Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Team Stephen

This sweet boy started First Grade yesterday.  First Grade.  I can hardly believe that he's old enough for that, and yet, he was more than ready.

We met "Team Stephen" on Friday for the first time.  All but one member of the school team is new to us, and I think this is probably going to be to Stephen's advantage.  Every single person on his team believes in Stephen's abilities and intelligence, and our hopes for his future, which makes it a lot easier for us to send him off on the bus to his new school each day. 

Stephen has an iPad with his speech program on it available to him at all times during the school day, and even on his first day, he was communicating well with his teacher, and advocating for his own needs.  He also made sure to show off everything that he learned in Kindergarten last year, and impressed his teacher quite a bit.  Stephen is currently in a combination of special education classes and inclusive (typical) classes and activities, and once everyone has gotten to know each other, and we figure out what kind of supports Stephen will need, we will meet in a month to make a new plan for Stephen.  With the ability to communicate better, Stephen is much more confident and sure of himself, which has been such a joy to see.  This kid just amazes us every day.