Tuesday, 23 September 2008
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School Tour Gives Our Family Hope
Our school tour was Saturday and it went so well that it is difficult to tell who is more excited, us or the staff at Camelot. We were told that we could either bring Junior or not, but I thought we should bring him. I wanted Junior to meet the staff and vice versa. I really wanted Junior to be more than information on a few pieces of paper and the best way to accomplish that was to let them meet him. We were given the grand tour of the Autism Center including the classroom he would attend, the kitchen he would be using next year in high school, the occupational therapy room, and the sensory room. We met with his would be teacher, some of the one on one aids, a group of intern occupational therapists, his would be social worker, and the director of admissions. Everyone was very impressed with how at ease Junior was and how responsive he was to their questions. It seems from the very start, they were eager to have Junior as a student and the whole tour and interview was run more like them auditioning for us rather than us for them. Junior was fussed over and his father and I were practically thrown a party for our knowledge of Junior and how Autism affects him as well as our level of involvement in his educational and medical care. It felt wonderful to hear other people tell us what a great job we are doing with Junior rather than giving us those cold looks and snide remarks about discipline that we get from the unknowing public. The whole experience threw me into a flashback of Westside Story and "Stick to your own kind."
We were told that group occupational therapy would be done in town, at a special center which uses canine therapy, hippotherapy, and a multitude of other modes. PE is also done away from the school and out in the community. They go power walking, swimming, bowling, and the list goes on. This is perfect for Junior as he gets bored doing the same things over and over. Unlike many children with ASD, he thrives on change and shrinks amidst mindless repetition...the idea of which also blew away the staff.
I am sure some of you may be wondering where the academics are and rest assured, they are there. The best part is that it is a year round school. Junior gets the usual holidays off along with two weeks in June and two weeks in August. Also, there is no school on Fridays during the summer which gives us plenty of time to use summer passes to the area water parks.
By the end of the tour/interview, the director was calling our district's outsource coordinator and of course he had to leave a message even though he had the ever so secret mobile phone number. I will be calling Ms. M on Monday morning and leaving my own message to make sure that the ball gets rolling on the district's end. Aside from what is sure to be a heap of paperwork between the district and Camelot, there is also work to be done on Camelot's side to get ready for Junior. They want to make sure they set up the right one on one aid for Junior (every student gets their own). They also go ahead and start preparing the children already in the class to Junior's impending arrival. This helps those students who are easily upset by the smallest changes. To top it all off, they will write a social story for Junior to introduce him to the idea of a new school and his new classmates. He doesn't really need this as he transitions very well but it is something they do for everyone so we will have him read it anyway. We are told that Junior may be able to start attending his new school by the first of October and as long as the district doesn't develop their own autism program (which is highly unlikely to happen before Junior ages out of the system), Junior can stay at Camelot until he turns 22. That is unless we get our gypsy itch and decide to move again. However, if this school is half as good as we think it is going to be....we will be staying put.
Did you have a good first impression of your children's school? Would you stay in a particular town or move to another because of the school district?
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Comments (12)
I am so thrilled things worked out for you guys. I know you were really stressing this whole situation.
Sending good wishes to Junior and hugs to you for sticking to your guns and getting the school to finally take action. I am sure there is tons more work to be done, but I have no doubt you are up to the task.
I'm so glad you've found a good school for Junior; it has to be really tough to find the best things for him, and this seems like one. I'm an OT student, and I'd love a chance to work in a place like Camelot.
That is wonderful.
I am so happy for all of you!! I am sure that I would stay put if I found a great school, it would take quite a pay increase to get me to change towns ;)
My husband and I have been talking about moving out of state, to Florida. I've read a few things about the schools in Celebration and I'm really looking forward to one day living in that little town, especially because of the wonderful things that I've heard about the schools there.
I'm happy that you have found this school, and that you'll be away from that other school that just really didn't seem to care.
Congrats! It sounds like an awesome place to learn.
wow...sounds like an awesome school!
Wow, that sounds awesome... I am keeping my fingers crossed for you!
We are hoping to move to a new home within a year or so, and schooling is definitely a high priority there. I am already researching schools in the areas where we could potentially afford to buy a home. My son is only 17 months old, but he goes to daycare. He really, REALLY loves his daycare center, so I am actually considering leaving him there until he is ready to go to "school" (which starts at age 4 here in the Netherlands), even if it means I'll have to drive him there every morning for two years. We are now pretty close to the center, so I like to cycle there when the weather is nice.
Unlike your son, my son does not do well with change - he doesn't show it when at daycare, but every time he has a new daycare teacher or something else "exciting" happens (like a fire drill, for example), he is very tired and cranky at home - even to the point where he'll bang his head on the floor out of frustration. I'm afraid he gets this type of sensitivity from me... poor thing!
that's so exciting! i'm so happy for you guys -- i've been following your blog for a while and i know how long of a road this has been for you. my prayers will continue to be with you!
That is awesome! I'm glad you found a good place for your son to attend school. I don't know much about autism at this point, though I am learning more about it because I work at a daycare and one of the young boys there is autistic. It was amazing once we all started picking up sign language, because he uses it frequently and really has a lot to say!
I hope this new school is everything you've dreamed of and hoped for, and that your son gets the education he deserves.
So happy for you that you have found such a promising school finally. I will pray that all goes well and Junior loves it! That will be really nice for him to have more of a routine all year round.
Today got a note in the mail informing me that my son in first grade has qualified to have a part time in class tutor. This is so wonderful. This is what he needed. I had been talking with his teacher last week because I was concerned. She said that I would know within the next two weeks if he would get one or not, that the school was still going over his test results. Well, I got the note today :) Support is delivered in the areas of reading, writing and math.
I am so happy for him. This will help him so much.