A 1st On The 1st

We are swimming in the eve of the first day of school (on the first day of the month). Any parent with a student, especially a Kindergartner, especially one with an IEP, feels the anticipation on this day.

And all of the emotions.

Hope. Fear. Pride. Anxiety. Joy. Dread. They are all present.

Hope for a year that allows success and thriving.

Fear that someone on their child's team or in their child's class won't see what you know.

Pride that their child is a year older and has a more diverse skill set.

Anxiety over wondering if that skill set will be enough.

Joy in the first day preparation routines.

Dread for the moment(s) when they will be smacked in the face by the reminder of their child's delays in the daily scope of a classroom setting.

You can fill in the blanks for these emotions with a variety of scenarios: behavior notes sent home, kids being unkind, bathroom or eating accidents, inability to meet IEP goals...the list is infinite.

But today, and this last week, I am honestly choosing Hope and Joy.

On this day last year, Ruby started in a classroom that allowed her to go to amazing places, academically, socially, verbally... The team and experience combined with our efforts at home and in therapy prepared Ruby for this big year of starting Kindergarten. In that, I have so much Joy.

In the last week I've met Ruby's new teacher, seen her classroom, reviewed with Ruby some of the many school 'skills' we've worked on all summer, and prayed like there is no tomorrow. And all of that has given me Hope. Hope for a year as successful as last. Hope for classmates that see the value of Ruby. Hope for my agenda and Ruby's team agenda to mix and mingle and move in the same direction. Hope for my girl to soar.

In preparation for this day, I wrote her head teacher a letter. Actually I wrote her two letters, each with several drafts, because that's who I am. (I can get lost in the trees of such a task very easily, especially when I view the stakes to be so high.) I wanted to give her a brief, but helpful first glimpse into who Ruby is. And who her support at home is. The letter was well-received, so I'm counting that as a step in the right direction. As I was writing, I definitely googled around to see if I could find an example to work from. That proved to be a struggle, so I'm posting my letter here in case it helps anyone else tackling the same task.

Hello!

It's the beginning of the school year, and we are so excited that you are a part of our daughter's team. Ruby is a very enthusiastic learner who loves to come to school. She attended (this school) for preschool last year, and she has worked with (Speech Therapist) and (Occupational Therapist), so she is very familiar with the school. Navigating preschool was a road of trial and error, and I expect it to be similar as she moves through kindergarten.

We don’t expect everything to go perfectly right from the start, and we know we will all learn together. I hope this letter will help start the ongoing conversation of how best to help Ruby and help her teachers, and I want you to know that we are always willing to communicate and listen.

 

I’m sure I am giving you information you already know about Down syndrome (T21), but in an attempt to let you know what it means for Ruby, I’ll share some general information. Ruby is more like her typical peers than different, with her own strengths and challenges. Just like every other child, it will take a little time for you to get to know Ruby, and it will take us a bit of time to learn how things work in elementary school.

 

All students have unique needs and learning styles, and Ruby is no different. However there are some common learning characteristics of students with Down syndrome that I wanted to share with you. 

1.     Students with Down syndrome tend to be visual learners. Ruby learns best by modeling those around her. Visual memory is often a strength; pairing pictures with new concepts will help her to remember.

2.     Students with T21 often have struggles with working and verbal memory. Ruby will likely need more practice with remembering/recalling multi-step directions, especially when they are given orally.

3.     Students with Down syndrome are often very social. Ruby is eager to interact with and help her peers. (She has done well in the past with learning their boundaries to her greetings/affection.) However, Ruby often lacks the same verbal skills her peers possess. She is very capable of forming meaningful friendships and relationships with peer and adults, but in the beginning, other students may need help understanding her spoken words.

Ruby’s greatest areas of strength are:

·      Memorizing short chunks of information (3-5 items on a grocery list, answers to basic questions about herself, sight words).

·      Social interactions. Ruby makes friends very fast and will run to comfort a friend who is sad or aid one needing help.

·      Willingness to learn. I cannot emphasize this enough; Ruby REALLY wants to learn and loves to work. When given enough support, she will rise to whatever level you expect of her. She does very well with routines and expectations.

Ruby may need extra help with:

·      Fine motor skills. Her handwriting is currently a big weakness, so modifications in the way of letter magnets or picture identifiers may help her stay engaged in lengthier writing exercises.

·      Impulse control on helping others, asking before sharing supplies, and appropriate sitting (i.e. in a chair, not on the floor, etc.)

·      Focus during counting. Ruby can count to 20, but the higher teens often stumble her. When she slows down and points to each object as she counts, she has success.

Please let me know how I can support you while Ruby is in your classroom. If you have questions, please know it’s always okay to ask; my contact information is listed below. I look forward to working with you this year, and know that together we can help Ruby have a great year!

GiGi at GiGi's!

Ruby and I spend a lot of time at GiGi's Playhouse; it's our go-to spot most Saturday mornings. And GiGi's wouldn't be in Atlanta if it wasn't in Chicago first, where GiGi's mom had the brainchild to create such a cool space about 15 years ago.

Fast forward to last week when we got an unexpected visit from GiGi and Nancy Gianni at both our Atlanta area GiGi's locations. Ruby and I were unable to meet them at our regular GiGi's, so we made the trip to the 'new' GiGi's the following day.

The pair was so outgoing and jumped into the kids' play right away. (LOTS of Ruby's friends were there that morning.) Ruby and I got Nancy's book, and GiGi signed it for us! And then I had to get a photo of Ruby and two of her buddies that she met at GiGi's the first two times she and I visited.

Absense Makes a Heart Grow Fonder

Not that it's possible for Ruby to be more fond of her siblings, especially Maddux, but two long stays away has made her miss them a lot.

Last week the big kids went to an overnight camp for the better part of a week. Ruby kept quite busy with her own camp at GiGi's, but was super excited to see them return for the weekend.

Unfortunately, this morning they left again, this time for a full week to see Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't talk about it too much beforehand, but apparently Ruby got it from the little mentions we'd made. They woke up, ate, and played fine, but when Maddux said, "OK, Ruby, I have to go now." Ruby burst into tears and sobbed in Maddux's arms.

She adores her big sister!