Breakthroughs

It has been three weeks since we got the diagnosis. Since then we have been have set up an IEP, signed Mini Me up for special ed summer school and special ed pre kindergarten for the fall, and started going to speech therapy twice a week. In the these past three weeks we have had good days and also some very bad days. Today though, was a break through.

 Let me take you back to October when Mini Me switched preschools (pre-diagnosis). I switched him to a more academic preschool which also happened to be the same campus that had the elementary school Boy Wonder (his 7 year old brother) went to. Convenient for me. Bonus! Well as I soon found out this was the worst possible move I could have made. Mini hates change with a vengeance. I spent the first 5 months picking him up from school at least once a week (he only goes to school 3 days a week) and days that he didn't get sent home his teacher would tell me what a tough time he had at school. Monday was PT (perceptual training- bouncing balls, kicking balls, jumping, etc). Mini would lay on the floor and close his eyes. Wednesday was Music, Mini would flop down in the doorway and need to be physically moved. Friday was chapel. Mini would hide under the chairs. Any time he had to transition from the class to one of these other activities he would get very frustrated and lash out. For whatever reason he particularly hates Music. Since today was Wednesday Music class was on the agenda. Joy. Music days are usually the days that I get called. Morning came and went with no phone call. At pick up his teacher told me that he actually walked into Music and sat right down on the bench!!! He didn't participate, but he didn't fall apart either!! He even came home singing a song they had learned about Baby Beluga!

Since Mini was such a good boy in school today I decided to take him to lunch. Now, one thing about Mini is sometimes his sentence structure is hard to understand. All 4 year olds are tough to underdtand at times, but Mini's grammar isn't quite to level of his peers. As I mentioned before we started speech therapy a few weeks back. The first class he actually went off without me willingly. Ordinarily he hides behind me, clutching my leg making noises. And he went willingly! I digress though. So sitting outside Chipotle today we are talking about his day when all of a sudden he says "look she has a dress on". Mini has NEVER used the pronoun "she". Everything was "he" and "his". Part of our IEP was to improve his use of pronouns. And here in front of Chipotle, three weeks after starting speech therapy, my sweet Mini Me used the word "her" correctly. It made my heart skip!

This is just the beginning of our journey, but I will tell you I am over the moon excited about the changes I have seen in my Mini Me in just three weeks. The road ahead of us is long, but I am looking forward to the victories both big and small...