Question about SB children and school

[Bigwilli]

My daughter Zoe will start school next year and I was just wanting to hear some of your experiences when your child 1st attended school. What were some of the challenges? Were other children open to interact and look beyond your childs condition? Did your child thrive or draw back from social interaction?

This will be the next phase for me and my wife so kinda treading uncharted waters. :help:

[NerdaliciouS]

My first few years of school were actually really, REALLY good. All the kids accepted it, I had soooooo many friends, lol. And I loved it! I won't lie, though. Some kids do and WILL tease. It gets worse the older you get. But those first few years? K-4? Sometimes even 5-6 too. Those're probably the best years of schooling. I also don't think I had many challenges. Nothing major anyway, but I kind of have minimum things wrong when it comes to sb. I had an issue at first with the washroom because they wouldn't let me go, but eventually let me go when I needed - WITHOUT ASKING! And sometimes P.E. teachers get annoying. But when something was too rough for me, I never had to do it. All you really need to do is talk to them. I was lucky and those years I had really amazing teachers. But yep! Kids are more accepting at a younger age!:)

[LillyPie]

What grade will your child be going into? Public school? Do you have and IEP?
Lilly was in pre-school last year and she did really well with the other kids, and will be going to regular kindergarten next year.

[nyd]

I started Primary 1 (grade 1) in 1990. Even though those born in 1984 were the ones considered "right" for grade 1 during that time, my school had a lot of flexibility. My classmates' birthdates ranged from mid 1983-early 1985. Being among the younger ones (I was born on the first day of 1985), I was more immature than most. I had 2 accidents that year, luckily neither were bowel. One time when I suffered from diarrhoea (but made it to the toilet), I did a poor job wiping. I got all the dirty stuff on my fingers, nails and hands. To top it off, there were no soaps in the toilets so I had to continue the day with smelly hands. So I suggest your child to master wiping and what to do when accidents happen prior to starting school.

During the first semester in grade 1, I got along with my 5 yr old classmates but didn't get along with the 7 yr olds. A good number of the 7 yr olds saw me (and other 5 yr olds) as babies who didn't deserve to be grade 1. However, I was really content with the few close friends I had :)
I completed grade 1 with flying colours, gaining respect from my older classmates. By grade 2, those older condescending girls had totally forgotten about my accidents and befriended me. A lot of them shared food, sweets, stickers with me as I was usually nice enough to let them copy my homework. I had the same group of classmates through grade 6, and I consider each and every one a friend. When I had a urinary accident at the end of a national exam in grade 6, the girls around me were helping to cover up.

[LisaJoy]

Will she be in preschool/head start? Make sure she has an IEP. (Individualized Educational Program for those of you outside the US -- it is the key document in getting accommodations for children with disabilities).

[Nataly]

Oh my gosh NYD, girls in my grade back then would of never done that!, they must of been really nice :).

[nyd]

Oh my gosh NYD, girls in my grade back then would of never done that!, they must of been really nice :).

I consider myself lucky that the girl who sat beside me happened to be my close friend and the 2 girls behind me were my good friends.

Right when my classmates started submitting their exam papers, I went out through the back door (which was right behind me). My friend submitted my exam paper and handed a small note to the proctor (a teacher from another school), informing her that I suddenly started a heavy period and had to run to the WC. My friend then got a spare skirt from the clinic and brought it to my toilet unit. According to those 3 girls around me, the rest of my classmates never found out because they were too preoccupied with sneaking left and right at others' exam papers, even after time was officially over.

That proctor was a god send. She took the note subtly and didn't even ask any questions. It was hard to believe that she was also reading a newspaper while proctoring the exam! :26aa:

I hope that sharing this experience will help others in classroom accident situations.

[lsanchez]

I cant help you here, but I will be going through the same situation next year!
TIme flies by so quick I remember reading your post when you were pregnant.. :) Looking forward to see these answers

[bcain]

Sarah didn't qualify for a program through the school district. She did however, qualify for OT and PT twice a week. (She's transitioning out of EI) I'm learning as I go.

