I did my homework

Here is a picture of Jake proudly showing off his finished math homework. His teacher Ms. Reberta has been sending homework every night. We do homework every night after dinner. I really like the homeworks because they are different activities then what we usually do at home, and also they help to reinforce what he is learning in school. Tonight Ms. Reberta called me at home, I was pleasantly surprised. She update me on how Jake has been doing, she said he is becoming less shy and more engaging with everyone in the class. She even told me that I can set up a regular time to call her and we can exchange ideas on how to help Jake learn better. Tomorrow there is a parent breakfast thing at Jake’s school, I am looking forward to going and meeting other parents.

Jake still won’t go to the bathroom with any of the paras while he is in school. He either stays dry for over 5 hours, or he wets his pull up. I don’t know what to do other than wait and see. Ms. Reberta also said we need to give more time.

When school first started, I really wasn't sure how things were going to work out. As a matter of fact, I thought the school was very disorganized based on my observation on the first day, but slowly, I am having more trust and confidence that Jake will make progress as long as I continue to work closely with school, and continue to have high expectation of Jake and those who work with him.

swimming class at the YMCA

Jake joined a toddler swim class at our local YMCA. I thought it is a good opportunity for him to be in the company of typical developing kids. This past weekend was his first time going to the class. All the kids in the class are three and under, and each one goes in the pool with one parent. Jake went in with his daddy. The funny thing was that while in the water, Jake really looks no different than all the other little kids, because he has a childish face; but out of the water, all the kids were so much shorter, he looked like a giant next to them.

The first thing the teacher told us right after we got Jake changed was that, each kid has to be invited into the pool by having an adult count “One, two, and three”. She said over time, it will become a habit for the children to know that he/she can not jump into the pool without an adult’s permission. During the class, the children practiced swimming at their own level; they also practiced how to get out of the pool. The teacher showed my husband how to assist Jake in moving his arms which I thought it is a good exercise for him. Because Jake’s shoulders are very tight. My husband still has to get a hang of how to assist Jake because when the teacher did it with Jake, the movement looked very natural and smooth, but when my husband did it, it looked a bit awkward.

I am getting more comfortable leaving Jake at the new school, although I still need to discuss with the teacher about her goals and my expectations for Jake academically. I strongly feel that he can learn giving the right tools and lots of practice. We started a new speech therapist who is helping me to rebuild a frame work for Jake’s augmentative communication device. So far I have put in at least 15 hours of work making the pages. We really need to teach Jake how to use his device more functionally as a way to speak for him; it is really not an easy task.

That is for now…the weather is getting colder here..

Worried

I haven’t updated for a long time, over a month as a matter of fact. Jake is doing OK, no major breakthrough or set back.

School started on 9/4, I was really hoping to have some exciting news to update about the school, but unfortunately at this point, everything is up in the air. Jake doesn’t have a one-on-one para in school, and upon my observation during the first day of school, I had some serious concern about whether or not Jake’s needs can be met under the current setting.

We have three major requirements for the new school. One is have someone walk with Jake through out the day within the school grounds, which means to and from the cafeteria, computer room, bathroom, etc. So many people especially Jake himself have worked so hard to reach his independently walking goals, and it seems to be reachable, I don’t want Jake’s gross motor to deteriorate because of prolonged sitting during school hours.

Our second requirement is for school to regularly take Jake to the bathroom. We work very hard at potty training even though Jake still doesn’t indicate when he has to go. But we take him regularly and he is able to stay dry most of the days. His teacher from pre-school told me it is called “time trained”. It is so important that he masters this function in life because not only because I don’t want to change an adult’s diaper, but that it adds quality and dignity to his life. However, this process can not be successful if it is not properly carried out during school hours.

Our third requirement is that school educates Jake academically, that means letter, numbers, colors, drawing, reading, etc… Even though Jake is learning disabled, but he is able to learn with repetition and practice. For those of us who spend time with Jake on a daily bases, he amazes us time after time in his comprehension and memorization. I don’t want Jake to go to school and just be looked after, no, I want him to learn.

So my husband and I met with Jake’s teacher, she seemed to understand out position and agreed to do everything that we asked. But since I am not really allowed to be in school to observe, I am concerned if these actions will indeed be carried out on a daily bases. Only time will tell, I plan to do some detective work in the next few weeks.

Hopefully I will have a more possible update next time.