A Sad Farewell

If you have befriended me on Facebook, you know that I made sort of an announcement on my status today. For those of you who are not on Facebook, a decision has been made regarding Aiden's education.

Sadly, after 2 1/2 years of being a student of the Little Light House, Aiden will no longer attend school there. The decision was not an easy one to make and took lots of thought, consideration, prayer and advice. We did not come to this decision lightly either.

Due to the stress of traveling in heavy rush hour traffic ( and avoiding several accidents to and from school ), financial stress ( honestly I love my V8 SUV, but dang try feeding one twice a week with the cost of gas going up. And yes, due to Aiden's "mode of transportation" - the gait trainer - a SUV is required ), trying to find a way to schedule another hour a week of physical therapy (which was made impossible due to scheduling conflicts between Aiden's schedule and the private PT, though Aiden so desperately needs more therapy as he is so close to standing independently and walking - but that is for another post) and circumstances beyond control of either the faculty of the school or myself, the school is no longer a safe place to send Aiden.

Earlier this year, during Aiden's SAP, I voiced concern over Aiden's safety with one of the other children in his class. However, this child has not really been the culprit of Aiden's safety issues as I had feared. Instead, another child has taken it upon herself to physically attack Aiden several times this year and Aiden has suffered major scratches to his face. The last scratching attack was deep enough that, while most of the scratches have healed, he has scabs on his face and we are not able to do our Christmas pictures this weekend as intended.  Unfortunately, due to class room size restrictions, there is not an "age appropriate" class in which Aiden can transfer to. Sadly, the only way I can find to keep Aiden safe is to remove him from the proximity of the other child.

I in no way, shape or form place any blame upon the school or the faculty. This child, in my opinion, has some behavioural issues that need to be corrected by the child's parents. I don't think the parents have disciplined the child in a way that a child with special needs has to be disciplined in order to fit into society. Not only that, but I also don't think that they consider her safety much either. I mean seriously, who would give gum to a 2 year old child? I see some serious safety issues there. Just my opinion. You may think that is fine, but Aiden is 3 years old and um, he has never been given a piece of gum, much less seen a piece of gum. I see choking hazards occurring.

Aiden's teacher, Miss Heather, feels responsible and that she has let us down as a teacher. I do not feel this way. She has been a wonderful teacher and Aiden has learned much from her this year. I know that the attacks are occurring when Miss Heather looks away for even a fraction of a second. I also know that it is not possible to keep "an eye out" every second of the day. As a parent, I know that it is impossible to watch out for any little thing every second. I have one child and that is impossible. There is no way I would expect anyone to be able to do that with 8 children ages 2 - 3 years old. Things happen. That is just a fact of life when dealing with children.

However the last 2 attacks on Aiden ( both attacks occurred this week ) were deliberate and directed in the vicinity of his eyes and mouth. This poses serious health issues towards Aiden. Bacteria is involved. If the bacteria were to get into his blood stream, it could affect his heart and the hardware involved in keeping his heart beating. I, personally, do not want to spend any more time in the hospital than necessary.

So, what about Aiden's continuing education? Several weeks ago, I talked to the teacher at the public school which Aiden attends. During the amended IEP meeting, it was discussed about having Aiden in class whenever the LLH was out for student breaks and extended days off. Aiden needed to be around these children and teachers more in order for Aiden to get used to the idea of making a full transition.

More recently, I had discussed with Miss Jennifer, the possibility of transitioning Aiden to the public school after the Christmas break. The school agreed and the wheels were sent into motion of getting Aiden evaluated by both the school's physical and occupational therapists. We wanted everything in place before Aiden transitioned full time in January. ( Have you noticed, I am comfortable enough saying "transition" and no longer need to use the phrase **insert banned word here** ? It's amazing what stress will do to a person's mind - not to mention that I have lost 25 pounds in the process LOL! )

The original plan was to have Aiden attend both schools until December 16th, the last day of school at the LLH before Christmas Break. Aiden would then attend a few days at public school before their Christmas Break. Aiden would spend 2 weeks at home and resume next semester attending public school Monday thru Friday until 11am. This would open Aiden's schedule up for more private therapy, put less mileage on the truck and save me hundreds of dollars a month.However, now Aiden will be at home, receiving the therapies he needs until we can re-amend the IEP and begin the semester in January.

For everything the Little Light House has done for Aiden and the support they have given to us as a family, we will be eternally grateful and appreciative. We will continue to show support for the school as many families before us has done. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to the faculty and staff of this little school who has been a beacon of light and hope for children with special needs.