So starting next week both boys.... yes you heard me BOTH boys are going to start the YMCA wrap around program next week.
Currently they are both in preschool, at the same school; Bman goes in the morning, Rye goes in the afternoon.
With the Y program Rye will be at school for a full day Tues, Weds, and Thurs. Bman will be at school for a full day Weds, and Thurs; we don't think he could handle more than that.
We know Rye will love it. He loves school and all his "fiends". When he first started school he would cry when I picked up him because he didn't want to leave. (*Yea I felt like an awesome mom, my kiddo would rather stay at school than come home.. ouch*)
Bman's teacher and aids say they think he will do great and love it, we so hope that he will! I spoke with the Y teacher today and they believe they can handle any behavior he might have (meltdowns, avoidance, sensory overload) but he won't be able to stay in the program if he has a high level of aggression towards the other kids...
Well that will all depend on the teachers and the other kids. Not that he isn't responsible for his behavior he is, and we have consequences, reward charts, social stories, PECS, learned scripts ect. for that. But if kids get to loud and hyper while in his personal space... he can't handle that. If they take a toy away, or push him just a little... he retaliates full force. If the teachers don't help him during unstructured play time; he could quickly spiral out of control because he doesn't know what to do.
We have talked through all of these concerns; I am sending in a bunch of tools that help him. Such as the ear phones hat, ipad, chewelry, and sensory brushes that they will put in a basket for him to access any time he needs. They are also making him a daily picture schedule so he knows what to expect for the day and it helps decrease his anxiety.
Lastly but most importantly his aids, teacher, my husband and I; are all taking him by the room to see, meet, and visit for a few minutes each day before he actually starts the program. There is no way we could just show up to a new classroom, with new people, and drop him off; he would FREAK out. So hopefully all the visiting is enough for him to warm up to the idea of being there a couple days.
It is such progress; he is fully inclusive in his classroom (with pull outs for therapy) and now he is going to try this program too! Yippee we are so excited! Oh and this mama is so nervous!!!
Here is to hoping I have thought of everything needed to help him prepare?!?!
While I wrote this I have to admit it made me stop and think... I am not doing any of this for Rye. Does he need it, am I short changing him? He is such a vibrant, social, love everybody child; I didn't stop for a moment to think about how he will react to going into a new room. I am sure he will love it; but he is little and just in case, I am gonna take him to visit a few times too; then he and I can talk about it before he goes.
Do any of your kiddos do wrap around, or after school programs? Were you nervous about them?
Sounds like you have a good handle on this. James is now 9 so all of those days are pretty much behind us. He still has anxiety in new environments. We take him into his new class a few days before school starts each year so he can find his desk, touch stuff, meet his teacher and find his "escape" area. So far it has worked really well! Next year he will be in the 4th grade and we are hoping that it will be as great an experience as 3rd grade has been.
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