School has always been a nightmare for Noah. Imagine being a kid with autism and ADHD and trying to survive in a general-ed classroom of 35 students with little to no support. There were some fantastic people along the way who did their best for Noah, but with the administration limiting what supports they would give to Noah, there was little these fantastic people could do. Finally, in fourth grade, Noah got to have an aide with him for a little bit of the day (a battle I'd fought for three years), and the time she spent with Noah increased throughout the year. But it wasn't enough. Noah was falling more and more behind, getting more and more frustrated.
Then we moved and Noah found himself in a school with a different way of looking at difference: their strategy was to give students as much support as they needed from the start and help them become less dependent on those supports as they gained the skills to thrive in general education. Shocking, I know.
And so Noah started off his school year in a classroom with just five other students and staffed by a teacher and two aides. [I just heard a bunch of jaws drop. The stuff of fairy tales, right?]
Noah had a rather difficult start to the year as he tested boundaries and learned that they weren't as flexible as the boundaries he was accustomed to. After all, with thirty-something children in his previous classes, he was able to get away with not doing much at all. But here he was expected to actually work and follow the rules and be responsible.
Once he figured out the structure, he thrived. He started attending P.E., music, and art with a mainstream fifth-grade class. He won a Distinguished Dolphin award and got to eat lunch with the principal. And, now, the Star Student award . . . he's thriving.
Noah's teacher is thrilled about his progress and has arranged for Noah to start Junior Achievement with his general education peers. "I love to reward good behavior," she said, "and it is always my goal that my students rejoin their general education peers when they are ready. I think Noah is ready!"
He is ready. He's already made friends in the class he'll be mainstreaming into so there will be friendly faces to greet him when he begins Junior Achievement on Thursday. And then, as Noah is successful in general education, he'll spend more and more time with his fifth-grade class.
Five years of struggling and fighting and trying to get Noah the education he needed. Five long years of Noah living in misery. In just nine weeks, though, Noah has become a child who jumps in excitement, beaming the brightest of smiles when he gets off the bus because he had a fantastic day and feels proud of what he accomplished. Most days when I see that smile of pride I have to fight back tears--it's a smile I've always know was there and have been waiting so, so long for.
And that's another reason why moving is the best thing I've ever done.
