Ben has been an absolute sweetheart the last few days. He’s been so affectionate and even tolerated
his costume as long as he was kept distracted by the task of picking “one piece”
and “putting it in the basket”. This is
super great news because we are tackling a BIG task this weekend and I hope
this continues through at least Saturday morning. Saturday morning we have an appointment to
attend the open house for preschool at The Bright Water School. He went to the parent/child class in the
spring of 2012 with his nanny. He did
great in the “free play” time (which he always does because he’s not forced to
follow instructions or sit when he doesn’t want too, etc) but always struggled
in circle time, snack and story time before getting to go outside for freedom
to end class. Well, we are many months
down the road, we know what we are dealing with and have attended many therapy
hours to help him with the structure of school and everyday life. So…I’m hopeful! I hope that in our meeting on Saturday with
the preschool teacher and the admissions counselor, he impresses them with his
progress and looks like he will be able to be in the class, with or without an
aide. I’ve been looking at the public
school special education options we have in our neighborhood and it scares the
daylights out of me. While there are a
few other options for preschool (Lakeside Center for Autism where he gets
therapy now, EEU at the UW, and just skipping it all together), once
Kindergarten hits, our options limit a lot.
Private schools give preference to those families already attending, so
getting him in the preschool class now is our best bet. I looked at many of the private schools long
before I knew of his Autism. Before I
even knew he would do better in a classroom that emphasizes learning through
movement, calm and peaceful environments and lots of outdoor time throughout
the day. Waldorf education stood out
matching those desires of mine for Ben and his needs as a child with
Autism. I’ve long wondered how to marry
the two realities: Autism and my desire
to follow a “peaceful parent/waldorf” type of lifestyle with him. I’m still trying to put that puzzle together
(though I did find a special needs Waldorf school in the state of PA that seems
to have done just that! I’m going to
look around on their website for ideas).
I don’t know if this is the right path for him or not, but I’m hopeful
if he’s given the chance to try and see how it unfolds.
Think calm and happy thoughts for him on Saturday
morning!
Check out this video to learn more about Waldorf Education:
Check out this video to learn more about Waldorf Education:
http://youtu.be/0MDSYxFpqxs