My son will be starting Kindergarten on Wednesday at a new school! Last year, we lived in another school district and he attended preschool there. He loved it and he even rode the bus! I don’t think he’s aware that he’s starting school this week, but I am slowly preparing the “behind the scenes” stuff such as getting his back to school supplies little by little.
My son has special needs and Autism. If you are not familiar with Autism, I will try to explain our situation and hopefully you can identify some of the differences that we go through. I hope, that by sharing my daily life, it will help others understand Autism and hopefully get to know my family better! Feel free to ask me anything, or if I am unclear about something, I will do my best to answer any of your questions. I have nothing to hide and hope to be very open and honest about my family.
This year, he will be riding the bus to and from school, however, I am concerned because this school district does not offer a separate bus for special needs students. My son will be riding the big bus with K through 5th graders! Also, there won’t be another adult on the bus to help buckle him in, so I guess I will be doing that.
It is very difficult for my son to adapt to change, whether it’s a change in routine or new clothes and shoes. I bought him new shoes a few months ago and he now just started wearing them. His other pair of shoes were coming apart at the soles, literally! My husband had to throw his old pair of shoes away while he was sleeping. If our son were to see us throw away his shoes, he would start whining and get them out of the garbage! That could also trigger a tantrum as well.
As for clothes, I bought him two new pairs of pants for school and he will not wear them! His clothes from last year are ripping and he’s getting too big for them. That will take another miracle for him to wear his new clothes!
To help prepare our son and let him know that school is starting, we are going to his Open House tomorrow night. This will give him a chance to “meet” his teacher and “see” his classroom. I would hate to put him on a strange bus, send him to a strange school, and have him in a classroom all day with a strangers! He’s not familiar with this school, so I’d rather go to Open House to let him see it and hopefully it will remind him that he’s been here before. Going to Open House will also give my husband and me a chance to meet his teacher, see his classroom and familiarize ourselves with the inside of the school. Our son already had a chance to play on the playground at the school, so hopefully that will also help on the first day.
Do I sound like a nervous wreck? My husband and I are really looking forward to our son going back to school! It will give us a break and some quiet time. When you have a child with special needs, it’s very difficult to just drop your child off at any daycare. I don’t think daycare providers are equipped and trained to watch children with special needs. We are unable to leave him with family and we do not live near any family members.
