State: CA
Country: USA
Member since: Dec 29, 2007
Last logged in: Dec 01, 2008
I am the dad of my 4 y/o daughter Liv. She was dx in August of 07. Liv is my only child. If you stop by my page leave me a post below. God Speed to you all.
I am in my mid 30's recently divorced (unrelated to autism & pre-regression). Liv & I enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. This summer I hope to take her camping with me. BTW, I am the worst speller of all time please take a laugh at how I spell ;)
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by KevinLivsDad on 03.27.08 - public - 145 visits
I would like to share this with you all as it is something I found so encouraging.
Before Liv (caught autism)* in late August of 2007 we had her enrolled in a regular pre-school program.
We where so excited about the opportunity Liv would get & this seemed like such a great preschool.
About 1 week prior to Liv's first day of school is when the milestone regression happened. At the time we where
concerned & thought it was acute, due to some environmental changes in Liv's life. However, we did immediately
take her to get checked out. We where very nervous & kept the school out of the loop in our suspicions. I was afraid
that they would not except Liv or willing or be too scared to work with her. I was so wrong & glad I was wrong.
About a month into Liv's preschool the director wanted to speak to us. We knew what it was about...
In a very polite way the director conveyed her concerns about Liv. That is when we communicated that we where
having Liv thoroughly checked out & awaiting the results & findings. The tension in the air was immediately cleared.
I expressed my fear that they would not except Liv, otherwise, I would have told them earlier I apologized for my misjudgment.
They where so cool & so supportive of myself, Liv, & Liv's mom. It was a relief.
Since that discussion the school has responded in remarkable ways. All the teachers truly love Liv for who she is. Their caring commitment & understanding is so genuine. They make every effort to keep Liv as engaged & looked after as possible & adjust their ways while balancing the
natural desire to over enable Liv.
Even all of the children seem to have a compassion & understanding for Liv. Many of the little kids have formed a special bond with Liv. The school
even encourages some of these kids to help with Liv & do a bit of modeling for her. It really is beautiful to watch. When I pick up Liv a
couple of the kids always give Liv a little touch on the shoulder & say good bye. I watch some of the little kids unprompted help Liv when she needs soothed or steer her away from a doorway when hurried parents are passing through it. Some of them even attempt to land a non-reciprocated
hug on Liv. Liv will do her thing and give her hallmark lean in arms to the side hug like gesture.
To top it off we met with the director & owner the other day as we where in a predicament we needed 1 day of coverage for the ABA vendor. I will be
working 2 day from home & Liv's mom the other two days... The school had no problem serving as a venue for the other day of ABA we where struggling to accommodate. So, hats off to the positive environment, compassion, & tolerance this little preschool & its people are promoting.
I thought this was worth writing as it seemed like we have had so much negative resistance lately... No help from Dr's, insurance Co, & school system feuding. This is just a positive example of goodness in the ASD world.
* I know that Liv did not catch autism & it is not meant to offend anybody. I am not ignorant. It is just easier to say that than Liv had a mysterious regression on Aug 22nd & profoundly exhibited the signs of autism :)
Sorry, I wrote this on my break at work & it was rushed so lots of mispellings & such.
Comments(9)
KevinLivsDad
Posted on Thu, 27 Mar 2008
Yes, we certainly acknowledged how appreciative we are & what great people they are. Keep in mind that this is not the utopia environment for Liv. She does get benefit from it. However, it is a great place to be until we get special needs services in gear. :)
AIsForAutism
Posted on Thu, 27 Mar 2008
Thank you so much for sharing this. I got goose bumps just reading it. This little preschool class is part of Liv's VILLAGE of supporters. How wonderful. Continue to encourage and actively acknowledge the work they are doing. It always feels good to know that parents are happy with the situation. As an instructional aide, I love hearing from and/or receiving brief notes from parents acknowledging the daily work we do. It's not that we need kudos, but it feels good to know and hear we matter. I don't know if that makes sense. I guess we like our "reinforcers" too :)
AWETISM
Posted on Thu, 27 Mar 2008
Great! I love schools that are so encouraging to our children! Glad to know they are out there. Sweet!!!
tabaithasteward
Posted on Wed, 26 Mar 2008
It sounds like u found the perfect place for your little girl. Jared has a really good teacher I just hope it stays that way. Its nice that there is people who care to bad its not always so.
4muskateers
Posted on Wed, 26 Mar 2008
Fantastic! A school where people care and children are encouraged to accept differences and help out a little friend. We need more schools like this one, so our children can have positive roll models of normal behavior from the begining. I know that with you on her side Liv, will be able to reach the top of Mt. Everest. MY hat goes off to you all. Thank you for sharing. We are here on foggyrock to see comments made, and I believe this really keeps us thinking about what kind of future we want for our children. as my T-Shirt for this year reads...1 to many!!!!
cjkellie
Posted on Wed, 26 Mar 2008
Thanks for sharing this. It's nice to see when things work. I love hearing stories like this one and I am glad you wrote this. Thanks again!!! and how lucky Liv is to have the acceptance from everyone.. just a great post..
