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All I had to do was get through the summer and Emily would be in high school. No worries, no transition terrors. I was comfortable with the classroom, and with the teacher. Then it happened. At 3 in the morning I was hit by the enormity of the transition. And what if Emily doesn’t have a nurse in September?
I was wide awake by then. Visions of seizures on the bus, strangers cathing my daughter, assistants trying to transfer her for emergency brief changes and getting her legs tangled in the process (her legs flop because she has NO hips), or worse.
So this week I’ll work on school issues, answers to the “What if” of transition. Uggg! Seems only a short time ago I was working through the transition from elementary school to middle school. I even wrote an article about it that appeared in a copy of Exceptional Parent magazine last year. But where do I start this year? Transition to high school seems REALLY big.
Our nurse might/might not be with us in September so I need to think about what the care at school with be like without her taking charge of Emily. To ease my mind I’ve sketched out a few things that I need to think about.
1. Think about and note what Emily’s needs during school hours will be.
2. Come up with a list of classes she might enjoy.
3. I should also determine what may not be important to her at school.
4. One thing I learned from Emily’s transition to middle school was I needed to learn about the process for new students (supplies, student body card, peer support, etc).
5. Finally, and most importantly, I should decide on a plan of action for emergencies.
While this list isn’t complete, it will help to ease some of my tension over the transition process.
2 comments:
UGH! Could your nurse at least let you know one way or the other - or is it not her decision?
We have a much smaller but still huge to us transition in September - Little Fish will be leaving her wonderfully supportive special school nursery, and moving into mainstream primary school where she will be the only physically disabled child in the school (or at least the only wheelchair user).
We've brainstormed the biggies - she will have a full time assistant, the county is adapting the building to put in a changing bench and ramps instead of steps, big alterations. We've sorted out appropriate seating, adjustable height tables, met her teacher a couple of times and and done everything we can that way. But it's going to be a huge change from a school geared up for pupils with disabilities, with a nurse on site, and with many staff clued up, to a school where the staff are willing but as yet unexperienced.
I hope your high school are as willing as our primary school (for ages 4-11) to work with you and to adapt things to make them work for E. And I hope both our schools end up being nurturing supportive places for our girls
Tia
High School!! Oh my gosh they grow up way too fast. I remember when she was just a tiny thing. Now she is blossoming into a beautiful young lady.
My prayers are with you that God will guide you through all the proper steps so everything works out for the good.
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