We made the decision and Ella is moving on to Kindergarten in September. Tomorrow she will go to orientation at the school for a couple of hours. Although we still haven’t heard back from the state on the waiver, we decided it is best for Ella to move on. When I told her teacher, Kim, she seemed to agree with me that this was the best course of action.
Some of my reasons: to take advantage of the opportunity for her to be with typical peers; as the only child around with significant needs she may get more attention (albeit not focused on her disability); she knows the routine in Kim’s class very well and as Kim says herself, she doesn’t think she can give her much more than she’s already obtained from the curriculum. The change in schedule will be pretty significant which means a lot of re-juggling of therapies and such.
I also have arranged for her to go to after-school care, 2 days a week. She’ll still need an aide and we’ll have to find one… Yes, Bethh is leaving at the end of the summer, unfortunately! So there are lots of transitions coming for Ella. As for the orientation tomorrow, I’m not sure Ella understands what’s coming…it is hard to know if she understand she’ll be starting a new school. I’m apprehensive about the reaction she might cause with some kids. Sometimes they are afraid of her looks. They will probably be on edge to begin with and Ella will be too. I don’t think she minds about stares. If someone breaks down crying…woe is them. Ella will probably laugh her head off at that. In general she is doing well and making steady progress especially in her speech.