Today is a bitter sweet day for me. Josh had his last parent/child class for three year olds with ASD. We've been going twice a week since last September and I just can't compliment this program enough. I have learned invaluable skills that have really helped me improve myself as a parent. Josh's teacher was also his care coordinator, in-home therapist and our good friend since Josh was barely two years old. ECCARES has made a big difference in our lives and I am so thankful for the government funding (and grants, and charitable contributions) that have kept this program alive for so many years. As a little parting gift, they gave us pictures of our children through the school year.
Josh's first month of school. I can't believe how babyish he looks! Just like Ben!
Playing trains with a friend. Due to many moves or children becoming eligible, Josh was one of the only kids who was there the entire school year.
Rowing the boat during circle time.
Playing with tube with Teacher Cathy.
All the teachers and aides have watched Ben grow up from a 9 month old barely crawling baby to a 20 month running toddler. He was just one of the gang in the classroom.
Parachute during circle time, which was always at the end of the day and designed to bring all the kids together.
The class was a place I could bring Ben to in his pj's and no one blinked an eye. Plus that was the stage when Ben wouldn't keep anything on his feet, despite freezing December temperatures.
We discovered Josh's extreme love of puzzles.
Ben must have thought he won the lottery to come to a place with lots of brand new toys every week.
Working on eating at the table and using an 'all done' bucket.
One day the kids got to make their own pizzas. While some kids were into the messy sauce and cheese stuff, Josh didn't want to get his hands dirty.
Ben plays with two of the other kids (their weren't any girls in the glass except for a few younger siblings that came and went as the year progressed.)
I just love how the staff (paid and volunteer) gave so much love and attention to Ben. He LOVES school and I just don't know what I'm going to do when he doesn't have that outlet anymore.
Because of Josh's early birthday, he's the oldest and biggest in the class by far.
Josh found a friend who loves building and wrecking things as much as he does.
When summer time rolled around, parents dropped off their kids to start getting them accustomed to what will be coming in the next school year. Due to budget cuts they only had limited staffing, so a parent would volunteer to stay each time to help out. Since Josh doesn't have separation issues with me and I don't anticipate it being a problem for him, I pretty much stayed for every summer class so that others could have the break and their kids could get used to being without mommy or daddy. Plus I did it so Ben could keep going.
It was amazing to watch these kids progress though the year. They all started off in their own little worlds, easily melting down, succumbing to the sensory or social challenges they face. By the end of the year they were playing together, meltdowns were an exception and the routines were smooth.
I'm really going to miss the weekly parent chats that taught us so many different things about working with our boys. I'm going to miss commiserating with the other moms about the awful things our kids were up to or struggling with. We all celebrated each others victories and shed a tear or two when things just seemed too hard and overwhelming. I am a much better parent to both of my boys after going through these classes. I am so thankful for the ECCARES program.
The next chapter in Josh's journey begins next month. His new class will still be twice a week, but for three hours and Ben and I will not be there with him. For now I will be dropping him off, but there is even an option for him to ride the bus. He's growing up before my eyes and while I'm excited to see how he does on his own, I'm going to miss the attention given to ME as his mother. Luckily a group of us are planning on meeting up for play groups every other week so we can keep in contact and keep up the support that we've come to rely on in different ways.
So congratulations Josh on completing this first step in your education journey. No little cap and gown preschool graduation (not that you or any of your buddies would have tolerated it) for you, but we're so proud of the growth you've made and the obstacles you're overcoming.
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