High school??

Ok, so Jason will be graduating from middle school this June, which means that high school is just around the corner.  Jason has made it clear that he has no interest in leaving middle school and wants no part of high school.  Of course, this is the same kid that, three years ago, swore he would not go to middle school and wanted to stay in elementary school forever.  Needless to say, we're not worried about that part.  There were plenty of other parts that we were concerned about. though.

We were told by several people that we should send Jason to one of the high schools in Coral Springs, rather than the one here in Sunrise.  They were praising the autism program at the school, and pushing that the school in Sunrise didn't have a comparable program.  Due to his condition, we did have the option of requesting that he go to the other school, rather than the one he would normally be assigned to.  We decided to request a meeting at the school to check it out.

When we went to the meeting, we brought Jason along.  Our thinking was to let the people in the program get a look at him, and also let him get a look at the school.  The hope was that he would lose some of his fear if he went there with us.  Then it would be easier to tell him about going there next year with something in his memory to reference to when talking about it.  We sat in the director's office, with Jason busy on his iPod.  The director asked if Jason also had an iPad, which we said yes.  She said that was great, because they use iPads extensively in the classroom, with various apps designed especially for autism.  She even showed us a special charger they had that could charge up to 20 iPads simultaneously.

The program basically goes like this: they can keep him in school until he's 22 (8 years).  The first four years would be using an academic curriculum designed specifically for him.  This would be done using an IEP (individual education plan).  He would have specific goals for the year in different areas of his school work.  Each quarter, we would review how well he's progressing towards reaching his goals and what can be done to help him reach those goals, or evaluate if the goals need to be changed to something more realistic.  This is something that was already being done in elementary and middle school, it's just a continuation of what we are already doing.  His teachers and therapists put together the IEP, with input from us as well.  Once he turns 18, the next four years would focus on teaching the basics of living independently.  For example, one of the classrooms has been converted into an apartment.  This room is used to show them how to clean their house, do laundry, use their computer to send emails and balance their checkbook, among other things.  There is another classroom that has been converted into a supermarket.  They learn how to shop for food, check expiration dates, pick fruits and vegetables, pay at the cashier and take care of your money in public.  They are also placed in actual jobs, making a real paycheck, working at places like Publix, Olive Garden, etc.  They are taught how to behave at work, how to keep track of their work schedule, etc.  We were told that we would be surprised how many kids had to be shown how to take advantage of breaks to go to the bathroom or eat lunch, because they are so used to doing those things at a specific time and if the break didn't happen during those times, they wouldn't do them, just to then ask to do it shortly after coming off of break. 

As many of you know, Jason swims on the City swim team.  This high school also has a swim team, which features two kids with autism already on the team!  The swim coach for the school happens to be one of the teachers in the autism program, so she is very accustomed to dealing with swimmers like Jason.  He got to meet her during our visit, and she was very happy to find out that he already swam for the city.  We got to sit in one of the classrooms for a bit and see what a typical day is like.  Overall, we were very impressed with the school in general and the program specifically.  Of course, Jason's favorite part was finding out that the cafeteria had vending machines with chocolate candy and ice cream.  Visions of M&M's started dancing in his head.

I don't know if any of us is truly ready for the journey into high school, but it's coming whether we like it or not.  I do feel better, having been to the school, although there will always be nerves where high school is concerned.  We did the paperwork to have him sent there, now it's just the waiting game to find out if he's in or not.  We were given assurances that it would not be a problem, but until I have the official paperwork in my hand, I'll be on pins and needles.