first day back at school

For the last two weeks I've been thinking Maya will be back at school soon.  Yay!  But today when I was getting her ready I felt a little sad.  Of course I didn't show a bit of that to her.  I raved to her about going to school, telling her she would meet new and old friends.  I was wondering on the way there what it is about today that makes me feel sad and worried.  I don't remember feeling this way last time.

This year there is a new teacher for Maya's class, and one of the aides from last year is not coming back.   I suppose this is one thing that I'm a little uneasy about today.  I would have to say the most prominent thing in my head is that Maya will get pushed around or hurt by the other kids that don't understand her.  As much as I pride myself in keeping Maya in the mainstream world, I do feel like I am a protective mother.  I've heard so many people talk about how you have to treat them (meaning a child with DS) just like all the other kids.  While theoretically I agree with this idea, I also know that Maya is not like other kids.  Yes, she is more alike than different, but she does have challenges that other kids will never have.  The fact that Maya is not communicating with words is a big issue for me.  Although I do have to rave for a second about Maya using three words (ASL) together.  This last week, she started to say, on her own, "I want all done please." and "I want hat please."  OK so while this is wonderful on so many levels, she is still not vocalizing words.  Meaning that when she wants something she cannot tell anyone.  She does not say "no" or "yes" which is so basic and necessary in communicating to other kids.   What will happen when someone tries to take something away from her?  Well she often tries to scratch them and if push comes to shove she will try and bite them.  This really, really worries me!

I am hoping and hoping that this new therapy that we are trying, the sensory integration therapy will help her improve many of these delays.  Our first session went pretty well.  Maya and the therapist got along great which in my opinion is half the battle.  I'm still unclear exactly how this works, but I'm sure I will learn as we go along.  We also have ordered special headphones for her and are going to get her started on a listening program.   This should help with her sensitivity to certain pitches and tones.

Speaking of tones and pitches, Maya really surprised me today when I dropped her off at school.  First off she did really well. She walked right into her classroom.  Actually, she pushed one of the parents out of the way to get in.  It was too funny.  She went straight to playing...didn't even hesitate one bit.  She was blow drying all the little baby doll's hair and feeding them.  All along the other kids were getting adjusted and started to sit around the circle together. One child in particular was screaming and crying.  Immediately I thought she would react with cries also, but she actually went over to the child (who was being comforted by the teacher) and sat right in front of him.  I was so amazed because her typical reaction is to scream and react in an angry way.  Sometimes that girl does things that totally throw me off....In a good way.

Well I'm so excited to hear how Maya's first day went.  From what I saw, I think it will be good.  More updates soon.

Ready, Set, Go! (She looks mad but she was just singing.)

Maya went straight for the hairdryer and phone when she got to class.  Hmmmm, wonder what that means?

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After school, Maya put on a hat and watched Barney.

Very focused on her favorite purple dinosaur.