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.