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Privileged but petulant
Jun. 17th, 2011 12:53 pm...I really need to get in the habit of posting more often. Eep.
This morning, on the way to day camp, the Emperor and I were discussing how he'd slept, and if he dreamed at all. He said he didn't, so I replied that sometimes people sleep so hard that they either don't dream, or don't remember that they dreamed. He thought about it, then said, "Sleeping so hard you don't dream is like blowing so hard you don't get bubbles." I love his philosophical pronouncements. That one will rank up there with "Does the universe have a floor?"
Day camp has been an interesting issue. The Friday before it started a couple of weeks ago, I noticed in the fine print of the park district's 18-page document of forms (with almost every page needing a signature!) that they had ADA provisions. Balancing that against their very strict standards on behavior, I opted to tell them about the Emperor's ADHD and ASD and give them a copy of his fresh-from-school IEP. (Yes, I live in Acronym Land now.)
Monday through Thursday went fine, at least as much as they told us. Thursday afternoon I went in to pick him up, only to be guided to the director's office for a sit-down. They told me that he'd been having issues with afternoon meltdowns, and without an extra support aide for those hours, they really didn't think he was a good fit for their camp, and would I be interested in moving him to the Special Recreation camp also affiliated with the park district. They would take care of enrolling him there and moving all our fees over, and once they hired an aide, we could talk about him coming back.
I think I made it as far as the car, with the Emperor in tow, before I started snuffling.
So he's been in the Special Recreation camp for a week. It boasts a staff to kid ratio of 4:1, but judging from the numbers I've seen, it's more like 1:1. After the first day, he told me, "Mommy, I don't belong here," which just about broke my heart. It's gotten a little better since then, and aside from a few minor infractions (he will always test the rules), he's been doing well. When I asked him if he wanted to move back when the aide was hired, he answered with a definite YES, with the caveat that he wants some of the specific games he's been playing to be available as well.
I am so very lucky and privileged that we live in a large enough town to have multiple options for day camp, and especially within the same organization. I am lucky that they bent over backwards to be accommodating. I am lucky that my dad attended so many meetings at the school that we could emerge from kindergarten with this level of mandated structure and plans for his educational future.
But God, some times I wish that luck wasn't needed.
This morning, on the way to day camp, the Emperor and I were discussing how he'd slept, and if he dreamed at all. He said he didn't, so I replied that sometimes people sleep so hard that they either don't dream, or don't remember that they dreamed. He thought about it, then said, "Sleeping so hard you don't dream is like blowing so hard you don't get bubbles." I love his philosophical pronouncements. That one will rank up there with "Does the universe have a floor?"
Day camp has been an interesting issue. The Friday before it started a couple of weeks ago, I noticed in the fine print of the park district's 18-page document of forms (with almost every page needing a signature!) that they had ADA provisions. Balancing that against their very strict standards on behavior, I opted to tell them about the Emperor's ADHD and ASD and give them a copy of his fresh-from-school IEP. (Yes, I live in Acronym Land now.)
Monday through Thursday went fine, at least as much as they told us. Thursday afternoon I went in to pick him up, only to be guided to the director's office for a sit-down. They told me that he'd been having issues with afternoon meltdowns, and without an extra support aide for those hours, they really didn't think he was a good fit for their camp, and would I be interested in moving him to the Special Recreation camp also affiliated with the park district. They would take care of enrolling him there and moving all our fees over, and once they hired an aide, we could talk about him coming back.
I think I made it as far as the car, with the Emperor in tow, before I started snuffling.
So he's been in the Special Recreation camp for a week. It boasts a staff to kid ratio of 4:1, but judging from the numbers I've seen, it's more like 1:1. After the first day, he told me, "Mommy, I don't belong here," which just about broke my heart. It's gotten a little better since then, and aside from a few minor infractions (he will always test the rules), he's been doing well. When I asked him if he wanted to move back when the aide was hired, he answered with a definite YES, with the caveat that he wants some of the specific games he's been playing to be available as well.
I am so very lucky and privileged that we live in a large enough town to have multiple options for day camp, and especially within the same organization. I am lucky that they bent over backwards to be accommodating. I am lucky that my dad attended so many meetings at the school that we could emerge from kindergarten with this level of mandated structure and plans for his educational future.
But God, some times I wish that luck wasn't needed.
