Ballerina and Music Man haven’t even started kindergarten yet, and it’s already dominating my nearly ever waking moment thoughts.  Music Man, well, not so much.  I worry about bullying for him in particular as he gets older, but not as much in kindergarten.  Ballerina though…..

Who would have thought that her success would weigh so much on my mind?  When the twins were both diagnosed as Autistic in 2009, I swore to do the things that were recommended  by their teachers and doctors, so that they can make the necessary progress to enter a typical kindergarten classroom when the time came.  Well, their first day of kindergarten will be August 27, 2012.  Music Man is in a program that is one step shy of a typical classroom, and for him, this is a HUGE victory.   Ballerina received the recommendation I had prayed for……”Home School Model” (aka typical classroom setting).

When I first learned this in February, I was overjoyed.  I could barely see I was crying so hard.  This wasn’t just her victory, but mine as well.  Then, once the elation had a chance to settle in, I was able to begin thinking.  Was she REALLY READY for a typical classroom?

Her initial placement meeting was shortly after this and her team also wasn’t fully convinced that this was a wise decision.  So, we decided to hold off making the decision until closer to the end of the school year.  In the meantime, she began attending a typical kindergarten classroom in her school (she is at their level academically — my girl is VERY smart) and we would see how things have gone.  And, when I went to visit her recently, I was just amazed at how well she was doing.  This was the first time I was allowing myself to consider the possibility that the recommendation may have been right. …continue reading