Over the past year I have been on an incredible journey learning about SPD and helping my almost four year old son transition to a school environment. Until O was 2.5, he was cared for at home by a nanny for 30 hours a week. When I became  pregnant with our second child, we wanted O to start a preschool. We found one by our house that was highly recommended and was actually a private elementary school. They valued diversity and acceptance and had a gorgeous campus. Before starting there we needed coverage for a few weeks, so started at a local YMCA daycare. O was not happy about being at school at first, but it only took a week for him to stop crying at drop off. The teachers were really nice, and he was the youngest in the class by a year.

One day his teacher laughed and said “he likes to hit the other kids. We tell him to be nice to friends.” O had been saying “don’t hit friends” over and over, so I finally knew why. I was concerned because he had hit my nephew during a visit back home just before starting school. My brother assured me it was normal two-year old behavior, but of course it really bothered me. After hearing about his Y experience I was worried about the next school, but I also felt like the next school was more professional and would have ways to redirect and handle the behavior other than laughing. …continue reading