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| 4 Days Old. Wasn't this just yesterday? |
Grace will turn 3 in September. That means she will "age out" of First Steps, our Early Intervention program in Indiana. Our next recommended step for her development is the Special Needs Preschool.
I will be completely honest and admit that I DID NOT want Grace to go to the SN Preschool. All I could imagine was Grace being stuck in her "wheelchair" all day, having to go to school with kids who are severely disabled and/or have serious behavior issues. Basically, I had a terrible view of a SN preschool, but I had never actually been to one.
Last week Jeff, Grace and I visited the preschool she could attend in the fall. I prepared myself for the worst and was looking for any small sign of the horrible conditions they were surely going to hide from me.
Thankfully my initial view of the preschool was very wrong. The kids were happy, comfortable in the environment and as well behaved as any preschool class. The teachers did a great job leading the class, but also took cues from the little ones and changed the game plan as they went. (They were a little more rambunctious than usual, so instead of expecting them to sit and do circle time, she took them outside to the playground to run around.)
I'm still in pretty deep denial about having a "special needs" child. Grace is normal in so many ways, but she does need some extra help in others. Deanna from Everything and Nothing in Essex wrote a beautiful post that put my attitude in check.
Please read it
here.
In the fall my last baby will be going to preschool. We'll start her out at the special needs program and see where life takes her from there.
I may need a large support group for that day.
