The Little Man has been in full time daycare for almost 6 months now, but even though we had the autism diagnosis before then, we chose not to disclose that info to our daycare educator. It was a choice we didn't take lightly and we decided it was better that she wasn't biased. He is easy-going enough and we figured she would eventually figure it out for herself that he was a little different.
Well, it didn't take long for her to notice his peculiarities, but she was flexible enough to work with him and not against him. She figured out quickly what kind of discipline works and what doesn't, and she is super patient. Sometimes, not knowing you are dealing with a special need's child produces far more creative and efficient results than knowing and giving up. I mean no disrespect when I speak of people giving up - but the fact is, a lot of people (not the parents usually, but others) give up trying to work with a special need's child and don't set the bar very high because they think the child doesn't have potential. If you go in with the attitude that every child has equal potential, you will usually try harder to help each child achieve their best.
Last night, I made an appointment with her to chat about the Little Man and finally come clean about his diagnoses. My only regret about this conversation was the way I delivered the news. It doesn't faze me any more to say my child is autistic and apraxic, but I forgot about the feeling you get when you hear the news for the very first time. She cares about him deeply and she got tears in her eyes. I told her a therapist would probably be coming into her home to help him and she said she would do anything to help him. We spoke about the best time of day for him and the number of hours needed. We totally agreed and I am confident despite having only worked with him for 6 months, she knows him very well and loves him like her own. We know we totally lucked out with this daycare worker. She truly is a blessing to our family.
Well, it didn't take long for her to notice his peculiarities, but she was flexible enough to work with him and not against him. She figured out quickly what kind of discipline works and what doesn't, and she is super patient. Sometimes, not knowing you are dealing with a special need's child produces far more creative and efficient results than knowing and giving up. I mean no disrespect when I speak of people giving up - but the fact is, a lot of people (not the parents usually, but others) give up trying to work with a special need's child and don't set the bar very high because they think the child doesn't have potential. If you go in with the attitude that every child has equal potential, you will usually try harder to help each child achieve their best.
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| That feeling you get when you hear the news the very first time. |
Last night, I made an appointment with her to chat about the Little Man and finally come clean about his diagnoses. My only regret about this conversation was the way I delivered the news. It doesn't faze me any more to say my child is autistic and apraxic, but I forgot about the feeling you get when you hear the news for the very first time. She cares about him deeply and she got tears in her eyes. I told her a therapist would probably be coming into her home to help him and she said she would do anything to help him. We spoke about the best time of day for him and the number of hours needed. We totally agreed and I am confident despite having only worked with him for 6 months, she knows him very well and loves him like her own. We know we totally lucked out with this daycare worker. She truly is a blessing to our family.
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