Then & Now. Ah, what a difference a year makes.
Her first day of school last year was also her first day in a General Education classroom, at our home school. Look how smiley she was on that day. I was all smiles on the outside, telling her how exciting it was that she’d be going to a new school, but on the inside I was a complete wreck. I can’t even begin to explain the feelings that I was experiencing that day. I was sending my non-verbal baby off to a school where she knew no one. And actually, I was ok with that part. But no one knew her. They didn’t know who she was nor what her attempts at communication meant. They didn’t know how sweet she was, how happy she would be to be there, how beautiful her little soul was, that she “gets it” more than most people think she does. I had no idea how she’d be received, how the other kids would react to her, if she’d connect with any of the adults. I was getting ready for constant assessment and for the fight to prove her right to be there. Was I making a huge mistake? I knew deep down that I was doing the right thing, and that I had to fight for what I believed in. I reminded myself that I had known from the start of setting this in motion that it wasn’t going to be easy, but that I’d never forgive myself for giving up because it was hard. I had to get through the hard parts. I knew I was in it for the long haul.
Fast forward 1 year. On her first day this year, I was a little bit nervous. But not a lot. I had a great meeting with her team the previous day, I had met (and really liked!) her new teacher, and I knew she’d have the same Instructional Assistant, which all made me feel more comfortable and less anxious. But more importantly, I knew she was going back somewhere where she was welcome. There was a plan in place for her. Staff who knows her. Kids who know her. People who were excited to see her.
We’re 3 days in and so far, so good.
I love her teacher. She seems open, warm, and welcoming to Sabrina. She has ideas to incorporate Sabrina’s favorite thing, music, into her classroom.
She has a great team this year.
We have a lot to do, but a lot of the foundations have already been put in place, so now we can tweak, fine tune, and we can learn from our past experiences. Now we have past experiences there.
It feels really good to be back.