Coping with Autism

Tomorrow, Peter and Nathan are finished with school for the year. As I mentioned in a previous post, Peter will be mainstreamed (gulp) into kindergarten next year. Nathan will likely be placed in a "reverse" class (his teacher has made this recommendation but the school system is completely restructuring the special education classes so I'm not sure where he will be placed). A reverse class sounds like what it is-- it is a class that transitions or reverses a child out of the special ed program and into a regular classroom setting. Nathan will likely always have little "quirks" but he is doing a thousands times better than he was two years ago. He's still behind his peers developmentally in several areas but he's catching up very nicely. Peter is still behind as well but he too is doing much, much better. He finally starting to starting to say things in the first person-- instead of "Do you want more milk?" He has started to consistently say, ...

Yesterday, I met with Peter's teacher, the autism teacher for the school he will attend for kindergarten, a kindergarten teacher for the school he is currently in, his school speech therapist and the county special education coordinator. The meeting was to determine where Peter will attend kindergarten and under what conditions. Peter was with us and very politely sat at the table drinking water with the adults while his brother played with the toys in the classroom. Everyone was so impressed and I think this swayed the county special education coordinator to recommend that he be mainstreamed. I really didn't have a reasonable objection other than I am nervous about how he will do. Of course, Peter's behavior at the meeting wasn't the sole basis for her decision. She asked me dozens of questions and she asked questions of Michelle (his teacher) and Aline (Peter's speech therapist through the school) about his behavior in school, how he handles classroom activities,...