First day of high school (update)

It went well. I was highly relieved to get a thumbs up when I jumped on to the bus when it pulled up and asked him how his day was.

All that preparation and stress and it turns out Deane wasn’t actually supposed to be at school on the 4th. I guess that was schedule pick up day for the rest of the school.

Day 2: Deane seemed a little less excited. Maybe because we were telling him that this would be when the real work began. When he came home he had a binder with a schedule and pictural account of what he did – music, horticulture, computer and group. Not surprisingly for Deane, he said he liked music and didn’t like the plant work.

His teacher called later just wanting to touch base. He said Deane had become a little upset near the end of the day as they were updating their binders. An EA took him for a walk and he, again not surprisingly, he got excited when he saw the basketball nets in the gym.

The teacher said this EA had taken a real shine to Deane. My spidey sense flared. Deane has been known to charm teachers and EAs – especially female ones – into going easy on him. His teacher – male – reassured me that this EA was a real pro and that she would not fall prey to my son’s ways.

We had sent in two voice output systems because one is very new and we weren’t sure Deane is comfortable enough to express himself with it. The teacher said they had used both as well as the pictures on his wheelchair tray. The teacher said he believes in TLC – total language communication. He said they’ll use whatever combination of methods works best.

He said he is confident Deane will settle in very well. We talked for 15 minutes or more. I hadn’t been thinking I needed more information or more contact, but this conversation was wonderfully reassuring. I feel confident that Deane is in good hands and that keeping us involved and informed in a key part of this teacher’s approach.

It’s time to put my fears in check and get on with the next part of this adventure.

Any other first day of school stories out there?