Putting your child in a daycare is a huge worry for many working parents. My husband and I were fortunate to find a great daycare to enroll my son in when he was the ripe young age of 3 months. It was amazing. He was happy, we were happy, and all was well with the world.

Fast forward 2 years later. P is now 2 years  9 months old. He has SPD.  He is a handful on the good days, and about 100 handfuls on the bad.  Things have become real. Our happy little bubble popped, and we now realize that what once was a brilliant daycare, can no longer fit the needs of our son, who needs extra attention. It all started when P started having meltdowns during the transition times at daycare. Sure, all 2 year old’s have meltdowns, right? All 2 year old’s can be defiant and bossy, so what makes my 2 year old different? Oh, there is the table and chair throwing (the 50 pound table). There is the pushing over bookcases. There is the chasing his teacher around the room because he is so angry that the only thing he can do to release that anger is to kick her.   There is the fear and worry that my two year old boy may hurt another child, not because he wants to, but because he doesn’t understand. There is so much more.

There was his amazing teacher telling us that she was advised by the director not to speak to us about P’s issues. There was the director telling my husband that it’s just a phase that all toddlers go through, and that when he learns to speak better then his behavior will change. There was the director also telling my husband not to talk to P’s teacher everyday about how his day went. There was the enlightening moment when we realized that said director wasn’t going to implement the ideas we had to make P deal better with his surroundings. There was the crushing blow when we realized we are going to have to pull our child out of the only place he has known his whole life and put him in another place with complete strangers.  There was the ache in my heart that every mother feels when all she would love to do is stay home with her son, but knowing financially it really wouldn’t work.

So we searched daycare after daycare, and we asked question after question to people who knew nothing about caring for a child with SPD.  We found a place that we think will work. We found a place that we think Patrick will love. The teacher for his age group used to be a special needs teacher with the county that we live in. She seems to have a handle on the children in her class. She seems loving.  She seems to want to help. God-willing, she will help.

We take P in to meet her on Thursday. If all goes well, he will start the following Monday. If all goes well, he will be happier. If all goes well, my husband and I will be happier. If all goes well…

Being a parent is hard work. Being a parent to a child with SPD is very hard work. I wouldn’t change all these emotions for the world. My baby boy is beautiful. He is smart. He is amazing. He is sensational. He is my life.  Here’s to hoping that all goes well.

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