Speak Up For Special Needs!

 

 

 

Was at the Early Years Centre this morning with my soon-to-be (next Wednesday!) 6 year old DS for its “Something Special” program offered every Thursday morning.  It’s a program where parents of kids with special needs and their children can come and play.  The toys put out are more sensory-based than when we regularly go there.

 

I was speaking with another mom whom I met last week.  Her son is entering Kindergarten this September and we have been chatting about how to advocate for your child.  She’s having an issue with her son playing soccer.  The coach’s son is bullying her child a bit, and instigating bad behaviour in her child.  I was offering suggestions of the type of language she can use with the assistant coach as she’s pretty sure the assistant coach is aware of the issue, based on comments he’s made in the past. 

 

She’s a very calm and quiet woman so I was trying to encourage her that this situation she’s encountered with soccer will be great practice for her in advocating for her son in Kindergarten in the fall.  The big difference she and I had walking into Kindergarten was that my son has an official diagnosis (of Autism) whereas her son doesn’t yet have a diagnosis. 

 

My kids had been in daycare prior to Kindergarten so we didn’t have to work on transitioning to school at all…especially since their former daycare centre was located in a school.  That made it a bit easier for my son.  In Grade 1 this September however, he will be attending a special needs class at school AND (hopefully) IBI will have started/be starting. 

 

My biggest advice to parents of children with special needs, diagnosed or not, is learn how to be assertive with the school system.  If your child can/may/will benefit from something, ask for it to be implemented.  If you work with the school, they will usually try to do as much to accommodate HOWEVER, also empower yourself with your school board’s policies related to special needs and special needs accommodation in the classroom.  Request a meeting with your principal (and teacher and Educational Assistant) prior to school starting, and continue to follow up until you get that meeting.  Be the “squeaky wheel” but please be nice about it. 

 

Arm yourself with information and knowledge because YOU are your child’s best

and sometimes ONLY advocate!

On The Injured List

 

 

 

Normally, school pick up entails picking the kids up, chatting with DS’s Educational Assistant for a few minutes to see how his day was, and then we head across the street to “the Butterfly Garden” if we have other plans, or the park then the Butterfly Garden then home. Yesterday, this is NOT what happened.

 

Everything looked normal until the supply EA let go of DS’s hand BEFORE I had ahold of his hand. In that split second, he bolted. Three adults went to grab him. We all missed. I’m sure it looked a bit like baseball players all going for a fly ball. I had been carrying DD and lost my footing. Down I went. DD was crying, DS started crying because DD was crying. Honestly, I was trying really hard not to start crying too. Unbelievable pain! A bunch of fellow kindergarteners were coming over asking if my daughter’s “mommy was okay”. All I could say was “no. I’m hurt. Please give me space”. My left knee was banged up, left foot toes were scraped, the side of my right foot was twisted…which made for a painful 2 minute drive home.

 

Some things I’m thankful for from this situation…

1. I was able to turn just a tiny bit when I was falling so I didn’t land on my daughter, and was still able to protect her from really hurting herself.
2. The kids’ father was able to take the kids overnight. There was no way I could handle the stairs in our home to put the kids to bed. We have a sunken bathroom with only two steps and those are hard enough to manage, let along the 20 or so steps to upstairs!
3. A friend of ours was with us for school pick up. He caught my son after he bolted, was able to carry him to our mini-van, get us home, help me into our home, manage my kids, and get them fed. He even told me to make a stop at Starbucks on the way home to get me my favourite Starbucks order…gawd he knows me! Thanks AS!
4. My neighbour kept my daughter entertained between our friend leaving and the kids’ father coming to pick them up. Thanks JM!
5. My daughter was and continues to be such an amazing help…she’s holding my hand to “help me” whenever I have to move somewhere this morning, and she even wrote me a “get well” card this morning too.

 

This morning’s biggest decision for me was, do I put the tensor bandage on my right foot or my left knee. Went with the right foot.