Continuing to Catch Up: The First Day of Kindergarten-- A Pleasant Surprise

This is long, but it was a very important milestone and goes into a lot more detail than our family blog's post about the first day of kindergarten:

One of the things that caused me the most anxiety over the past few years in regard to Maya, was anticipating the first day of kindergarten. When she was 3, I assumed she would come to my school like Shayne. When she was 4, I still hoped that she would come to my school, but had serious worries about how she would fit in with a full-sized kindergarten class (she went to preschool with 4 -6 other kids and 4-5 adults). At about this time last year, we (Maya's teachers and specialists at school and Rick and I) were starting to discuss plans for the upcoming school year (this year). No one was fully convinced that she could handle all-day kindergarten in a regular setting, but she was doing fairly well spending some time in a larger preschool class (12 kids or so) for some time each week. We knew she was up for a full evaluation that same month, so we all decided it would be best to see the results of that before making any decisions about kindergarten.

Anyway, to make a very long story short, after seeing the results of the evaluation (the autism diagnosis), we decided to go with a self-contained classroom for kindergartners on the autism spectrum. We don't provide self-contained autism programs at my school, so I thought, if we were not going to be able to bring her there anyway, we may as well have her go to her home school in Mesa. We had been extremely happy with our experience with Mesa's preschool program, so it seemed like a logical choice.

I felt torn about the decision at the time. On one hand I felt sad and disappointed that she would not be coming to school with Shayne and I as we had always planned. Shayne was sad about it too. On the other hand, I felt a slight ease in the anxiety I always felt when trying to think of being at the school I had worked at for 8 years in a professional capacity conflicting with being there as Maya's mom, which promised its own little package of issues. She usually saves her worst for me, and I could foresee all kinds of complications. I also knew she would do better with a smaller class with teachers trained to deal with students with similar struggles.

My next step was to go see what the classroom looked like and to meet the teacher. I did that last May, a few weeks before school got out. You can read about it here if you want to. It was a very positive experience overall.

Fast forward a few months to August. You know how schools have meet the teacher night? Well Maya's teacher had meet the teacher appointments. Each family came at a separate time. I thought this was really cool as kids on the spectrum aren't noted for their folksiness with new people or their flexibility with new places and situations or their positive attitude toward school for that matter...this way they could get used to the room and the teacher and not have to worry about a bunch of other kids and their families at the same time. Rick took Maya to meet the teacher because I had already met her and was going to be at work that day. He said they stayed for about an hour talking and letting Maya explore. Maya was getting excited for school. Also, Grandma had sent her a red shark backpack and a matching lunchbox, and many of you know, Maya is a huge fan of anything aquatic. I felt good about the visit.

I still had lots of worries though. As the first day of kindergarten approached, the underlying feeling of apprehension that had clouded my subconscious for almost 2 years became a chest-crushing, sleepless night kind of anxiety. The main worry? That she wouldn't get on the bus on the first day. She was going to ride the bus to kindergarten (had to in fact for me to get to work on time, and I had a brand-new boss, I needed to get to work on time). I know that the bus drivers have a basic training when they transport "special handling" kids, but I envisioned one of two things happening. Either us having to physically drag her onto the bus and strap her in kicking and screaming and hitting herself, or the bus driver not taking her like that (understandable) and us never being able to successfully get her to kindergarten without driving her there and physically carrying her in, kicking and screaming. Honestly, the best we dared to hope for was that she would strongly resist, but finally be able to be coaxed and/or bribed onto the bus, at least the first time. I would have considered that a victory.

Fortunately, none of the three of us had our first day back on the same day. I went back to work first, then Shayne started second grade about a week later, then a few weeks after that was Maya's first day. I don't think Rick or I or even Maya for that matter slept very well the night before. I had everything laid out: clothes, shoes, backpack, lunchbox, water bottle, breakfast stuff. We woke up with plenty of time. She was very cooperative about getting up early, that was a nice surprise. She is a naturally late sleeper, so we had started about a week prior, getting her up a little earlier each day so it wouldn't be too much of a shock for her. She knew she was riding the bus to kindergarten that morning, we had been talking about it a lot. She got her backpack on and walked right out to the spot where the bus was going to pick her up. Rick, Shayne and I were all with her. We got a few nice pictures. Shayne said to her, "I was nervous on my first day of kindergarten too, but once I got there, it was fun." The bus pulled up, and the driver was so friendly. He had (still has for that matter) a very kind face and way about him. He asked if she was verbal or not and if there was anything he needed to know. I told him a few things, and she got right on the bus. I could tell she was a little nervous, but more excited and feeling like a big kid than anything else. Then we waved and said goodbye, and the bus drove away.

What I felt then was very odd and is hard to describe even now. It was really the first time in her life that Maya set out to do something on her own, with new people. She went to preschool, yes, but Rick dropped her off and picked her up every day and while she was there, she was in the care of ladies who knew her very well. I know all mothers are protective, but I also know that I was/am about 5 times more protective than that with Maya. She was not verbal enough at that point to tell me about her day and I wasn't sure that she would be able to communicate her needs at school. She also had/has violent tantrums from time to time where she hits herself, which can be very scary for all involved. These were just a few of the concerns aside from the largest worry, that she wouldn't get on the bus. I had also never seen her set out on her own, and with confidence. So that day when she got on the bus, I was so happy and relieved, but I also felt like part of my body was missing.

I was nauseous all morning, and had arranged ahead of time for her teacher to shoot me a quick email at some point in the morning just to let me know how things were going. I wasn't naive enough to think that things would be going well, I don't think they really go well the first day in regular kindergarten either. I just wanted to know that she was surviving. I couldn't focus on anything but that all morning. I finally got an email that said it was a little rocky, but getting better. I was relieved, but thought, "What about tomorrow? I'm sure she won't want to get on the bus now that she knows she has to stay all day." But she did. And she still does. Some days are better than others, but even if she resists getting ready, she gets on the bus, welcomed by a kind, "Good morning Maya!" from the bus driver. He understands that she has to wait until she gets to the top step to turn around and give me a kiss and that she sits on the same seat with her backpack next to her and that she has to have her sweaters and jackets zipped up all the way. Her teacher knows she likes to sit on the green oval on the carpet every morning at calendar time, and that she likes to burrow under things when she gets upset and that her favorite book at school is Bones, a book about animal skeletons. So, did we ever expect the beginning of her kindergarten year to go as well as it did? No, we didn't, but we are so glad she has a good teacher and a nice bus driver and that things go fairly well most days.