School Update

Sorry for taking so long to post an update.  September was SO busy.  Yikes.  Sometimes I wonder how I survive it every year.  But, here it is, October, and we’re all still alive and kicking!

We’re also nicely situated in the Land of Schedule and Order.  It took a few (bumpy) weeks to get here, but finally, we’ve got a nice routine goin’ and things are settling down.  Said routine includes:

*School

*Dance lessons

*Conductive Education and physical therapy

I only have time to elaborate on one of these three activities today (I’ll write about the other two in a few days…hopefully!):

School!  

Oh, friends.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and words of encouragement over the past couple of months of transition.  School is going fabulously for Ellie.  I couldn’t have imagined it would be so great, in fact.  Ellie has a one-on-one aide and she adores her.  God shined down when He chose this particular EA (Educational Assistant) for Ellie, because they are a perfect match.

Ellie is thriving socially, and making all sorts of cute friends.  She participates in every element of kindergarten.  Even gym!

I happened to be the “Parent Helper” one afternoon and was able to witness Ellie in gym action.  It was precious!  She was right in there, kicking her ball.  Ellie’s new-found love is “duck-duck-goose”.  She lurves playing it with her classmates, especially since her EA will zip her around the circle in her stroller, once Ellie’s picked the “goose”.

As part of my afternoon at school, I read Ellie’s class a story about a boy with cerebral palsy.  The boy also used a walker and a wheelchair.  I used it as a segway into a “Q&A” time with the kids.  I asked the gang if anyone had questions about cerebral palsy or why Ellie used a walker.  It ended up being quite hilarious and confirmed the fact that I would be a terrible elementary school teacher…because I’d end up laughing ALL.THE.TIME.

The conversation went something like this:

Kid #1: “Why does Ellie have a basket on her walker?”

Me: “Because she can’t use her hands when she’s in her walker, so that helps her to carry things.”

Kid #2: “Why is her basket pink?”

Me: “Because she’s a girl and she likes pink.”

Kid #3: “I have a Barbie who has a pink dress.”

Teacher: “What is cerebral palsy?”

Me: “Good question!  Ellie was REALLY little when she was born and her lungs weren’t quite ready to breathe air.  They had to use a machine to help Ellie breathe when she was born.  When she wasn’t able to breathe, it hurt her brain.  Now, Ellie’s brain doesn’t always send the right messages to her muscles, which means it’s hard for her to walk.”

Kid #4: “My grandpa smoked a lot and his lungs turned black and he died.”

Me: “Um.  Wow.  That has nothing to do with Ellie’s story, but thanks for sharing.”

Kid #5: “My grandpa’s in jail because he had a gun and wasn’t supposed to.”

And, that effectively ended the little chit-chat.

Not only was the exchange funny, it was also heart-warming because it made me realize that while the kids knew Ellie was “special”, they didn’t really care.  To them, she’s just Ellie.  I love that.

Ellie is recognizing her letters and numbers, which is also encouraging.  We’re still figuring out the best way to compensate for her vision “issues” (though she hasn’t been officially diagnosed, I suspect she has Cortical Vision Impairment, or CVI; a visual processing disorder that would be a direct result of her brain injury).  But, she’s really improving in all academic areas, which is fantastic.

So, all in all, my girl is definitely cool enough for school!