The First Few Days of School

I'm back...

The end of last week we got to meet the boys new teacher for 1st grade. I was very surprised that it only took a few minutes in the new classroom for Anthony to figure out how things were laid out, and he had to explore. This was awesome, he usually assesses the surroundings, but stays near for a while. One the other hand, Daniel had to be held, he didn't allow me to put him down until we were almost ready to leave.

I was very skeptical about how the new school year would go. Kiddos with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) don't usually react well to change. Especially as big a change as this year is going to be. New school, new teacher, new peers and a longer school day. Also they will still have ABA after school. I was definitely expecting to have some type of meltdown or episode or even tantrum on the first day.

So... the boys started first grade yesterday. I know that they are much happier when they are in school. They need the routine, the structure and they love the activity. I was so surprised and happy to hear they did pretty well. For the last few years, the first day has been filled with intermittent meltdowns during the first 2 weeks. Not just our kiddos of course. I have great respect for the teachers and Instructional Aids that work with our kiddos with autism. They have so much patience and a great determination to help the  kiddos. There are times when I just get so overwhelmed with my two... I just want to scream. When a kiddo on the spectrum has a meltdown or episode, it is not usually a very easy thing to deal with. I get to the place where feel like I can't take another second of a meltdown, especially when one triggers the other. I can't imagine if more than 2 kiddos on the spectrum had meltdowns at the same time.

The first day of school when we mentioned that "we're going to school today"

This year they were all smiles when I got there to pick them up and I was 15 minutes later than I needed to be. They have definitely needed the intensive autism program, and I'm so glad they are finally in it. It's hard when it takes so long to get your kiddos into the program you knew they needed all along. But instead of dwelling, I'm so excited for them.

Day 2: They enjoyed it so much yesterday that both boys were all smiles and ready to go this morning. No hesitation. They even came home, had a 1/2 hour break and did ABA without skipping a beat. They were energized, and not just because of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Day 3: Again when the boys were getting ready for school and they had big smiles. They have totally caught me off guard with how they're handling it, and I couldn't be happier.

It's amazing how resilient our kiddos on the spectrum are. I was really expecting them to have issues with the change of routine, but to my amazement, they've shown me they have so much more ability to adapt than I ever thought. I'm actually excited for them and hoping for a great school year - with a lot of learning to help them grow.

From a mother's heart - I hope your kiddos have had a good first day of whatever "new" they are are trying.