He is Ready

Today a therapist related a story to me that made a big impression on her.  And in turn, it's made a big impression on me.

Little Bug's morning pre-K school is a special blend of students.  It's a class room for kids who need a lot of extra support, but that support looks very different for each child.  I think some a-holes would look at the class and think it's where all the "disabled" kids are "dumped" to fulfill school requirements because it's such a mix of strengths and needs, but in reality, the minimally decorated classroom is a calm, safe, and incredibly fulfilling environment filled with enough teachers, therapists, and associates that each child gets not just an education, but the education they each individually need to reach their potential.  I was initially hesitant about this classroom, but it's been an incredible environment for Little Bug to get the extra help he needed to really prepare for the big K.

With that being said, many of the children in the classroom have needs that are very different from Little Bug and they are cherished friends of his.  To him, only being able to move you head isn't weird...it just means he gets to help push their chairs when they need to move.  To him, some kids eat from a lunch box and some eat from a feeding tube.  To him, some kids talk with their voices and some talk with machines, picture boxes, or sign language.  To Little Bug, everyone is a friend, no matter how different they might be from others.

It's a gift to be able to view everyone and no one as different.  One that I think Little Bug will always keep with him, and one that I hope those special friends who encounter him throughout his life will also possess.

Today the therapist told me that one friend, who sits next to Little Bug during circle time each day, has trouble controlling limb movement, something they work on during this time.  However, this often leads to Little Bug being accidentally tapped repeatedly.  The therapist said it often "annoyed" Little Bug. (Which is ironic given that, for different reasons, was also something Little Big himself struggled with for a very long time.)  Apparently Little Bug would often whine or push the hand away.

Except today.  When instead of saying a word, instead of pushing the friend's hand away, Little Bug simply grabbed the flapping hand and held it in his own.  The entire circle time Little Bug and his friend quietly held hands.

The image of my son doing this, giving comfort to another friend by holding hands, brings me nearly to tears.  So many times, so very many times, my son has been the one to need the support of a friendly hand.  In fact, hand holding is a love language and safety language for my little one.  For him to intentionally give this to someone else, without drawing attention to it or looking for comfort himself shows how much he has matured in the last year.  He's able to reciprocate with peers in an empathetic and intentionally supportive way.

All that to say, he's ready to move on.

The therapist told me this at the start of the big kahuna IEP meeting today.  This was the transition meeting where the therapists and teachers and social workers from his two pre-K schools formally turn him over to his new therapists and teachers.  The kindergarten option we've chosen for him as a team is a unique one.  It's not something I would have envisioned, but we felt good about the decision.  After starting off the meeting with this story, everyone agreed that the Little Bug on paper isn't exactly the Little Bug who is blooming bigger and brighter every day in the classroom and at home.

He's ready.  Our goal was always simply to give him everything he needed to be in the best possible position for kindergarten, and I feel in my heart we did.  But more than anything we did, Little Bug fought through some truly horrible things this year.  For him to come out on the other side like this...blowing through goals and marching right off plateaus and making mature connections with peers on his own...that's a testament to him more than any of us.

Little Bug, the hardest worker and bravest kid I know...I am so proud of you. You're going to love kindergarten, and kindergarten is going to love you.