The School Dance

Normally a school dance is a good thing, right?  Well, not unless you don’t have a date… or you have to fight for your right to even GO to the dance.  Enough talking in metaphor~ I have heard parents refer to the special education school placement process and the subsequent fighting as a “silly little dance”.  Well, I am happy to say it appears that my Percy already has his date for the Fall dance!  And it wasn’t the fight I was expecting.

My almost 3-year-old Percy has an Autism Spectrum Disorder and is getting school services through our local government.  He is currently in the trial  run of a program in its very first year, where a few 2-year-old children with developmental delays are placed in a typical classroom setting with typical children (if there is such a thing as a “typical” child).  The catch was that when the Special Education Preschool administrators (hereinafter referred to as “School”) were establishing this program they needed to find an existing setting in which to place the kids with DDs.  Amazingly, the YMCA offered THREE spaces in their 2-year-old preschool class.  Basically, they are DONATING free space in the preschool as a community service.  The School’s kids then get to go to the preschool setting & have positive peer models, and both the YMCA teachers AND a Special Education teacher are present!  A Speech Therapist and an Occupational Therapist also assist part of the time.   What a great teacher/student ratio!

My Percy has been in this program since late November and he has been thriving.  When he began there were 2 other children in the program, but both have since moved on.  So now he quite often has the Special Education teacher ALL TO HIMSELF! (She also assists with the other children in the class)  She is a fabulous teacher and he adores her.  It has been incredible.  I was afraid that the School would find out and cut the program, but I was told that they expected the first year of the program to have a slow start.  They were also watching to see how effective the first year went to decide about NEXT year, while the YMCA was discussing whether or not to continue their contribution to the program and the possibility of even EXPANDING it to include 3-year-olds as well. 

Well, yesterday a YMCA administrator said to me, “We are excited that Percy can come be with us next year!”  I was all, “What what WHAT!???”  Yaay!  Percy’s teacher said with a smile, “Um, I hadn’t told her yet.”   Because as you all know in the wild & wacky world of Schools, it ain’t official til it’s official.  Percy’s School Team has yet to OFFICIALLY recommend that the YMCA be his placement for next year, but I am optimistic that they will.  I am just SO excited to know now that the YMCA program has been continued and expanded to a second age group!  Now 2-year-old AND 3-year-old children will get to benefit from this wonderful opportunity.  I had felt sad more than once this year that more children did not get to benefit from this program, but it had a VERY slow start.  I am so proud that my Percy has done so well and been such a model student.  The YMCA has been pleased with his progress and how well he acclimated to the setting, and therefore that had a positive influence on their decision to continue.  

I was also thrilled to learn that the same Special Education teacher will continue with the program this fall and my Percy will have a familiar, and adored, face next year.

Yesterday I made an appearance at the class’s St Patrick’s Day party.  That is when I got the good news about the YMCA approval.  I also got to visit with some of the parents.  I had initially been worried that some parents would react negatively when they found out that some of “those” kids were placed with their child (it has happened in mainstreaming situations).  Instead they are pleased to have Percy in their class and treat him no differently.  One mother even went as far as to say that she is GLAD that her daughter has the opportunity to be in this program and that it is important to be around all different types of people.  I could have kissed her!  I was worried that the Y staff would resent the intrusion and the possible extra work, but they have also embraced Percy as one of their own and they treat him no differently than the other children.    

At previous class parties Percy has refused the treats due to his oral defensiveness and sensory issues.  The Room Mother remembered this and brought Percy his own special treat yesterday.  While the other children ate their shamrock cupcakes Percy devoured SEVERAL little chocolate eggs.  We finally had to cut him off!  I was so deeply touched when I realized that she made that extra effort.   Her daughter, by the way, apparently thinks Percy is her boyfriend, but he doesn’t seem to be aware of this fact.  Her mother told me that the other day while playing at at home the little girl was “talking” to Percy on the phone, and announced that he, Snow White, & Cinderella were coming over to play. 

As pleased as I am with this program, sometimes I second guess myself & I wonder if it is worth it to fight for a typical special education classroom setting.  You see, Percy did NOT qualify for services under Autism, even though I have a handy little piece of paper from a DOCTOR that says he is on the Autism Spectrum.  That is a ridiculous story in itself~ the fight I had during the Eligibility process.  NOT fun.  Basically, Percy looks surprisingly “typical” in a static, predictable setting of an school Evaluation room.  The School seemed all to happy to assess him as much LESS delayed than he really is.  That is why he was offered this YMCA setting instead of a special education preschool.  If he was approved for a classroom setting he would get TRANSPORTATION!  That would be helpful.  I wonder what other benefits he might get from a class with such singular focus & possibly more resources.  But I am also aware that a strictly special education environment might be restrictive to him and not teach him the social skills he needs.  He is generally on the mild end of the Spectrum and will one day probably be mainstreamed in regular elementary school classes, so his current setting is good practice. 

It’s so hard, isn’t it?  Figuring what is best for our child… especially when we can’t trust the Schools to have our child’s best interests at heart.  I honestly believe that because of budget constraints they sometimes simply present what is AVAILABLE  even while knowing that it may not be best for our child.  But in this case, at least, I AM happy.  Lucky me.  Some parents are not so happy and have to FIGHT.

The truth remains that my Percy IS thriving, so I think for right now I will stick with what is working.  The YMCA it is!  So now I am holding my breath until the Team meets and it is officially official.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!