...and, Breathe...

Day one down - only what, 231 more to go? (whew)

I was so proud of myself for not taking S to school - for letting him take that step on his own. Then, I couldn't help myself - I went to the school today during my lunch just to make sure all was going well for him. See, I do this for a very selfish reason, to be honest. I'm sure I probably sound like a bit of an over-bearing mother, but if I am aware of events at the school prior to getting home, I am able to rearrange my thought process and be prepared for the not so good. The worst is when something comes right out of no where. Half the time I'm right in the middle of a terrible meltdown, and I'm sitting there wondering "WTF??"

Case in point - the last day of school last year. Remember the bathroom incident? Yeah, I had a 12 year old throwing a major fit because I wouldn't stop to buy ice cream. I'm talking out of the car, walking down the road, refusing to get back in the car, attempting to lay on the road, trying to hitch a ride (two very nice gentlemen stopped, btw...), running through a grain field, continuing to walk down the highway toward home... I did very well to stay pretty calm through the whole thing, but after about an hour of it, well, I'd had enough. (Also for the record - I stayed in my car for most of the episode - just followed from a safe distance, that sort of thing.) When I finally got him back in the car - with his seatbelt on (he had been taking it off when he 'wanted ice cream'), and once we finally got safely home, I was able to finally say to him, "What is going on with you?" THAT is when I heard about the bathroom incident. By this time it was 7pm, and it had happened around 2! He really didn't give a flying fig about the ice cream - plain and simple, he was upset, and (at the time) the concept of not getting something was just as good a reason to have a fit than anything else. His thought process doesn't work like the average person. Layers - you always have to peel those layers. So, that is why I went to the school - it's just better to be prepared.

I know the lady that is going to be his EA - she has been at our school for a number of years, and although I've never had any parent-to-educator relations with her, I think she will work well with him. The washroom dilemma has also been addressed - he will use the handicapped washroom adjacent to the office. The two major little devils are not in his class, and his best friend is. Maybe the threat of a law suit finally got people on board? Maybe the doctor is finally being listened to? At this point, I don't really care what the reason is - just so long as everyone works to ensure S has a better school year than the past two, that is all I care about! He even brought his laptop home today!

Hubby and S spent some time on it tonight - he really needs to spend some quality training time on the voice-to-text system. Once the computer can recognize his speech nuisance (he has a strange little "accent" that is really a speech impediment) he should be away to the races. I wish he was able to get more formal training on this program. I've already asked for more training for him... (His poor spec ed teacher must truly hate me.)

The A-man did awesome! He said he didn't get lost in the school once, he was actually early to every single class, and he knows a few people in each class. We went out tonight to get a few more supplies that he needed, then he sat right down to make sure we got them all organized. Of course, he got a little bored with the organizing before I did, but he settled down when he realized that I was still going to give him some extra 'down time' before bed. I know his down time is very important to him - without it, we face a big ole rage episode. (S's fit about the lack of ice cream would seem minor to that of a rage by the A-man.)

The next big hurdle will be getting the A-man out of bed, showered and having clean teeth before the bus arrives! Baby steps - we must take baby steps.... ;o)