Monday, August 17, 2009

Haiden's First Day of Kindergarten

One very proud Daddy!


I can't believe my baby is in Kindergarten. Where has the time gone?


Ella really wanted to be in the pictures. Haiden is such a good big brother.



Ready for the first day of Kindergarten!




Haiden started Kindergarten today! We are very fortunate to live in Brownsburg because of there school corporation. Brownsburg is the only public school in the state that has a program for kids on the spectrum. Maria West, Haiden's teacher, runs the Bridge program. She is amazing! The program is very abstract and works towards meeting the goals of each individual. They have social skills lessons each morning and use a lot of hands on, visual learning. Haiden is starting out in a separate classroom, which I still have mixed emotions about, but he will gradually be placed into the general education Kindergarten class. He was exhausted after his first day. It didn't help that he was at his dad's this weekend and didn't get much sleep. Now that he is home I know he will get the proper rest and his needs will be met. It amazes me how far Haiden has come. Just two years ago Haiden couldn't communicate appropriately, he couldn't transition without a meltdown, he played with the same toy over and over, he didn't really want to interact with peers, he had trouble with his fine motor skills, and his sensory issues were still a huge problem. Now he doesn't stop talking and we have appropriate conversations, he transitions without a problem, he plays with a variety of toys, he loves to play with other kids, he can write his name, draw, and cut with scissors, and he has learned how to handle his sensory issues! Biomedical treatment, therapy, and developmental preschool has saved our son and given him a chance to be a normal little boy!

3 comments:

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  2. Hi - I am curious about your statement, "Brownsburg is the only public school in the state that has a program for kids on the spectrum."

    We live in Johnson County and my son goes to public school. He is in a classroom full of children on the spectrum who, like himself, all had to test into in order to gain admission to the class. So I suppose where my curiosity lies is whether there is a specific program your school offers that you are referring to that ONLY Brownsburg offers.....or if they are misinforming parents that they are the only school offering a program for children on the spectrum.

    By the way, I don't mean to sound offensive or contradictory - honestly, I am just trying to clarify.

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  3. About a year ago we were wanting to move back to Southern Indiana but wanted to find a school that had programming for Haiden. I talked with our neuropsychologist, Bryan Hudson, about schools in the area that have the same program as Brownsburg. He stated that Brownsburg was the only public school in the state that had the program. Brownsburg Schools never stated this themselves. The program is called the Bridge progrsm and it is very complex. Depending on your child depends on what they do. In Brownsburg most students go to Kindergarten 3 days a week. With the Bridge program Haiden goes all day everyday. He is slowly being put into the general education class. Eventually he will go to the Gen. Ed. Kindgergarten class 3 days a week and the Bridge program the other 2 days. On the Bridge days he will work mainly on social skills, writing, and cmprehension since these are his weaknesses. Hope that clarifies!

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