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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