Tag: ABA

  • Back to School

    Baguette is four. Today she started her second year in a 3-year-old room at her day care.

    In fact, she’s been in a 3-year-old room for close to 18 months already, because she moved into that group just before her third birthday. So why are we keeping her there?

    Because it’s the best solution for her, although we didn’t arrive at that in a straightforward way. If it weren’t for a screwup on my part, she’d be in pre-K today. But that wouldn’t be the best solution. It was a fortuitous screwup.

    Baguette’s day care has a re-enrollment system. Each year, in the spring, you pay a fee and file some forms to indicate that your child will be coming back in the fall. (My friends with children in similar centers find this surprising, but it’s how Baguette’s center does it. And, yes, I do think it’s weird considering that we paid a deposit up front when we first enrolled her four years ago, to cover her last month, but that’s how the center does it. Fine.)

    The director sent out the re-enrollment information, and I submitted the form and paid the fee. Later, she sent out a reminder, and I thought, “Should I confirm that I submitted everything? No, I know that I did.”

    Except I was wrong. I hadn’t sent them in. We learned this in June, when the director emailed me to ask if Baguette would be coming back in the fall, because there was no re-enrollment form for her. Oh, and all of the pre-K classes were filled, but we could be first on the waiting list.

    Cue discussion of how we’ve been there for four years; how we’d paid for a year of Friday pizza at the school fundraiser in the spring, and maybe that indicated an interest; and how the policy really makes no sense to begin with; and so forth.

    Also, cue panic. I sent off inquiries to a number of other day care centers, one of which we later toured. Mr. Sandwich and I each sent emails to the director to get clarification on our options. Finally–maybe a day later, but it felt longer–the three of us had a conference call.

    The director offered us a solution: One of the existing 3-year-old classes was very large, and was being split into two. While pre-K did not have any open spots, one of the new 3-year-old classes had room. Baguette already knows the teacher, who gets her and who she loves. The class, while still for a 3-year-old bracket, is a little more academic than the developmental class she’s been in for the past year and a half. So she’ll get new experiences and challenges, but in a more comfortable and familiar environment.

    Pre-K would not be as good a fit for her this year. The thing that stands out for me is that the children are required to sit still at a table and work in workbooks for 30 minutes at a time. And each week, they have homework.

    I don’t think 4-year-olds should do that, period. That’s not how they learn, and that’s not how they should be taught. But I really don’t want to ask that of Baguette. She loves to learn new things, and she has an amazing memory. She’s much better at listening and following instructions than she used to be. She should not be asked to sit still for that long so that she can complete worksheets.

    I also don’t think that they should be doing homework. At this age, they should be learning through play, and they should also just be playing. In Baguette’s case, she gets 10 hours of ABA at home each week–on top of the 15 hours per week she’s getting in the classroom. That’s enough homework. She’s doing enough.

    If I’d turned in that re-enrollment form when I meant to, she’d be in a pre-K classroom right now. And that would be wrong for her.

    I want my girl to be confident, to be capable, and to have the skills she’ll need to succeed in whatever way she chooses. She doesn’t need to be doing worksheets and homework this year in order to accomplish that.

    Next fall, she’ll be 5. She’ll be old enough for kindergarten. Will we have her go into pre-K instead? I don’t know. We’ll figure that out over the next year. And we’ll decide based on what seems best for her at that point. I have the feeling that this is going to be a big year for her. Without worksheets.

  • My Balance, Revisited (Again)

    balance scale

    I want to blog, but it’s so hard. So. Hard.

    Time is fleeting, and filled up. Here’s what my balance looks like, for the past two weeks and the foreseeable future.

