Transition Planning

I haven't been posting much lately but we have been very busy.  Jan was away for three weeks in April and a week in May so have been "solo parenting" quite a bit.  The boys have generally been quite good for me which has been a big help.  The highlight of April was an extended (10 day!) visit from my parents while Jan was away.  It was great to see them again and the boys had a lot of fun with them.

There has been a lot of activity centering around Malcolm starting school next fall so my days off have been filled with appointments.  He is still going to speech therapy weekly and OT every two weeks.  He has had some additional assessments leading up to school.  He has had some check-ups (eye clinic, pediatrician) to monitor ongoing issues.  He has been to physio to get customized footplates for his new shoes (similar to orthotics). 

Added to that, we have been to the school that he will attend next fall, Sir Charles Tupper, several times.  We had an enormous transition meeting on May 3.  By enormous, I mean a lot of people.  He was VERY well supported by his current 'team'.  Three staff from the daycare came (they were very interested to attend as this was the first time they were invited to a transition meeting, even though they are a large daycare and have had some kids with special needs in the past).  His Early Interventionist was there, as was his Occupational Therapist (and one of her students).  Then there was the 'school team' which comprised of his primary teacher, learning centre teacher, principal, speech therapist and school board rep (who is a key person as she decides how much in the way of resources each school gets to support students with special needs).  Jan attended with me.

I was a bit worried that there might be too many people attending and that the meeting would veer off topic too much but felt it went really well.  Everyone there did a really good job of making the case for why Malcolm would need full-time support (ie a full time Educational Assistant).  In Nova Scotia, the conventional wisdom is that full time support is usually only provided if a child is a significant flight risk and needs a lot of assistance with toileting.  Malcolm fits both those criteria so a fair bit of information was shared to make those points plus some other areas where he really needs support were highlighted.  A lot of really good information was shared with his new teachers by OT and Speech. 

Since the transition meeting, Malcolm has visited the Learning Centre a few times to get familiar with it.  He also visited the Grade Primary (that's what they call Kindergarten out here) classroom for half a morning and had a great time.  He continues to play at the playground a lot on the days we're home and pick up Donovan at lunch and after school.

I've also been sorting out before and after school care.  I had been planning to send the boys a couple of days a week to the program that Donovan has been attending on the days I work.  I was crushed to be notified that they will not be offering their program next year.  It was such a great place for Donovan and it is the only program at their school that accepted kids with special needs.  In theory, I don't need anything like that next year but in reality I know it will be nice if the kids could have something to go to a couple of days after school to give them some more social time/opportunity to burn off energy and to give me some afternoons where I can stay home with the baby - who may well be less than a month old when school starts!  I have enrolled Donovan in a different program for two afternoons/week and it looks like a shared babysitting arrangement will work out for Malcolm a few afternoons/week so am feeling better about that side of things as well.

So, a lot has been going on.  Add to that increased volunteer workload (I'm now on the fundraising committee as well as the Board for the Progress Centre and helped create the Parent Advocacy Group that made the video) and I have had a very busy spring.  But it is all a good kind of busy and have been feeling pretty positive about everything.  Malcolm's new school is very welcoming and supportive and I know he will do well there.  He will be so excited to go every day with his big brother!

More soon on how Malcolm's skills have been progressing - he has made many great advances lately!  Also an update on Donovan.

Mary Ellen

Advocate

I have been involved in a parent advocacy group advocating for better early intervention services for young children with special needs.  In our province, they are really lagging in how they deliver some services, for example, not delivering any therapies in the home or daycare environment, and there are far more services available to kids with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.  So we've been writing letters to government and are trying to raise broader public awareness through a video which you can view here. 

Please take a moment to look at the video and share it with others.  We are trying to get lots of "hits".  Some of you will notice that quite a few of the photos at the beginning of the video are of Malcolm, as well as one or two at the end.  Donovan also makes a couple of appearances.

Thanks for watching and helping to spread the word!

Mary Ellen