We are here. The day I have been somewhat dreading. My kids have grown up way too fast and have graduated from Preschool and are getting ready for Kindergarten. Anyone close to me knows I have been super emotional the past few weeks leading up to their last day. I couldn’t even talk about it without having to hold back tears or swallowing the inevitable ugly cry that I could feel was rising to the surface. Their preschool was my other home, their home, my family, their family. And now our time is up and it’s time for the next chapter.
When we first started preschool, they had just turned three. We decided to send them to our local preschool since it was close. Just after starting I began to realize, this wasn’t going to work for us. My Ruthie just was having the hardest time. I couldn’t work. I had to be near in case I was called to come get her or come help her. I couldn’t do the carpool line anymore…it put her in so much distress. Shoes off, kicking and screaming. I left there almost in tears every day. It was heartbreaking to say the least. I had no idea what we were going to do.
I took a tour at Carriage House during that following summer. And just after that one tour, I knew this place was going to be a much better fit. And they were obviously a great school because trying to find slots available for them were slim to none, but they were able to get Ruthie and Simon in. Which left me some one on one time with Lorelei which was much needed. Having special needs kids is very time consuming and takes away a lot of my time and energy and unfortunately, leaves a lot less of it for Lorelei. Thankfully, we were blessed with a nurturing, kind hearted little girl who loves to help her siblings.
The first year at Carriage House, the two spent most of their time in the Endeavor Program. They have smaller scale classes, their teachers have more backgrounds in behavioral education and just so many other attributes. They also offered therapy making it much easier on me not having to worry about making extra trips out. But the most incredible thing for me was…..not worrying. I felt so safe when I dropped them off. I knew they were in the best of hands. I saw with my own eyes the love they gave my kids and that gave me so much comfort and for me to not worry, says so much!
I was always concerned with Simon being forgotten or overlooked when he was in school. Because honestly, he’d probably prefer that, but that is not really an option. His intelligence has grown and that’s great….but he lacks in a lot of basic stuff, but boy has he grown. And so much of that comes from Carriage House. They saw his potential and because of that, they were able to get him a Grant and get him that IPad with the talking App that gave him his voice! Him not being able to talk to us made things so challenging and basically a guessing game. And to add to that, his words started while he was at Carriage House. They pushed him to do more and although he resisted a lot, they never gave up. They were the ones who pushed to start potty training him. Because I honestly was not quite ready for that 😂
They took on the challenge for me. I sent him in underwear to school and even though he went through a lot of underwear and pants, they were consistent and now this kid hasn’t been in diapers for months. I never thought we’d see the day!
Ruthie…this girl is a spit fire and anyone who knows her knows it. Some people don’t know she’s Autistic but she was diagnosed at 3. Her behavior is something we are constantly working on, but she has come a long way. When I dropped her off at Carriage House, I knew I wouldn’t get a call to come help her, calm her or just take her home. They were up to the challenge and they pushed her. A lot of people don’t know this but when she first started, this girl couldn’t do anything unless it was left side first. If you forgot, she would just kind of lose it. Left shoe, left leg in pants, left arm in jacket, left strap of the car seat. Then it moved on to being wet. We would cringe if we saw a drop of water fall on her. We knew it was over. She would attempt to strip or just kind of freak the freak out to the point of no return. Even though we still have struggles with certain behaviors and I mean STRUGGLES, I know in all honesty, we have over come a lot and I hope we can keep on this path.
Lorelei started after the two finished their first year. We wanted to get her more independent. She has done just that and has even learned to read much better and I think being around kids who are similar to her siblings, has made her that much more empathetic, and that right there, is something I am so grateful for. But now that we had all three in school, we basically have taken it over. There are 7 classrooms at that school and at one point, they were in 5 (they did half days in certain classrooms) 😂
This school is my family. I have cried to these teachers and I mean bawled my eyes out. Some days are just so hard and they just get it. If you do not have a child with Autism, it’s hard to explain the stress it can have on you. We don’t want to hear it will get better. This isn’t just a phase. We have no idea if it will get better or what new thing will come up. It’s always, what’s the next step, which therapy should we do, what doctor should we see, should we see a specialist, is their medicine for this, should we do a different diet, will this (insert whatever therapy item) help and I’m not kidding, the list of questions and concerns could go on. I feel like it could honestly go on forever.
This journey is so freaking hard. Hardest thing I have ever encountered.
When your child has Autism your life kind of gets turned upside down, rolled over, thrown up in the air, spin in circles kind of a whirlwind. You don’t know what kind of day you are going to have. One thing can throw off your whole day. So if you see me and I don’t have a lot to say, don’t take offense or think I’m being rude. If I don’t talk, I’m holding back tears, if I’m overly sarcastic, I’m avoiding the stress and if I’m teary, that day more than likely was the straw that broke the camels back.
So to all the people who doesn’t think a preschool graduation is a big deal….well you are just wrong! It is a HUGE deal. We have to move out of our comfort zone to, well, basically a new planet 🌎 
But….we got this!
It's Triplicated 