wall to be taken down, for enough bricks in one area to be removed that you can just walk through and fully show us what you are hiding inside.
There are times I wonder if I am reaching for straws. That you have shown us all that you have to offer, and that I love you for it, and that my focus on your education needs to change, but then you continue to thrive even in the worst educational situations. Even when no one in your current school believes that you can speak, that you are potty trained, or that you thrive off peers (and don't just use them for punching bags) you take another giant leap forward in the home or community with a smile on your face, and you show those of us who you trust that you have so much more to offer.
You have shown us just how resilient you can be and I do not think it is fair for me to ask you to continue to bounce back every time school sets you back 50 feet from their inconsistency, lack of methodology, and not seeing the potential you hold. For this reason, I know Helping Hands is a school where you will thrive, where you will love to learn, and an opportunity to remove those bricks that are standing in your way.
Since this is a private special needs school we will find the balance in the community for your peer interactions on evenings and weekends. At school you will receive group and individual physical, occupational, speech, and music therapy. The school is actually huge into music therapy so I am looking forward to this new outlet for you. I know things will not be perfect, there will be an adjustment period, and that change does not happen overnight. What I also know though is that with consistency, and individuals who want to educate you and see all the potential inside of you, you will blow us away with your ability, strength, and one day with all that you have to say!
Here is looking forward to bright and exciting new future.
Keep on Truckin'
Love you
Mom
I have found a wonderful school for you in Columbus Ohio called Helping Hands Learning Center. This is a private school for children with special needs that is fully based upon the principals of ABA therapy. The golden ticket to this school is that they are a LAMP (language acquisition through motor planning) center for excellence meaning that everyone is trained in device usage and teaching language through a device. This is going to be huge for you, your communication, development, and prospects for the future. In addition, their speech therapy team is trained in PROMPT which is a methodology that has worked extremely well for you from your private therapist. As much as your expressive language grows everyday and we hear new phrases and words, there is still a connection missing for you.
It is as if you have this huge brick wall around you and we have been able to move some of the bricks, here and there, and create "peep holes" for you to see the world and interact in small segments but not enough bricks have been removed for you continue to grow and develop. We need the wall to be taken down, for enough bricks in one area to be removed that you can just walk through and fully show us what you are hiding inside.
There are times I wonder if I am reaching for straws. That you have shown us all that you have to offer, and that I love you for it, and that my focus on your education needs to change, but then you continue to thrive even in the worst educational situations. Even when no one in your current school believes that you can speak, that you are potty trained, or that you thrive off peers (and don't just use them for punching bags) you take another giant leap forward in the home or community with a smile on your face, and you show those of us who you trust that you have so much more to offer.
You have shown us just how resilient you can be and I do not think it is fair for me to ask you to continue to bounce back every time school sets you back 50 feet from their inconsistency, lack of methodology, and not seeing the potential you hold. For this reason, I know Helping Hands is a school where you will thrive, where you will love to learn, and an opportunity to remove those bricks that are standing in your way.
Since this is a private special needs school we will find the balance in the community for your peer interactions on evenings and weekends. At school you will receive group and individual physical, occupational, speech, and music therapy. The school is actually huge into music therapy so I am looking forward to this new outlet for you. I know things will not be perfect, there will be an adjustment period, and that change does not happen overnight. What I also know though is that with consistency, and individuals who want to educate you and see all the potential inside of you, you will blow us away with your ability, strength, and one day with all that you have to say!
Here is looking forward to bright and exciting new future.
Keep on Truckin'
Love you
Mom
Saturday, October 8, 2011
No Pain No Gain.... Right?
I am so proud of you. Yet again you surpassed one of my expectations. A little over a year ago we went for a bike ride with Nancy and T (look back at journals from last August) and you were still in a baby seat on the back of my bike. We made it that day, you telling me to "go" and just enjoying the wind in your face with no effort needed on your part as you nicely sipped your water.
Well, a year later, we went on this exact same bike ride today. This time though there was no way you were still fitting in that baby seat after growing over 5 inches in the last year so I had the bright idea to rent a trail-a-bike (basically makes my bike into a tandem bike by attaching a bike for you by a long arm). The problem, you don't know how to ride a bike yet. When I envisioned this trail-a-bike I was thinking it was very sturdy, didn't move side to side, and all the balance would come from me. Hahaha, maybe I should have looked into it a little more before we got all the way to Georgetown. It did move side to side, required you to pay attention, balance, and concentrate on holding on. The trail has hills, turns, bumps, and a lot of other people who you, of course, love to say Hi to as we pass.
When I first tried to get you on you cried, screamed, yelled some more, and really didn't seem to have an interest. In all honesty, I probably would not have either and I really didn't know if I could pull you for this long trip and not take both of down. But, you made it. Once we got moving you started to really like it. Instead of just saying "go" this year you pointed out the water to me, the boats, cars, other people on bikes, and the airplanes. It was so nice to spend this time with you today, to relax, not worry about what others and just come back to reality a little bit and continue to marvel in the little man you are becoming.