I'm planning on cathing before and right after school, it's only 2hrs. Sarah has no playfriends, so she is excited about going. We are doing the bowel program already, that keeps her clean all day. I use TENA, or Poise pads in her panties to keep her dry. I'm nervous too....Sarah gets knocked off balance very easily. She tires easily. I'm going on ....but oh she's the tender age of 2 1/2.

[LillyPie]

Bcain,
Those were my same worries! Lilly was the same way, her mobility was and still is unstable. I still worry about it sometimes but I dont worry like I did before she started school. Before she started I was afraid that other kids would knock her down or that the teachers wouldnt keep a close enough eye on her, especially at recess. It's that letting go of the reigns feeling that I hate!!! It'll be okay, you will see. One thing I learned is that Lilly really isnt as "breakable" as I once thought and that she does have a good idea about what she can and cannot do on the playground. I have to trust her, I have no other choice.

[Brittanys_Parents]

Brittany has adored score since Pre-K. She just started 2nd grade. As I mentioned in a previous post, we insisted in a regular classroom. We were a little nervous too, however.
Boy, were we wrong! She has been a striaght A student and so far each year, her classmates and teachers love her.
We were lucky enough this year, to get her in a state funded private school. The school nurse is fantastic. She has already began teaching her to cath herself.
The biggest lesson for us was to stop worrying about the fears on what she can or cannot do, and for others to stop worrying and let her be herself. She knows her limitations.

[dahliafaolan]

Well I don't have a child, but I can tell you my experiences from what I remember.

From what my mom tells me, she started me in a special school when I was about 6 months for PT and OT and I stayed at that school until I was 3 years old. Then I was transferred to a public school into a special ed pre-k class. Now I didn't need special education for my learning. It was just that the 504 law hadn't gone into effect yet and all kids with physical problems in our area were kept in special education if they were allowed to go to public school at all. But I was lucky to be sent to a school that was pretty used to taking care of kids with physical problems. The pre-k class had at least three aides that I can remember and a nurse that took care of my cathing needs.

Then for 1st grade, I was sent to a regular education class at the same school. It was a bit of a culture shock to say the least. I went from being one of the most active, verbal, and intelligent kids in the class to being the only kid in a chair in the class, but I adjusted easily and I always had a nurse to take care of my cathing needs while I was at that school.

The trouble was when I moved to the next school. The mitrofanoff wasn't available yet in our area and my balance was so terrible that self cathing on a toilet was a joke. To top things off, they wouldn't provide me a nurse to help me cath so Mom had to come to school every day to help me. That school also fought us tooth and nail to put sidewalks between the buildings so I wouldn't have to push through mud to get to class (And I live in South Louisiana so it's always muddy at the beginning and end of the school year). They even fought not to put me in a talented and gifted class because of my disability. (A kid in a wheelchair couldn't possibly be smart too!)

The next school was a little better on most of the accessibility issues. I got to use the teachers' bathroom to cath. (By then I had gotten the mitrofanoff, thank goodness). But that was also the beginning of the teasing. Strangely enough, I can only remember one person who ever teased me about my chair and after I told his teacher what he had done, I never saw the boy again until we moved to the next school. Weirdly enough, the teasing I got in junior high was all about my choice of friends and clothing. (I was goth when it wasn't cool to be goth)

High school was better for the teasing, but the accessibility issues started rearing their ugly heads again. By junior year, the new two story building had been finished and most of the upper level classes were on the second floor. Which wasn't a problem as long as the elevator was working, which it didn't half of the time. I spent most of my junior year downstairs in the guidance counselor's office doing my classwork because the elevator had broken down AGAIN! They offered to move the classes downstairs for me, but I refused because I knew if they did that, they would never fix the elevator.