Thursday was a busy day. I had heard from our youth pastor's wife about a school called New Heights that has a preschool program for kids with special needs, and decided to go check it out while Lynsey was at gymnastics. So I dropped her off and made my way over there (getting lost of course - wouldn't be an adventure without that!) and had a peek at the classroom and asked a few questions. They seemed really friendly and they had a spot in the afternoon class, so Brian and I had some stuff to think over on our trip to La Crete. We left for Edmonton around 1:30 and got there around 4. We let the kids run around for an hour and then had some supper before we got on the road. At 5:30 we were on our way. It was a fairly uneventful trip at the beginning, and at Whitecourt, we got all the kids ready for bed in the hopes that they would just go to sleep until we got to La Crete. This was all fine and good until we got to Peace River at 10:45pm and they all woke up. They were all awake until we got to La Crete at 1:40am. This sounds horrendous, and it had it's moments, but surprisingly they didn't cry and complain that much - Lynsey was actually our biggest frustration! They didn't want to sleep when we got to Mom and Dad's either - too worked up I guess! I was a bit tired the next day, but the kids all got caught up right away so it wasn't too bad:). I visited some friends on Friday, and then we had our two weddings on Saturday and Sunday. Brian tried to come on Saturday to the outdoor wedding with Adam, but they ended up just going home because it wasn't working. We did all attend the reception on Sunday, though - and it went really well! Lynsey had a great time playing with friends and cousins - she really enjoys these trips:). I had a great time, too. It's always nice to hang out and spend time with family! We drove back to Edmonton Monday afternoon (took Red Earth - a bit sketchy at times, but we made it!) and stayed in Edmonton overnight so the trip got split up. All in all, I would call it a success and I'm glad we did it!
Since we've been back, we have been consumed with Adam's preschool - I talked to a few different places, but no one seemed as open and able to accommodate us as New Heights school. It's pretty far away, but they are able to provide bussing on the way there (Brian would be able to leave work early to go pick him up every day). I took him there on Thursday afternoon to see how he liked it, and he screamed for an hour. I'm not exaggerating. It was very discouraging. I didn't want to give up, and the teachers and aids were very understanding (they told me that they all do this at the beginning, but I have such a hard time imagining anyone being that bad!). So, we stuck it out! After an hour he calmed down and went into coma mode for about half an hour where he just lays down and recovers. He started perking up a bit after that and even played for a while. By the time we left, he was quite enjoying his time (although he had no protests about leaving!). Yesterday, I went with him again - this time, he walked in and started playing right away! What a relief! I don't know that I could have handled a repeat of Thursday. There was a hiccup when we had to leave the park. Normally when we leave the park, there's something fun waiting for him, like a tricycle ride or a wagon ride, but this time, we just walked away. It took him a long time to recover. He went back into screaming mode, but this time only for about half an hour. Small victories! On Monday, they are having a training day with the parents, so I'm taking him again (or Brian - we haven't decided) so he'll be in the classroom alone, and on Tuesday, we're going to send him on the bus! I can't believe I'm going to send my not even three year old on a bus!! That is going to be a struggle for me. But I can't drive him there every day - it wouldn't work with Lynsey's kindergarten, and it's just way too much driving. He will like the bus - he goes into "car seat mode" and does fine on drives (he was my star traveler on the way to La Crete!). I never cried sending Lynsey to Kindergarten, but this is going to be a hard week for me. Adam is so special, and so young for me to be letting him go every afternoon! But this is not about me, and I won't be selfish and hold on to him. I'm glad I had the chance to spend a few days in the class so I could see how they run their program, and they really are so great with those kids. They have them on such good schedules, they don't even cry from one transition to another (they assured me that eventually Adam wouldn't either, but I have to see that to believe it!). I will keep you all posted on how our first week goes!
Also on Tuesday (big day for us!) we are meeting with the therapists that have been doing Adam's assessments, so we'll know more about the Autism diagnosis.
On to Nathan! He is still not crawling! And his naps have been terrible lately (although he's been sleeping 12.5 hour nights, so I guess I can't complain too much!). Everyone's had a mild cold since we were in La Crete, too, so that's probably a factor.
1 comment:
One of my friend's has a son with a severe speech delay. She started him in a special needs preschool this year and he just turned three a week ago. He also takes the bus, both ways, all by himself! Apparently he actually really enjoys it :)
I hope Adam will soon be enjoying preschool as well!
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