School Choices
💛🎓💛 School Choices #IAmMe
Deciding where your child goes to school for the first time is huge. It's a big decision. A huge responsibility. Deciding where to place your child with additional needs is an even bigger one. Dylan is the happiest we have ever known him at his current nursery. He is so self assured, positive, and full of life, eager to learn and eager to grow. He is safe and secure there. He is genuinely cared for and supported in all ways fully. 💕He is blossoming and has a strong sense of belonging. He wears the uniform proudly and he talks to us about his new found friends and his structured but also free , daily routine. He is one happy boy. And we are VERY happy and proud parents.
Keeping Dyl back a year was absolutely the best decision we made for him. That and taking him out of a dire setting previously that completely let him down. It's hard to believe that this time next year he will be experiencing primary school for the first time. The normal level of excitement for us as parents at this key milestone is quelled by the looming worries that we might not make the right choice for him and that he might not get an equally positive experience. We've been there before ... and it was terrible. Being let down with lies and false promises , not being listened to and worst of all, our little boy being neglected.
Beginning on that road again is bloody tough. It's scary and it is exhausting. Not knowing if Dylan will receive the crucial support that has helped him to flourish and positively embrace his additional needs doesn't bare thinking about. Without the support he has received he wouldn't be where he is now. Yet funding cuts to SEN departments are on the rise again and the reality is he may not receive the appropriate care he needs. Each school is different in their approach to SEN. It's a mindfield. Making lists as long as our arms with the most important questions like 'Will he have one on one support?" , "What is your funding like for SEN?", "What if he is still not toilet trained?" , "Will his speech and language sessions continue?" , "Will someone help him understand the social cues he can't always pick up? & so many more.
Today we have a meeting with SEN at a potential school. We are ready to ask all the tough questions and are prepared for answers we may love and answers we may not like. But we are mostly ready to fight for our little boy because at the heart of it all is him.💛 And he deserves a wonderful educational environment where he continues to shine as brightly and uniquely as he does now. #IAmMe ☀️
#misstrout #ThisCouldBeDyl #autism #teamautism #neurologicaldifferences #sensoryprocessingdifficulties #SEN #schoolchoices #mblogger #pbloggers #mysunshine
