My how things have changed...

Wow, we have had some major changes in every aspect of life. In some ways it has gotten a lot easier, in other ways much trickier.

Fall now has full support at school. She has been recognized as having ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and visual perception deficits, and a laundry list of other learning hindrances. We are managing things really well. She works with an ABA aide most of the day, who is really good at helping her work without working for her. She also has her own 1:1 support aide for two hours each morning. This aide walks her to her resource class, keeps her on task, and just basically stays on top of any needs that arise. We now have Fall getting out of the car in the morning and walking into school alone. The ABA aide that works with her insisted that this was a step we needed to make in order to ensure she is capable of handling school on her own one day. We started with the aide getting her out of the car, moved on to her getting out and meeting the aide at the gate, and now she does it on her own most days. We still have days where she needs someone to meet her at the gate and that is okay. I know she needs this. We struggle mainly with independence, so this is going to play a huge role in making her less dependent on Mommy. It also helps her with her upper body strength. She sees an Occupational Therapist for her physical strength once a week, and goes to the resource room for math each day. I worry, when things get into a nice groove, that they will take some services away because she is doing so well. Her team is aware that she is surviving because of the support, so the nerves are more like background noise right now. Sure is nice to play a less active role in her education these days. I think most parents try as hard as possible to stay involved while I try hard to step back and let Fall be her own biggest advocate. That is what the next few years is all about, getting her to take charge and be her own leader. She can do this. With the proper support, and love, she can do anything.