Thoughts on First Grade

I didn't have much apprehension about First Grade. Actually, I was looking forward to it-and Elena was too.

E's teacher this year is new to the school. He is very approachable, and seems to enjoy E in the classroom. He encourages autonomy and community within the classroom. One thing that surprised me was Mr. M's question regarding her in-school therapy time. Apparently, the PT was going to pull her out of recess. Mr. M. thought E might really like recess, and figured maybe I should weigh-in as to what E would miss while she was at PT.

I couldn't believe it.

I never thought of that before. E's been in public school for 4 years now, and this is the first time anyone asked me that.

Now, I'm not mad at the PT or teachers that E's had previously--I was so grateful that she was getting services in school, I never thought about anything else, and no one (including Elena) ever made me think that she was missing something during her therapy pull-out time.

But, things are different now. She's making friends, she's playing with others, her disability is front-and-center, and her playmates seem to be okay with it. She integrates herself in recess and P.E., and loves being active. I asked E's team (teachers, therapists, us parents, and E) what we felt was a good fit for school PT--and the decision was made that she'd miss a 1/3 of literacy time. That was a bit of a hard sell for me--Elena can read, but she still needs a lot of help. But we all agreed that she should not be pulled out of something physical to do physical therapy.

Right now, Elena still has her aide from last year, A. A still helps Elena with some things--pushing in/out her heavy tripp-trapp chair, carrying her lunch or tray in the lunchroom, occasional help in the bathroom, help on the playground and in P.E. She has an adaptive P.E. student help her once a week (they are great!). Elena still needs help on/off the SpEd bus. She gets the option to ride in her push-chair (wheelchair with small wheels) if she is very tired over a longer distance (after recess, for example).

We worked very hard over the summer for Elena to be more self-sufficient; the Summer of No Carrying paid off BIG TIME, as she can do so much more (hills, stairs, steps, etc.) and in a reasonable time frame. Over the school day, however, her endurance is not strong. I am expecting this to improve over the school year; by the end of First Grade, everyone is hoping that Elena will be fully independent (meaning no personal aide for normal school activities).

It's a big goal. But First Grade is a big year for us. I think Mr. M. is a good fit for Elena, during this physically, socially, and academically growing year.