I don't know if I didn't think I'd make it through to the end or what, but for some reason I never took before pictures so that I could make a comparison. With my body, I think comparisons would be necessary since the changes are pretty subtle.
So, yeah, no flashing of the belly on the interweb for me.
BUT! It went well, overall. The plan is 63 days and I was pretty diligent. I followed the calendar as closely as possible, taking one week off for an unrelated back injury and another couple of days for a sinus infection. I started on May 16th and finished on July 26th.
I got my butt kicked, in case you were wondering. I feel stronger though and I'm a lot more confident in my bathing suit. I consider that a mission accomplished!
Oh, and at one point, I had lost like 7 lbs, but our whole Season of Celebration in June/July took care of that. I pretty much broke even in the weight department.
Now, I'm trying to decide what's next. I haven't done anything
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I went to look at a private school for Playette yesterday. The wind was kinda taken out of my sails. After the one-hour tour, I informed the lady that the kidlet has 47 chromos and I saw her face change. The smile remained, but if you've been in that situation, you know what I mean. In her eyes, this was not awesome news. She proceeded to ask me questions about the closeness of Playette's development to her typical peers. She told me that they don't have the staff to support her if she requires one-on-one instruction.
What is up with this whole "one-on-one" thing?! That's the same thing her jackhole teacher said in out last "meeting." I'm starting to second-guess myself. Does my child need a shadow 100% of the time? Am I being unrealistic?
The lady did say that they'd "be willing to try anything." Which, yay? I mean, my kid is a kid, not a monster. "Anything" kinda alludes to her being the worst of the worst and they're doing us some sort of favor.
Grr.
Maybe I'm just being way sensitive. I also recognize that I went in with really high expectations after another parent told me that her kids (one with Ds) have gone there for years and they were excited for the opportunity to work with Playette.
Maybe something changed?
So, yeah, since I haven't heard anything back from the school district, I'm making moves to set something private up. I mean, what else can you do? What they're offering just isn't good enough and, as many people as I've spoken to, it just doesn't seem that the program I requested can ever be a reality. Deadlines have been missed. Which, don't get me wrong, IT PISSES ME OFF! They passive-aggressively allowed this to happen and that doesn't escape me.
But at the end of the day, I will not allow my child to suffer because of their ignorance.
Now I just need to find the right place to pay to teach our child.
And hopefully treat her humanely.
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5 comments:
Okay, I have thoughts here. I will try not to be pushy, but this reminds me very much of the private preschool tour circuit we went on last year for Maybelle. Here are some blog posts about it:
Post #1
Post #2
Post #3 (this one quite upbeat, the happy ending)
Your daughter doesn't need a shadow. Period. She needs to be fully included, and if they don't get that, then fuck them. If she needs assistance in the classroom, then that assistance needs to take the form of therapists who come in and integrate fully with the natural preschool environment, playing with Playette and her friends, not pulling her aside, and not acting as her nanny.
Grrrr. Makes me so mad!
I see that I have, in fact, become pushy, and I apologize. Other folks may have thoughts that contradict mine, so I don't pretend to be the only voice on this topic!
All of this is so new to me, Tatiana has begun preschool as of Monday for a Summer session.She is in a multi disabilities classroom, I am not sure how I feel about that but my options were limited. I don't feel like she needs to be in that setting but for now I'll allow it so that she can continue getting services (she aged out of EI) I hope Playette gets to attend the school of your choice and be placed in a typical classroom.
I forget sometimes, amidst all my griping, that we are really fortunate in this area. A short drive from our house is an inclusive preschool/daycare for kids 0-5. They provide EI services for working moms, just preschool, or just daycare. Lots of nearby school districts contract with them for preschool for kids w/IEPs in that gap-py 3-5 age range (ours doesn't, but our school will bus her back over for aftercare).
And no, my girl does NOT have a shadow there (nor would she need one!)... but they do lots of signing & other nice supportive stuff.
I tell you this only to encourage you to keep looking. Surely there's a good place out there for your girl!
[Am wondering about services if you don't go through your school district? Will you have to pay OOP? Just curious]
Okay. My thoughts (which I called you about), were pretty much summed up in Alison's comment. Thanks, Alison! ;)
Grrr. I'm a bit freaked by all of this as she's only 4 and this just seems SO flippin un-necessary that they are being jerks. I do find that whenever I talk about playette. I get one of two reactions people who can have a respectful conversation and people who don't have any sense of decency. She’s a child first, why does this get brushed away so fast?
I wonder if the approach needs to shift. Of course you’re her Mom/Advocate, but maybe you need to be her agent or legal representative meaning lawyer not guardian. This is maddening and I’m just an observer. Wish my magic wand worked!
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