No talking in Class!!!!

Remember when you were little and you couldn't wait for school to start? Well I loved school for a long time, practically through high school but for different reasons by that point. I was so shy in kindergarten my teacher couldn't get me to talk for nearly 6 months. But once she got me talking, I wouldn't shut up! Ethan started kindergarten yesterday, and even though he has been going to "school" since around 20 months old he was still so excited about his first day as a big kid going to a big kid class! Ethan has had special education since 20 months because he was not talking, AT ALL. He maybe knew five words and I was worried at his 18 month appointment. I took him in and asked the pediatrician and he recommended the early intervention program through the public schools. We got him in the program and he was diagnosed with a communication disorder and speech delay. He was also always lining toys up, cars, blocks, etc. not playing with them, just lining them up in perfectly straight lines, this continued until he was probably close to 3. He went to school 2 or 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours, his teacher came out to the house for an hour a week, he had speech therapy, etc. Ethan was talking a lot by the time his 3rd birthday came around and also seemed to have "woken up", almost like he was coming out of his own little world, not all the time but more often. He still had trouble with talking, not using his language skills basically and not making any eye contact. However he was talking more and more and then surprised me one day by showing me(just after his 3rd birthday) that he could read! not just guessing but actually reading! I would cover the picture on the flashcards he had, not letting him see it at all, only the word, and he could tell me what it said! Over and over he did this and I mixed them up several times. But this same little boy wasn't potty-trained till just before his 4th birthday, and you may think it was because I was lazy or not willing to work with him but he honestly wasn't ready, couldn't tell you when he went. I was starting to worry when one day he came to me and told me he needed changed and I started having him go potty that day. Within 3 weeks he was fully potty trained even at night! It was 1 week before he turned 4. This last year Ethan has totally changed, he is so aware of everything and in tune with the world around him, not in his own world anymore at all. He reads small chapter books, like level 2 or 3 of the I Can Read series. He even uses his imagination in his play now, he just started this over the summer. This past June (after we had moved home and never got him in preschool till April) we had his IEP meeting and he has been given the diagnosis of a Student with Autism. I was worried at the beginning of the summer if he would truly be ready for kindergarten this year. So much has changed though, he has just totally shocked me with everything he can do now and is aware of. I am still nervous for him, I'm not sure if he will "fit in" because he looks at things differently and thinks about things differently. I want him to be able to make friends. But I don't ever want him to change.

Yesterday was hectic. We were supposed to wait for the bus starting at 12:20pm and we were outside waiting and waiting and waiting! We sat there for 33 minutes, yes I timed it. Ethan was getting upset, he thought they forgot about him. It was so hot yesterday and we were sitting on the front steps in the sun watching for the bus and Alex was sitting there too. I have to take Alex in to the pediatrician. I have noticed this summer that when it's hot and he is running around he gets flushed very easily and stays red. of course I figured its because hes getting overheated from running around. Well yesterday he was sitting still(which is huge shock, LOL) and he was still turning beat red, and sweating. I think he has a problem with heat or the sun or something. The bus didn't show up and I drove Ethan to school and waited with his teacher and class until the bus that was supposed to pick him up came and dropped the last of the kids off. They were 30 minutes late the first day of school! But all in all he had a great day and made a friend with his 5th grade bus buddy. As I stood there with Alex watching Ethan and the other kids in his class, I couldn't help but wonder which little boy(or girl) would end up being his "best" friend. Hopefully he will make tons of friends (a mom can only hope!) but I will be happy for him if he makes just one. He loves playing with other kids and talking to them now. Hm, sounds like mom, wouldn't talk, now he wont shut up!

PS Ethan brought home his first smiley face, the first day!!! That means he had a good day, listened, followed directions and the classroom rules and was nice to everybody.