I emailed Rod from Sensational Kids yesterday asking if he could possibly try to get out of Beth the reason why she has so many anxieties this year. He told me that it may be a bit out of his range so suggested that we see a psychologist next time we are there. I decided to forgo our appointment with Whiskas (not her real name) – the Occupational Therapist as I think we really need to try to get to the core of the problem and made an appointment for straight after our speech session with Rod. I just want my little girl to be happy, especially in her last year of primary school. It needs to be a positive experience, not one that she looks back on with fear and worry.
Bethie seemed to have a good day today. It’s the school holidays coming up next week so she should be happy to get a bit of a break. I haven’t heard back from Emerson yet in regards to dual schooling. All I really would like is for us to start doing the transition days in term 3 instead of waiting for term 4 but I can’t see them budging. I get why they wait until term 4 with not knowing how much funding they get but it still doesn’t make the situation any easier. I’ll wait to speak with them and ask their advice. I’ll let you know how we go tomorrow.
Like many people who have left comments on your blog, I have been following your blog for a while now and while I understand the majority of the posts that you have posted quite well, I have a few questions to ask if you do not mind me asking them. You had mentioned in one of your recent blogs that you would have preferred to send your daughter to a special school because the gap had widen between her and her peers. Do you mean academically, socially or both?I had also read in one of your previous posts that the reason why parents do not want to send their child to a special school is because they believe that their capabilities are higher than what it really is but I cannot help but think do they believe that there is also a stigma attached to sending their child to a special school, meaning that if they send their child to a mainstream school rather than a special one, they can try to hide that their child has a significant disability and just be perceived as typical by the community. In regards to this blog, let’s hope that Emerson does get back to you as soon as possible so that they can start the transition process sooner rather than later so that she can settle into high school smoothly as it can take autistic people a little longer than usual to adjust to new environments. Keep advocating for your daughter as you are doing a fantastic job.
thankyou so much Laura, both for your comments and for your continued reading. When talking about the gap with Beth I did mean both. Academically she’s fallen behind slowly, perhaps more so this year due to her anxieties getting more. Socially definately. I think that when kids are in the junior school they all have little meltdowns and do silly things, when they get older it’s clearer that if these things happen that there’s something wrong. Also, many of the kids in Beth’s year level have boyfriends and girlfriends and pair off with their closest friends. While Beth is included to a certain extent it’s understandable that she is at times embarrassing and annoying. I want her to be with other kids like her where she is on a par with them. As far as your question about sending kids to a special school yes, I agree with you, I think that there is a stigma attached for some parents sending their child to a special school. A friend who came with me to Emerson got a whole different perspective when she saw it and saw how much more settled the kids were due to the support that they get. I have found throughout my time as a parent that often the fathers in particular aren’t keen to even admit that their child is autistic. I guess they don’t have to live through the every day life as they are at work all day. This is not all the parents I have met at all, it’s just been something that’s underlying. Another factor is that often the fathers themselves have aspergers so they don’t see what’s wrong with their child. Thanks again for reading, I hope we get into Emerson soon so I can write more positively!