When I went to the ALPA conference in May, some of the parents brought up the transition into school and how that all works. Connor has had a wonderful year at Gilmore with his amazing teacher Miss T. and his educational assistant. But the process for the start of this past year was time consuming, emotionally draining and hugely overwhelming. It started last January while I was off on Maternity leave with Arwyn. We had a meeting with his "supported childcare development worker" and everyone else that was involved in Connor's life at that time ( Daycare Provider, Speech Therapist, Physio, OT). We came up with a 25 page document of all of Connor's strengths, challenges, medical history, concerns, family goals, personal goals, each therapist had input to their specific concerns or ideas. I was then given a few more documents to fill out, such as adaptations that would need to be done, concerns about safety, concerns about accessibility. I had to provide supporting documentation from doctors and health care professionals. Each therapist wrote a final report to be passed along to the school district therapists. I provided a one sheet "all about me" about Connor ( and included a picture). This document was a key part of the transition file. I photocopied 50 copies and stapled 50 Understanding Dwarfism cards to each one for each teacher and educational assistant in the school. In June of last year, we met at with the learning services staff at Gilmore and had yet another meeting about Connor. It was at that meeting that the school OT and our OT met and looked all the accessibility issues for Connor. At the end of June, Connor, John and I met with 8 men from the school district works department. They went into every bathroom and every room Connor would be using. We brought in the adapted things we had from home and the adapted school chair that we had given to us. They had Connor stand on things, measuring and recording. They planned and discussed how things would best be done for him. It was an amazing experience and I cried as I saw all of these people there to make sure that Connor would be safe and feel just like the others kids. The list they made was extensive, detailed and they accomplished it all. It was all ready for Connor is September. The school district said that they had never seen such a complete (large) supportive file submitted. We (everyone involved in Connor's life) made sure that my son would get all the things that would make sure he had an amazing transition into the school system.
It was a personal choice for John and me, not to go in and speak to the class about Connor's differences ( some families choose to do this and have seen great benefit from it). We chose to let Connor define who he was and his place at the school. It has worked for us and we are happy with the choice we made. That being said, who knows if we might not have to go in at some point depending on the make up of the class. Connor has made some fast friends and enjoys playing hockey at lunch and recess. He's working on being more independent in the washroom and we hope to focus on that this summer. He's super excited about grade 1 and I can't wait to see what next year will bring.
It was a personal choice for John and me, not to go in and speak to the class about Connor's differences ( some families choose to do this and have seen great benefit from it). We chose to let Connor define who he was and his place at the school. It has worked for us and we are happy with the choice we made. That being said, who knows if we might not have to go in at some point depending on the make up of the class. Connor has made some fast friends and enjoys playing hockey at lunch and recess. He's working on being more independent in the washroom and we hope to focus on that this summer. He's super excited about grade 1 and I can't wait to see what next year will bring.
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