Our almost six year-old son Noah has autism.
You probably already know this, because…come on, the thirteen people that read this blog probably know our family personally (or have been automatically subscribed because I stole their email address and signed them up myself…MUAHAHAHA).
Well, this past Monday he started first grade in a regular, non-special-ed. class. Not a big deal for someone without autism, but a big deal for Noah. We are incredibly proud of his progress over the past 4 years and are thankful to the therapists from Lovaas that have been working with Noah since 2006. What a difference it has made in his life! Going back to watch old videos of him before Lovaas, we can barely believe it is the same boy. Glory! We are also incredibly grateful for the Burbank School District and for his teacher last year…she was awesome.
Last year Noah was in a half-day Kindergarten class. It was great. He made friends and participated like a normal child would, with the occasional hiccup. For example, one time he told one of his male friends/classmates “I love you”. Not a big deal, except it was weird. The kid said something mean to Noah and ran away; Noah burst into tears…he did not understand! He was only repeating what we say at home all the time! Right? Poor little guy…so we instituted a program to teach Noah to only say “I love you” to family members, and “I like you” to friends. It took him a little while to adjust…but he did it. There were also a few other things he wasn’t supposed to do at school, like stare at nothing…have a “wiggly” body…and so on…it worked out well. Kindergarten was a fantastic success!
THIS year, the first grade class is a bit different–he is at a new school, with a new teacher, and is going a full day (until 2:30pm). Ooooooo…
In order to prepare him for success in this new environment, the therapists from Lovaas and us came up with a list of rules to go over at home to help his classroom adjustment. We reviewed things from Kindergarten like, “look at the teacher when she’s talking”, “raise your hand if you want to say something”, “don’t say ‘I love you’ to friends”, “have a calm body while sitting at your desk”, and so on…there are probably 15 or 20 rules on our home list. We have been reviewing the list daily–several times a day–to ensure proper social interactions and classroom protocols.
So, of course, on the first day of school, his teacher starts going over the classroom rules for school…probably many of them similar to the ones we’ve been working on at home…so in her explaining of the school rules and the concept of rules to this darling group of 6 year-olds–AND in order to spur on some classroom interaction–she says to the class–something to the effect of– “These rules are like the rules you might have at home. Do any of YOU have rules in your home?”
Eager to participate, Noah enthusiastically raises his hand.
The teacher calls on him…
“What are some rules you have at home, Noah?”
He so proudly responds in that big, loud voice of his…
“DON’T SAY I LOVE YOU!”
