16/11/2022
hen you have neurodiverse kids, regular things that parents just have to do as par for the course, just aren't as simple...
Corey gets to start kindy (pre-school) next year but in addition to all of the regular questions and forms we had to fill in, we have to notify them that she's autistic and has speech apraxia because some places won't take kids with labels or they already have too many and can't get more resources.
If she's accepted then it's time to cue the additional load...
After that, they need me to email them in the reports and diagnosis letters for her so that they can fill out their extra forms and request an additional support resource for her class to support her.
After that we get extra forms to fill out that describe her particular struggles and what we do to help her. These forms can be quite lengthy and take a while to fill in...
Once she starts at kindy, I'll spend extra time helping her adjust to the new environment.
I'll spend lots of extra time with her teachers helping them to get familiar with her signs and language so they can understand her, as well as the warning signs that she's struggling, stuck on a fixed idea she can't let go of and what to do when she's in a meltdown or a rage, because the usual ways of handling it will only make it worse and she could hit out at them or other kids.
There are just so many additional things we have to think about, inform people of or do, over and above the usual things we have to do as parents...
So overall, yay for extra support and people who WANT to be and provide the best environment for her, boo to the extra work and hoops it takes to get through just to enrol her in a simple kindy. Something I took for granted as being easy when we had Kadi and Tylah.
I have come to accept that these things won't be clear cut and will have additional work for us.
When you look at this face, the reward in it is seeing that face smile, hearing her laugh and knowing she's happy.
I share this so those of you who don't have kids with high or special needs can get a glimpse into the life of your friends who are like us.
Awareness leads to compassion and we need more compassion in this world ❤️