Well, it's official. Jackson has been approved for a spot at his new school in the fall. This school is a school for children with special needs. It has taken me quite some time to realise that this is the right place for Jackson.
For so long i have fought and pushed for full inclusion(this was what i was told was the right thing for me to do for my child . I have since realised that each child is an individual and that what is right for one child isn't necessarily right for another.) and for his preschool days, this worked well. Even junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten went okay with Jackson being fully included with his peers, but by grade one,things had just gotten so out of control.
Jackson still has difficulty sitting for long periods of time. And when i say long, i really mean longer than 10 minutes at a time. He still has issues with holding pencils, crayons and paintbrushes. These are things he really doesn't like to do. I can't help but wonder if his vision is a part of why he doesn't like to sit and do desk work.....would you want to do something you really couldn't see?? (and this is totally off topic here, but i hear so much from people who think that because Jackson uses a seeing eye cane, and that he is classed legally blind, that he can't see anything at all. Well, that is just not true, Jackson's vision is 20/380 in both eyes. He can see, probably to the end of his arm. Which is why he holds everything right up to his nose..lol I just wanted to add that 95% of people that are labeled "blind" are not 100% blind. Most have some vision)
He has also spent much of this year training to use his seeing eye cane but can't be swinging a cane while everyone is in the hallways, so he has spent most of this training time, walking the hallways with his EA while his peers are in class. And when i say peers, i mean the children in his class, because Jackson is at a point right now, where he really doesn't have any "real" friends. It has taken me ages to really admit this. Jackson is popular. Very popular. Everywhere we go, people know who he is. Everyone in his school knows him.....but it's not really the same as having a friend, is it?
So with this new school, he will be with other children who have disabilities. He will have the chance to make some "real" friends. He won't be in a "grade". The children are in classes according to where they are in their development. They go swimming once a week, they have a snoezelen room, the playground is fully assessable, and they are fully staffed with OT's, PT's, and SLP's.
I am sure that i will receive comments from both sides of the board for this post, but you have to understand that Jackson doesn't just have Down syndrome. Being blind is another disability that we have had to come to terms with over the years. He is quite behind where his peers with Ds are, because of his vision, so this is my way of finding him a place where i think he will grow to be the very best person he can be, learning at his own rate, in his own unique way, with friendships that i can only hope will last throughout his lifetime!!
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3 comments:
We did the same for Nathaniel. He is in a special needs school as we did not fel he was ready for a typical school..He would not sit at circle etc, Now he is sitting and participating :) He does alot better in smaller classrooms too as the noise level is way lower. It was hard for me to put him there, I kept thinking it was wrong, he should be in a typical school, but it was me who wanted him there, I finally woke up and saw what was best for Nathaniel , not me!
Thank you!! It is so nice to hear that from another mom. It has been so hard. While the Down syndrome community is awesome, it is also very prone to pushing for full inclusion, and like you, this was a very hard decision for me, but i know it is the best place for Jackson. :o)
I don't think you should receive any negative comments for your decision! You are doing what is best for your child, and his situation, and who knows him better than you? There is nothing wrong with your decision! I think in the early years there is a lot of push for inclusion, and then I've heard parents of older kids say when their child got older they had to realize what was best for their child and the answer isn't always full inclusion. And that's ok...it won't work for every child as each child has their own unique needs.
Sounds like you've given this a lot of thought and research and I bet Jackson will just flourish in this environment that is best for him!
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