    5:00 Alarm goes off. Hit snooze button.
    5:09 Hit snooze button again. 
    5:17 Get out of bed before the alarm goes off again. Wash face, brush teeth, etc. Open dog door. Unload dishwasher and dish rack. Wash remaining dishes. If Baguette needs to take lunch to daycare, pre-heat thermos.
    5:35 Finish morning ablutions.
    5:45 Sit with Baguette so that Mr. Sandwich can get up and get ready for work. Catch up on Facebook and blogs in RSS reader. Check weather for day.
    6:10 Get up and assemble Baguette’s breakfast, snacks, water bottle, and lunch (unless it’s one of the days for which we’ve pre-paid for hot lunch). Put ABA binder in bag (if it’s Monday, put sheets and blanket in bag). Assemble my breakfast and lunch, if I got them prepared the night before
    6:30 Get dressed. Put insert in toilet seat for Baguette.
    6:45 Take Baguette’s pre-selected clothes and stage them for getting her dressed. Choose different clothes if weather forecast has changed from night before.
    6:55 Wake up Baguette. Comb her hair. Sit with her in bathroom. Get her dressed.
    7:10 Leave for daycare. Take Baguette to her classroom and set out her breakfast and water. Drop off ABA binder, bag, jacket, and any other items needed for the day.
    7:17 Drive to bus stop or to work, depending on whether I’m actually on schedule.
    8:20 Arrive at office building. Buy breakfast or parts thereof, depending on what I brought.
    8:30 Turn on computer and check email. Touch base with Mr. Sandwich, to let him know how Baguette’s morning went. Work.
    4:30 Leave work.
    6:00 Arrive home. Evening ABA session starts. Prep dinner. Participate in ABA.
    7:00 Eat dinner. Participate in ABA. Check calendar to see if Baguette has hot lunch at school. Check weather for next day. Lay out my clothes for next day. Lay out Baguette’s pajamas.
    8:00 Sign ABA provider’s timesheet. Give Baguette her bath.
    8:15 Get Baguette out of bath and get her dressed for bed. Take Wicket outside one last time. Close dog door for the night. Feed Wicket.
    8:25 Load dishwasher. Wash other dishes and put in dish rack. Play with Baguette. Check Facebook.
    9:00 Go to bed. Read to Baguette. Hope she falls asleep by 9:30. Go to sleep ASAP after that. 

    The big difference from my balance in 2011 and 2012 is ABA. It’s a big difference.

    And this isn’t just my balance. Mr. Sandwich’s day is not identical to this, but looks very similar. With a lot more laundry.

    Photo by winnifredxoxo, via Flickr. Creative Commons.

  • Don’t Panic, It’s Just Autism

    So as I’ve discussed, Baguette has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We’ve been trying to navigate the process of working with the local school district, insurance, and a psychological agency to get her the services that she needs.

    This is taking much longer than I think it should.

    Part of this is because we are overwhelmed by it. There is always more paperwork–we still haven’t finished the intake form for the regional center. There are so many different service providers. And there is insurance.

    The agency did an evaluation in September. We had all hoped that they would be able to start treatment this month. But the insurance authorization just came through this week. Thanks, insurance.

    And in case that isn’t enough fun, keep in mind that we will have to change insurance companies in January, because our employer is going to stop offering our current plan. (This is not an Affordable Care Act thing. This is the routine “we’ll no longer offer that plan” thing. It’s irritating, no matter why it’s happening.) Will we have to go through authorization again? I suspect so. Will Baguette’s care be interrupted? I freaking hope not.

    Authorization also means that we will be changing the kind of support we’ve been providing in Baguette’s classroom. For most of the past year, she’s had a “shadow” who gives her help in the classroom for part of the day. This is not covered by insurance. But when we start Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA), there shouldn’t be a need for the shadow. Which will mean that we will be spending less on this–although we will still have co-pays for ABA–but also means that we will have to tell someone who’s been doing exactly what we asked her to that her services are no longer needed.

    All of us, including the shadow, knew that this day would come, and indeed that it was a goal. That doesn’t make it easier.

    And it looks like part of the ABA will take place at preschool, and part will take place at our home, on a mix of evenings and the weekend. So I’ll need to figure out how to modify my work schedule, which offers a variety of challenges as well. I am particularly anxious about this.

    It’s a lot. And it’s not going to be easy. But the idea is that it will help Baguette, and that makes it worthwhile.

    I just think “worthwhile” should come with less paperwork.