What a Week!

With Tisha B'Av behind us, things are about to get moving, full speed ahead!
I fasted pretty well. Didn't do any exerting activities, besides breaking up fights and comforting a shrieking child for half an hour straight.

So! Tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning I take Adi for an evaluation at our local special ed school.
In the afternoon I am taking the boys to the dentist. Yipes!

The next day I will take Gedalya to the doctor to remove his stitches! Hooray! And then it will be Friday. WOW. I would love to fill up the pool and let the kids swim at least a couple of times this week, but I don't know if it would be possible.

So about Adi's school.
(I won't post the name for all the world to see, but if someone is curious, you can email me.) I'm going to pack up Adi's backpack with all the documents that I need, and a little lunch for her. If she will be still in the school during lunch, I'd ask the teachers if she can join the kids, to familiarize her with the way school works.

Now school is a hot topic here at our house. I don't know what I'm doing with Adi this fall. She will turn three in October (WHAT!? No way!) and she can only have Early Intervention (therapy at home) till three. Which means that she needs to go to school this September. But I don't feel that she is ready.

We have some other options. We can still continue to have Early Intervention services until the end of the calendar year in which Adi turns three.  Which means we are eligible until December 31st of this year. But what to do come January 1st?

The school we chose might  have a slot for her to come in in January. Or they might not. In that case, we will have to wait till the following September, 13 months from now, to put her in school. That means she will not have any therapy for eight months, January till September.

I might be able to get center-based therapy for her from the Board of Education, but they give too little. She will have only a couple of sessions a week, as opposed to the ten she has now. So what should I do?

I know starting school will be a disaster no matter when we take the plunge. Adi can not handle changes. She has epic meltdowns just from things like waking up from her nap in the stroller and finding herself in a different spot than where she was last awake. When we moved to this house, she screamed nonstop for weeks. It took her over a month to fully adjust. Do I want her to be an emotional wreck all through Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, and her birthday?

But then again, when we had the monster blizzard this past winter and no therapists we able to come for over a week, Adi was also a mess. She fussed all day long and sat by the stairs to wait for the therapists. Any time someone rang our bell, she'd run with excitement. And when it turned out not to be a therapist, she'd dissolve into tears. Will this be our fate if we wait to send her to school?

My gut feeling is to wait, but another voice says to send. We are starting the evaluation process a little late, so we might not even be accepted by the beginning of the school year. Oy, the decisions! When I signed up to be a mother of a special needs kid, I didn't really think about all these details. 

Whatever it is. I did buy her an adorable velvet backpack with a little plush frog on it. She loves frogs. She loves all animals, but cats and frogs are special to her. I'll take and post photos! Even though it's not officially "going to school," Adi's going to school tomorrow. A big milestone!