Our first schoolyear in the public school system officially ended today. But it ain’t over yet. Tomorrow morning the little man’s teacher, a therapist, and some other specialist are making a group housecall (which is slightly intimidating), to go over his Individual Education Plan. I have a general idea of what they’ll be saying. This evaluation should show that while his speech skills improved, and cognitively he’s at or above where he should be for his age, his behavior didn’t change. Not a whit. And it’s only becoming more obvious, as he gets older, that he’s not your “typical” kid. The recommendation for next year is to send him to a different school readiness classroom. An inclusive one with a larger class size, with “typical” kids mixed in with the early childhood special ed kids. The theory is that the little man will learn to model the behavior of the “typical” kids…and then move on to a regular kindergarten the following year. But I have a few reservations after reading Tim’s tale. I think I’d rather have my boy remain off-kilter than turn into some sort of kindergarten godfather. Guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
