Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Bragging about my kids

Got the report cards today from the Day School. Sofia's was sweet. She's only there a few hours, so it was mostly narrative about how well she did. Micah's narrative was possibly the funniest report card I've ever read. She really managed to capture his essence.

Sam's was the best. Algebra 96% A, Science 95.6% A, Humanities 94% A. Excellent or Good in just about everything. I am SO PROUD!

Today I had a fun morning with Sofia. After we dropped Micah at camp, we headed toward my hairdresser. We were early, so we stopped at Starbucks. That one has counter seating right by where the baristas work. It was like dinner and a show for Sofia. Plus it was on tall stools, which is fun.

Then I looked over and noticed she was filing her nails. With a coffee stirrer:
Then we went to the hairdresser. Sofia kept a careful eye on my while I got my hair washed, and then she sat in the washing chair the whole time I was getting my cut. And wouldn't get out until she got her hair washed:
And then she sat under the dryer:
And said "One More Picture, Mommy":

 We finished the morning with a quick bike ride:
She's getting pretty good! It's only been a few days, but she's more able to steer, and her pedaling stamina is getting better.

So I had an interesting moment later in the afternoon. After I dropped her at MonkeyGym camp, I had to swing by the camp she'll be going to next week to drop off her med form.

When I got there, the kids from this week were getting ready to get into the water. The camp is on a lake, and the camp has a great ramp for wheelchairs. (And Sofia is looking forward to swimming "in the ocean").

A lot of the kids at the camp are in wheelchairs. A lot. Way more than I had expected. So I mentioned to the nurse that they should keep an eye on Sofia because she'll be very distracted by the chairs. One of her classmates was in a wheelchair this year, and Sofia was often obsessed with it.

And the nurse said they are going on a field trip next week, so could I send in her wheelchair? Which we don't have yet. So I have to see if she still fits into her stroller. Or they'll just take it slowly.

Which makes me wonder...a whole bunch of things...

1. Should I be pursuing this wheelchair? Her Physical Therapist gave me push-back because in general she really does not need it. She only needs it when  we go on vacation...when David takes us on his "forced marches". And since he's not going to change his style, this is my way of coping, to get her a chair so we can all keep up.

2. Is this camp going to be the right place for her? Am I doing her a disservice by putting her there? Am I taunting, being mean, to the kids there? She's so in-the-middle. She's not "typical", but she's not so "special". She's strong and active and interested and engaged. Except when she's not. (Which probably answers my question, it IS a great camp for her). But watching all the kids in chairs, I worry that seeing Sofia will make them feel bad.

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the other kids at camp is W, whose mom used to burst into tears every time she saw Sofia when the kids were in Early Intervention together. What if I get that same reaction from other families? What if Sofia makes everyone feel bad?

Wow, talk about stress! I'm a little nuts tonight, right?

Ok. I'm watching "Heroes" on Netflix. On Season 2 now. Love Netflix. Enjoying "Heroes" most of the time.




2 comments:

DandG said...

Does it feel strange to be looking at the inclusion question with Sofia from the other side? Does Sofia feel bad about (not) keeping up with other kids at school? Are you worried about the other kids feeling bad, or about the other parents feeling bad....? Are those questions even relevant, or should you just make sure the program is good for Sofia and let the other parents make those judgment calls on behalf of their kids?

FBF Rothkopf said...

All great questions. Answer is Yes to all.

It does feel weird to think about Sofia as the "other side" of inclusion. But it feels right, too. She is SO capable of so many things. I'm still taken aback when I think of her as needing more help, because she's just so strong.

Sofia does not feel bad about anything. She just IS, and if someone can't keep to her pace, fast or slow, that's their problem, not hers. She is so far blissfully unaware of inclusion issues. She is very popular, and when her friends don't want to play with her, so is perfectly happy to play by herself or find someone else to play with. So that's not a problem.

I AM worried about the other kids feeling bad, and slightly less worried about the other parents. At the age of these kids (I think kindergarten through high school), if the parents haven't come to grips, I can't spend my time apologizing for my own child. But making the other kids feel bad, as they see Sofia run and jump at "their" camp, is on my mind.

And all in all, the program IS good for Sofia. She doesn't have most of the physical issues, but she certainly has her own behavioral challenges. So if they keep her busy and challenged and communicating and happy, and give me some time to get my own work done, then "beseder" ("that's in order" in Hebrew").