Hmmmm....Had my first appointment with my third therapist (yes I have tried this 3 times now). Its been over 5 years since Alex was diagnosed and I still have problems dealing with the anxiety and depression that comes with everything. So, I'm promising myself that I will now focus on this and work through my many issues and the issues I have with other people's issues :)

We had a rough morning today. Alex got invited to a birthday party for a boy from school this weekend but we have plans so he can't go. So, he was upset last night and again this morning about not being able to go. I gave a heads up to the teacher and she said he mentioned it when he got to school but was soon distracted and moved on. Thank God!

One of the things people have said to me (many times) when I talk about Alex's issues is "typical kids do that too". Okay...seriously....that doesn't help. Yes I know that other kids have meltdowns or are affected but noise or fight with their siblings or want their shoes tight, etc., etc. Alex just takes it to whole other level and unless you are living with a child with Autism....keep you mouth shut! Sorry...I just had to say it. I have received a lot of platitudes from people that just rub me the wrong way. I know a lot of you are just trying to think of something nice to say but the old saying "actions speak louder than words" applies here. Do something thoughtful...don't say something that you think is thoughtful.

So, there you have it...a perfect example of why I am in therapy! I'm also hoping this blog can become a form of therapy for me.

Where was I on Alex. Oh, school. I have to say that once we got him into a structured school program, I felt relieved. I also felt guilty (and still do). These people know what to do for him and I didn't/don't. He does so well at school (with the exception of one school that I'll discuss later). He started preschool the day after he turned 3. He got to ride that bus (it wasn't a short bus either). He loved the bus and still does. He started going 4 days a week M/T/W/TH in the mornings. We would round out the week with music therapy in home and a trip to the "Piqua Center" on Friday mornings.

He did really well in the preschool program offered by the County but he probably had the class format memorized the first day. We found when he was eligible for Kindergarten (by age) that he probably could have handled it academically but his social skills were still lacking. So, we asked the school district for help in programing. They "tested" him for Pre-K. What!!?? There is a test for Pre-K?? I thought if you weren't going to Kindergarten you went to Pre-K. Anyway, they said he wasn't eligible and all they could do was put him in another preschool class (he had been with the same teacher for 2+years). Now, I knew he could handle more but we went with it. In addition to the other preschool class through the County, we enrolled him in some afternoons at our church's preschool hoping the additional structure would help. That school I mentioned above...this is it! They just weren't willing to make modifications to assist Alex. This was not a special needs preschool. However, by law they are not allowed to discriminate. So there were many things going on here. We decided (only after a few months) that both programs were not working for Alex. He needed a more challenging environment as well as modifications for him to succeed.

We took him out of both programs and right after Christmas break he started the Nicholas School Kindergarten Program 5 full days a week in Piqua.

More on that experience next!