First day.... What is Robbie capable of?

I wrote part of this blog over the summer- never published it. Here it is!

One of the challenges for Robbie starting a new school is no one really knows what he is capable of. IEP's are very hard to read and they don't give a complete picture of a child. Honestly, I don't know what he is completely capable of. In the last meeting I had with his new school- his home district- I was asked about his "tolieting." Is he able to go to the bathroom on his own.  This question caused some concern. Of course he can go to the bathroom on his own- but how are they supposed to know that.  When we last changed ABA providers- the woman in charge didn't think Robbie was verbal. Of course he's verbal- but how was she supposed to know that. At his new school he just began extended school year. They didn't think he could read. This is a tough one. Robbie can read things he's memorized. He can read some things at school but can not read them at home. He can read some things at home but can not read them at school. He is just beginning to sound out words phonetically and it was suggested by our behaviorist he may be dyslexic. ( His sister has dyslexia so I wouldn't be shocked.) The exciting part is that Robbie really wants to read. He loves to write and illustrate stories. He loves to type on the computer and make files on his ipad. It is full of screen shots he steals from movies. He also continues to speak about movies, using movies dialogue in place of actual language- sometimes appropriately, other times not. Many times Robbie is speaking to himself- but its all movie lines. You can ask him- "Robbie , what movie is that?" He will tell you 95% of the time.
For Robbie's first day of summer school at Neeta, his behaviorist made a social story for us to use with Robbie. Robbie is very visual so social stories help him to picture what is going to happen. He has extremely high anxiety and I imagine much of it is due to not fully comprehending things that go on around him some of the time. Some days I feel like I live with a child whose English is a completely foreign language. Our world moves fast and he has trouble keeping up. I am constantly reminding myself to slow down- slow my speech, slow my actions- slow and steady wins the race, right?

Fast forward to the second week of school. I hope I am not "Jinxing" things- but Robbie has adjusted so much better than I imagined he would. He loves going school. Yesterday he told his behaviorist that he learned about dinosaurs in school. She asked specific questions about different types of dinosaurs, what they eat, what they look like. He answered every question. He's engaged! He loves riding his scooter to school, along with his sister and a few friends who are biking. They are going on their own, which gives him some independence that I imagine he wanted, as an 11 year old boy.  No more waiting for the bus every morning! Fresh air to start your day! The teachers and aides have been wonderful with communication and making him feel welcomed.

                     Welcome home Robbie! We are so excited to have you back in the mix!

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I'd like to introduce.......... ROBBIE!

It has been months since my last post. The "radio silence" had nothing to do with lack of material- only computer issues and honestly - a lazy, tired mama. What has been going on lately? Big news at the Hummel house. Robbie will be returning to our home district in the fall. The last time he was enrolled in our district was pre-K at the age of 3 old. At that time we were not completely aware- yet not completely unaware of the challenges that laid ahead. The whisper from a teacher near and dear to my heart " you may want to take him to a neurologist for an evaluation" pushed us in the right direction. Robbie was placed out of district shortly after the autism diagnosis. The services he has received have been very good, yet the placement options for next year were not ideal. He has aged out of his current program. We held him back a year as there was not a good alternative. This year Robbie has grown and matured in ways I couldn't have imagined. Yet the classroom he is in is less than ideal as he is the oldest there and I don't think they have challenged him.  Next year- fingers crossed- our town will meet Robbie.

We spend a great deal of time at the lake. My children love to swim- especially Robbie. The water is his happy place- due to the sensory nature of being engulfed in h2o. Robbie He doesn't have many friends- with 2 exceptions. One is a friend from his current district who is longer at the same school. This boy and Robbie are the closest I've seen to true buddies. They enjoy many of the same things- movies, ipads, swings and snacks! They giggle together. They play. After an hour and a half they part ways- as each has had enough. So very different from my 8 year old daughter - who can play for days (literally) with her besties. Even my little one will stick it out for well over 2 hours- depending on how tired he is. Robbie- no less than 1 hour- no more than 2- that is even pushing it.  His other friend is a local friend- and fellow laker. They have known each other since pre-k. This friend ran up to him yesterday and gave him a big hug. Next he tried to introduce Robbie to his other friends. This friend had a group of boys he was playing with. They were throwing a ball, splashing each other and laughing- as most 11 year old boys do. Yet Robbie went his own way- simply enjoying having the water up to his neck. He did play with his sister a bit- but that's about as far it goes.  It's interesting to me to watch Robbie. He likes to be around kids at the lake but rarely plays with them. To be honest I'm not sure if Robbie struggles with interactions or simply prefers to observe on his own. It's not a conversation we're able to have. I did notice some kids checking him out on Saturday while we were at beach 3- we normally are beach 1 folks- purely out of distance. I always get tense when I see kids or adults staring at Robbie- my natural Mama bear defenses go up- but this weekend I saw something different. The kids are probably just wondering who he is? They've never seen him before- and we live in  a very small town. My hope for the the new school year- at our local school- is for kids and adults to meet Robbie. To get to know Robbie. To understand Robbie. From that- I know- they will love Robbie as everyone who knows him does.  :) ( Says the proud Mama)