Managing Autism - A Personal View

Today we came to the end of one journey, as we looked ahead to the future, and the beginning of another journey.

Jack had his final day of Kindergarten today - a day that I had been anticipating with much trepidation.  Jack first walked through the Kindergarten doors almost 3 years ago now, beginning a journey that at the time we thought would involve 2 ’straight forward’ years of early learning and preparation for school.  Jack’s Kindergarten journey stretched to it’s 3rd year very early on, when the decision was made for him to spend 2 years in the ‘Junior Kinder’ group before moving to the ‘Preschool’ year (due to his ‘needs’ in the area of social and emotional development).  And when he crossed the threshold of the Kindergarten at the beginning of this year we had no idea of the learning curve we were about to embark on, or the challenges we were about to face.

We have made mention in previous posts of our journey to diagnosis, and this journey (taking place over the last 12 months - during Jack’s 3rd year of Kindergarten) was shared very closely with the Kindergarten staff - who for much of the time took the journey with us.  Jack’s teachers shared with us the highs and the lows of a really difficult time in our lives, and they supported us with every ounce they had to give, playing such a significant part in Jack’s growth and success over the last few months - giving him the love and care that he needed to become who he is today.

So I faced today with trepidation… today was the day that we would say goodbye… today was the day that we would step out of the Kindergarten looking to the future…

A ‘Christmas Concert’ had been planned to finish the day at Kindergarten today, and along with all the other parents, I arrived with camera in hand and a very proud smile to watch the singing and dramatic performances.  Jack was a delight, coping extremely well with all the activity, and even managed to take on a special role of ‘putting the toy lions in the cave’ during a singing performance.

The Concert finished with a visit from Santa (who had gifts for the children), and with the children presenting us (the parents) with handmade gifts, paintings and photo memory books of their time at Kindergarten.  It was a really lovely moment, and best of all, Jack was happy and relaxed, and really enjoying himself.

Before I knew it, departure time was upon us, and I prepared to say goodbye… knowing that today was the day that we would step out of the Kindergarten looking to the future… a future at school, and a future with new faces and new experiences…

Brushing the tears aside, there were hugs all around, and Jack even stood still long enough for ‘goodbye’ photos.  We will hold this year of Kindergarten very dear in our hearts.  It was the year that our world was turned upside down, but it was also the year that we discovered Jack, and the year that life began to make a little more sense.

And so we look forward… with the past in our hearts forever… thank you to the wonderful staff who helped us hold it all together… Jack will miss you… and we will miss you…

Jack standing outside Kindergarten as we left for home - saying goodbye and treasuring some wonderful memories!!!

Jack sitting with Santa, having received a gift at the Kindergarten Christmas Concert.

Posted by a Tearful Mum…

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 13th, 2007 at 2:54 am and is filed under Christmas, Mum's Stuff, Personal Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.