It has been so strange with him gone. The first day, I took the girls and we went for a walk and visited some neighbors. It was so nice to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine. The other two times he has been at preschool, I have been watching kids, but we still took advantage of the outdoors for a short time.
Before preschool started, we attended what is called an IEP (Individual Education Plan) which outlines Jeremy's educational goals and guidelines. We met with Jeremy's teachers, the principal of USDB, OT, PT, and a whole host of others. The meeting was over three hours as we went through a comprehensive history of Jeremy and and his goals throughout the next year.
We had been undecided whether to send Kai to a local elementary school or to USDB (Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind) since he qualifies for both. USDB has a longer day--four and a half hours four times a week--than the school district. The program at USDB is rather impressive, and we really liked the school itself. We did have concerns about Kai's stamina and the school itself is set up more for just deaf disability rather than a multiple disability person like Kai, especially intellectually; the decision was ultimately made when the principal of USDB thought the school district would be a better fit, since she didn't even know about some of the things which we discussed for Kai's goals.
As it seems with everything, we find out new things when we have big meetings. Our vision specialist, when giving the report on his vision with information she had received (with our permission) from the ophthalmologist, mentioned Kai having CVI (cortical vision impairment), which was news to me. It was his corneal abrasion which led us to having a vision specialist come in, since he has severely limited vision in that eye, but we were under the assumption that that was the only issue with his vision. Well, turns out, her services really were justified because although he can see, his brain just doesn't always process the information that he sees. Huh, that should have been information we had known, but wasn't given to us.
However, with the knowledge of CVI, Kai now has a deaf/blind specialist that will stay with him throughout his school career, which is pretty cool. We met her on the last visit from the vision specialist (or PIP Vision to be correct).
Kai has done pretty well in school. He enjoys the bus ride because it is bumpy. They transport him, stroller and all on the bus. Makes it fun. On his first day of school I had the urge to follow the bus to school and peek in on him in his class. I didn't, but I think the only reason I didn't was because I trusted the nurse who was along with him. The two nurses who rotate to accompany him at school are both trusted, which makes it easier to let go.
My schedule seems so empty without all the therapy appointments for Kai. What am I going to do with all the extra time? Ha ha, I still have an infant and a six year old, so there really isn't extra time. Kai's school and Zuri's school are on opposite times. Zuri has school in the morning and Kai in the afternoon, so just as Kai gets off, Zuri comes home (at least until summer break).
For his part, Kai has been super happy when he gets home, although reports at school have been that he gets fussy throughout the day. He even fell asleep one day. Overall, though, he seems to be doing well.
We did have one incident where Kai's nurse reported that the school nurse had come in and saw Kai's nurse holding him. The school nurse told our nurse that Kai is no longer a baby and shouldn't be held. Well, the mama bear came out in me and I wrote a pretty lengthy letter to the Kai's teacher. The gist of the letter is that although Kai is not physically a baby, he is developmentally still in the 4-6 month range, and if 5-10 minutes of holding him calms him down, it is better than him being upset the whole time he is there. He needs time out of his stroller and school is supposed to be an enjoyable place for him. I also listed alternate ways to help calm Kai down, but ultimately, he loves physical contact, and holding him is the quickest, almost sure-fire way to a happy Jeremy.
I talked with his teacher the next day, and she was on the same page I was, which helped. She said that she overheard what the school nurse said and hadn't agreed with it. She said if any kid in her class was upset, that she would hold them. It made me feel better, especially when she mentioned that getting Kai out of his stroller makes him seem more accessible to the other kids. The stroller can be kind of intimidating to them. So far, no more incidents with the school nurse. One more reason I am glad that a trusted nurse is along with Kai. Hopefully, as he becomes more adjusted to school, that he will have less periods of fussiness, and really enjoy the experience.
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