I asked Joey a somewhat mundane question and he gave me the same look he always gives me when I ask a mundane question. “100” he replied. “100 oops.” 

This reply made. no. sense. I think I’d even asked a yes or no question. Joey is completely capable of answering yes or no questions. 100 oops? Really? 

Later on, that night at dinner, my own daughter, a month younger than Joey, used the phrase “a billion poops”. After she was quickly disciplined for using potty language at the table, I found myself once again smiling at how similar she is with Joey in five year old development.  [Read more…]

As this school year wraps up, it’s impossible to not think about what next school year will hold. Joey and my own daughter are both entering kindergarten, and I find myself often nervous about both of their transitions into big kid school.

All parents feel big emotions as we get ready to send our children off to kindergarten for the first time. The bus seems so big, those school expectations feel so official, and our kids seem so small. I’m not sure anything compares to what a parent of a child with disabilities feels as they prepare for kindergarten.

You are being asked to put your trust in another adult, and can do nothing but pray that the adults in the school will see your child as you do. Will they honor the individual child in front of them? Will there be enough wait time between asking questions? Enough explanations of rules and routines? Enough nurture? Enough well balanced kindness and firmness? Will my child be set up to succeed, or to fail? Do these teachers believe my child can achieve and be a part of the class? Do they see my child as a burden, or as a joy? [Read more…]