And so, here we are. The evening before one of childhood’s greatest milestones: the first day of kindergarten. It feels a bit anti-climatic after 4 years of school. I’ve processed leaving my child in the care of others, the total fear of putting a non-verbal child on a bus. We’ve done IEPs, communication notebooks, meetings, […]
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Unexpected, Unanticipated
It’s been a strange few days. I write here for…well, to be frank, I write here for myself. I process through writing, but I make Ro’s story public in hopes that every once in a while it speaks to someone else. I write my truth here, though sometimes it is scary to share and other […]
To Be Continued
Disclaimer: Though we are choosing to advocate against a self-contained placement for Rowenna at this time, this is not a judgment on anyone who has chosen that for their child. We simply do not feel it is an appropriate placement for our daughter at this time based both on our observations at home and the […]
Pop
Hear that? It’s the sound of my balloon bursting. Until now, we have had an amicable relationship with our school district. We felt very in sync with their suggestions for Rowenna, and we loved her placements for the last two years. We know many children who have various diagnoses, and many of them did an […]
The IEP: 4K Edition
Tonight was the main event: the IEP for Rowenna’s 4K year. Honestly, I was nervous. After the surprise announcements from both of her teachers that Rowenna needed much more support than we realized, we had trepidations walking into a meeting where we thought we would essentially end up disagreeing with all suggestions. I’m also 39 […]
Sucker Punch(es)
A post in which we receive some very unexpected news. We’ve tried to create a team with the people who work with Rowenna at both schools. I regularly speak with her teachers and therapists, we use the communication notebook to some extent, and I am at every drop off and pick up possible to remain […]
Beginning of the Year Update
We’re two weeks into the school year and it’s so far, so good. I admit to being a bit nervous about sending Rowenna to two different schools. That’s two environments, two teachers (and sets of staff), two sets of rules and expectations…I could go on. I want to challenge Rowenna but structure has become more […]
“She’ll Go Where We Decide”
So it’s mid-July, and in my state, school starts the day after Labor Day. About 6 weeks from now. Rowenna had her IEP meeting in March, and the school district still doesn’t know which school she will attend or who her teacher will be. (We live in a rather large district, and there has been […]
The Line
Today was Rowenna’s last day of Montessori preschool. For the end of the year program, parents joined their children in a circle as they sang their favorite songs with their teacher. The children either sat on carpet squares or on their parents’ laps in the circle, singing and performing hand actions. Rowenna? She was walking […]
An End
We’re nearing the end of an era for Rowenna. In 3 short weeks, my sweet girl will be three and she will finish with the Birth to 3 program. It’s a hard stop – on her third birthday, everything just ends. No transition, no easing into the next step. Rowenna’s situation is a bit different […]