About five minutes before we were back we did have a little mishap and you fell off the bike. I think you may have dozed off, a long day for you, or you just simply let go, but either way you did take a hard hit cut up your knees, elbows, hands, and some pretty good cuts on your back and shoulder. What amazed me though is your tough as nails attitude and you took a minute to regroup, walked a few feet, and then got right back on the bike to finish the ride. I am sure you will be a little sore tomorrow but no pain, no gain, and we gained so much today :)
Love you baby
Mom
Well, a year later, we went on this exact same bike ride today. This time though there was no way you were still fitting in that baby seat after growing over 5 inches in the last year so I had the bright idea to rent a trail-a-bike (basically makes my bike into a tandem bike by attaching a bike for you by a long arm). The problem, you don't know how to ride a bike yet. When I envisioned this trail-a-bike I was thinking it was very sturdy, didn't move side to side, and all the balance would come from me. Hahaha, maybe I should have looked into it a little more before we got all the way to Georgetown. It did move side to side, required you to pay attention, balance, and concentrate on holding on. The trail has hills, turns, bumps, and a lot of other people who you, of course, love to say Hi to as we pass.
When I first tried to get you on you cried, screamed, yelled some more, and really didn't seem to have an interest. In all honesty, I probably would not have either and I really didn't know if I could pull you for this long trip and not take both of down. But, you made it. Once we got moving you started to really like it. Instead of just saying "go" this year you pointed out the water to me, the boats, cars, other people on bikes, and the airplanes. It was so nice to spend this time with you today, to relax, not worry about what others and just come back to reality a little bit and continue to marvel in the little man you are becoming.
About five minutes before we were back we did have a little mishap and you fell off the bike. I think you may have dozed off, a long day for you, or you just simply let go, but either way you did take a hard hit cut up your knees, elbows, hands, and some pretty good cuts on your back and shoulder. What amazed me though is your tough as nails attitude and you took a minute to regroup, walked a few feet, and then got right back on the bike to finish the ride. I am sure you will be a little sore tomorrow but no pain, no gain, and we gained so much today :)
Love you baby
Mom
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Just a little more support
So, I know you try your hardest. That you wake up each morning, take a deep breath, and never know what will be around the next corner. I want you to live your life, be happy, and take in everything that the world has to offer. I want you to be a kid, make up for lost time, and try your hardest. I push you to your limits, I have expectations, and I watch in amazement as you grow.
Unfortunately we are coming to a time and a place where people are not seeing the growth. They are not seeing the special, unique, and talented young man that you are. They are not seeing the hope, passion, persaverence, and future that you have. They are seeing a child who they are characterizing by his disability. They are afraid of his actions, and they are more interested in moving him on then taking the time to grow with him.
I continue to fight for you. To give you the opportunities you so desperately need in your life and to try my hardest to surround you with people who love and care for you. To give you safety, a sense of security, and an environment to thrive.
School has yet again not followed through on this. I am so sorry that everyday you have to go to environment where you are not understood, where you are not accepted, and where your frustration continues to rise. It pains me to hear you cry as they walk away with you, to know you feel as if you need to be saved from the individuals who are supposed to be educating you, and to know that these individuals do not see the same passion for life you do and do not see the potential that lies inside of you.
I can only ask you to be so resilient. I can only ask you to bounce back and come out of your shell so many times before I will lose you forever and you will remain this child forever locked away behind those longing eyes. I cannot continue to ask you to hang in there for the right person who will understand you to come by to educate you and ask you to wait until I fight one more meeting to hopefully get a document that will support your needs. It should not be dictated by a piece of paper. By one perspective, budget, case manager, or administrator. It should be dictated by your strengths and weaknesses, your abilities, your potential, and the spark in your eyes that tells us what is still hiding inside.
So, for all these reasons, I will continue to look for just a little more support. For the people who can provide you the world broken into pieces that you can understand, build upon, and make your own world from.
I love you
Keep on Truckin
Mom
Unfortunately we are coming to a time and a place where people are not seeing the growth. They are not seeing the special, unique, and talented young man that you are. They are not seeing the hope, passion, persaverence, and future that you have. They are seeing a child who they are characterizing by his disability. They are afraid of his actions, and they are more interested in moving him on then taking the time to grow with him.
I continue to fight for you. To give you the opportunities you so desperately need in your life and to try my hardest to surround you with people who love and care for you. To give you safety, a sense of security, and an environment to thrive.
School has yet again not followed through on this. I am so sorry that everyday you have to go to environment where you are not understood, where you are not accepted, and where your frustration continues to rise. It pains me to hear you cry as they walk away with you, to know you feel as if you need to be saved from the individuals who are supposed to be educating you, and to know that these individuals do not see the same passion for life you do and do not see the potential that lies inside of you.
I can only ask you to be so resilient. I can only ask you to bounce back and come out of your shell so many times before I will lose you forever and you will remain this child forever locked away behind those longing eyes. I cannot continue to ask you to hang in there for the right person who will understand you to come by to educate you and ask you to wait until I fight one more meeting to hopefully get a document that will support your needs. It should not be dictated by a piece of paper. By one perspective, budget, case manager, or administrator. It should be dictated by your strengths and weaknesses, your abilities, your potential, and the spark in your eyes that tells us what is still hiding inside.
So, for all these reasons, I will continue to look for just a little more support. For the people who can provide you the world broken into pieces that you can understand, build upon, and make your own world from.
I love you
Keep on Truckin
Mom
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