This post has been a long time coming. It has been sitting here waiting for me to finish and it just kept getting pushed back more and more. The past few months have jus been a whirl wind for us.
Last spring, we applied for the Empowerment Scholarship Award (ESA) for Marshmallow. To receive this award, you have to withdraw from the public school system and fall into one of the qualifying categories. Marshmallow qualified under special needs because of his autism diagnosis and developmental delay. This award gives us the 90% of the funding the school would have received for Marshmallow attending public school. We then can use this funding for his education the way we want it to happen, adhering to their rules and regulations (of course).
We took a lot of time and thought before deciding to do this with him. We were nervous about how this program would really work for Marshmallow and if it was the right decision for him. I spent most of the spring calling various schools to find out about their programs and if they would be open to having a child with delays in their school. I still really wanted him in a preschool and not just home schooled for several reasons, but mainly for peer interactions. Most of the preschools were receptive to the idea, the only hang up was being potty trained. So we spent the rest of the spring and summer focused on getting him out of diapers and 100% potty trained. Grammy was Super Grandma and came to the rescue. She was a huge part in getting Marshmallow out of diapers and into big boy pants! I am forever grateful to her grandma super powers. They work wonders, always, with Marshmallow. So blessed to have her willingness to help with the hard stuff in his life and really go to battle for him.
After much looking, we eventually settled on one. With another as a back-up, that did not have a potty trained requirement. Thankfully it became a non issue as all summer he only had ONE accident at school and as school got closer he rarely had them at home. Since starting he has not had a single accident! Anyhow, the preschool he is attending is set up for 2 days a week, 3 hours a day. But we decided to enroll him in both classes, so he is actually going 4 days a week, for 3 hours each day. We did this in hopes that the repetition in curriculum and routine would be both to his benefit. So far he seems perfectly fine with the repetition, they do change things slightly from one class to the next for the 4 students who go everyday.
In making this decision, we knew that preschool tuition would be out of pocket. As originally, we were under the impression that ESA would NOT cover preschool tuition unless it was a specific special needs preschool. We did look into a couple special needs preschools, but the benefits did not outweigh the negatives. It would not have been worth it for Marshmallow. So we sucked it up and figured we would be paying for school either way, if he did not have a delay. However, in October I found out that they opened the scholarship up and now allow us to use it for ANY preschools tuition. Which is a huge help for us and takes a little pressure off. We did pay for the first 2 months out of pocket though. But every excited that we are able to use the scholarship money now.
Marshmallow's first day was August 24th. And so far school has been AMAZING for him. That is actually a complete understatement. I know that I have shared how the preschool last spring was doing a ton for him, but this school has been 3 times better in all ways. No, he does not get therapies while there (such as speech), but what he does get is so much more. He is in a class with majority neurotypical peers. Peers that he can learn and model from on a daily basis. He is learning how typical children interact, play and learn. He may be behind his peers developmentally, but being able to model after them is the next best thing. He needs to be challenged and encouraged. He just was not getting that at the public developmental preschool. His class there was all delayed peers. While they were all different, none were typical. He had no one to really look up to and model himself after on a regular basis.
Marshmallow started the school year, excited. But he was shy. He was still working on 2-3 word sentences. He was still not fully engaging in play with peers. He needed a lot of direction. He tended to follow they peer who was the loose end in the routine (the one not always following directions). We were still working on responding to questions, instead of just saying needs and wants. He was beginning to engage in the environment around him and label things. But not really understand the world around him.
In the months since beginning this school year, so much has changed. He has made HUGE strides. He has continued to hit his goals with gusto and then some. He surprises us daily with his improvements. The week of Halloween we went to a Halloween party with a group of his friends from a local autism support group. Sadly, we have not been able to get together often with them and the last time we made it to a meet up was right before Skywalker was born. So 6 months ago. Every one of them was shocked at how well Marshmallow is doing and how far he has come and how much he has improved. He is a completely different child than he was 6 months ago. 6 months ago he would barely parallel play with his peers and at this party he grabbed one of his friends by the hand and told her to "come" and engaged in initiating play with her. Not only is he engaged, but he is INITIATING!
He is definitely not the same child from a year ago. A year ago when we were just starting this journey. The child who would not even look when you said his name or engage in play without being told how to play. He is using sentences (still with lots of prompting), but he is doing it. He is trying. He just continues to make such huge strides forwards. It is AMAZING to watch. Everyday he impresses me with something new.
Next week we have our parent teacher conference at school, and I am looking forward to hearing about how he is doing from his teacher's perspective. And to see what we can be doing to help him further at home. For now, I am so glad we made this decision last spring. This has certainly turned out to be one the BEST decision we could have made in advocating for our child. It has definitely helped to have him enrolled in a school that encourages his growth and supports him every step of the way. I can not wait to see how he does the rest of this school year!
By the way, I love that his preschool posts pictures weekly from the school day. I get a little peek into his day without being there!
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