When Mia was born I decided that I wanted her to go to a private school. I want to give her every opportunity to succeed. My impression is they have great sports programs and they receive a better education. There is a preschool here in Broomfield called Bal Swan. They have smaller classes and have a great reputation. We took a tour of the school about a year and a half ago. They told us we would be on the wait list. They also let us know that they had to limit the number of special needs kids in each class, they wanted to be sure they could give every child the proper amount of attention. They have a roughly one to three ratio. One child with special needs to every three typical kids.
About a week after our tour, Bal Swan's Occupational Therapist, Miss Jill called me. They offer a "Parent Tot" class aimed towards proscpective students. The class prepares kids for activities they would participate in during school. Circle time, obstacle course, a snack and a table activity. Miss Jill asked us to join their class on Tuesday in the therapy room. The first day was bumpy. The room features a ball pit. Mia was immediately taken with it. She was allowed ten minutes to play before we had to start activities. She was unable to move on. The rest of the hour, I tried to get her to stop crying and hitting her head on the floor.
For the next three months, Mia and I attended the class every Tuesday at 10:30. I went into every session praying this time would be different. That Mia wouldn't make a scene with her crying, that she wouldn't be disruptive to the other kids. It was the most dreaded and stressful hour of my week. Our biggest imporovement was the day Mia sat on her pillow during circle time. The moment was short lived as she took her pillow and ran to the ball pit. The last day of class, I wasn't surprised to learn that the school administrators felt Mia needed more time before she'd be ready for a classroom setting. The class was put on hiatus, so Mia and I continued with our other therapies.
About three months went by and I was seeing real progress in Mia. She was more tolerant to change, and could transition between activities. One of our therapists, Dr. Werner thought she was making great strides, and that she could see her being ready for a preschool environment. I called Bal Swan, to ask if we could come in for another assessment. Miss Melissa arranged for Mia to join a group of preschoolers to see how she interacted with them. I had two weeks to think about our meeting. I was so excited, and I was sure that Mia would show them how much progress we've made.
When we arrived, Miss Melissa asked me if I'd like to join Mia in the room or watch through the two way mirror. I opted to watch through the glass, I figured it would more closely reflect what school would be like for her. I wanted to see how she would act when I wasn't around. The other kids walked into the room, they all played in the ball pit for ten minutes and then were instructed to come to circle time. Mia couldn't move out of the ball pit. Miss Jill went to her, "Come on Mia, its time for circle". Mia ignored. Miss Jill reached in and picked her up. Mia screamed and let her body go limp. I wanted to go in and help but I stopped myself. Maybe she can recover. She didn't. The other kids looked at the scene confused, they couldn't understand why she was crying, seeing the confusion on their innocent faces ripped through me like a knife. I couldn't watch any longer, I went into the room and I relieved Miss Jill from the fight. It was back to old times, I stood there trying to calm Mia down, while everyone else participated in class.
The school principal came in to observe the second half of the assessment. I could see the concern on her face when it became clear to her that she would have to deny our appeal. I choked back tears as she was asking me if we would be able to provide a para to attend school with Mia. "I can attend with her" I said, but had to look away in case my emotions betrayed me. Miss Melissa saved me from having to speak anymore and said, "we can try this again". "Let's see what happens in a few months". "Thank you" I said as we walked into the hallway.
I broke down in the car. I should have known better than to go into this meeting so confidently. As it stands right now we are still waiting for our second assessment. I hope it will turn out differently than the first time, but I'm steeling myself in case it doesn't.
