Everything about today was off-putting; I was informed I owe two different bills to Cheyanne's therapist totaling a little over $700, the store right next to my work was robbed at gun point while I was at work, and once again I've been let down by Cheyanne's school. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the robbery and the bill I owe should be covered by insurance once I get all the paperwork in.
It's only the second week of first grade and Cheyanne has already been picked on by a few kids. If you know me at all, you know I'm not one of those mothers who believes there child is an angel and has never done anything wrong to anyone else... so I'm not pointing the blame completely on the other kids. However, kids can be ugly to others with disabilities whether it's severe or not. So, like any mother would I want to do whatever I can to shield her from pain. I found a few children's books online that discuss the topic of autism, obviously it doesn't go into great detail about autism but it brings awareness to children that everyones different and that's okay. I e-mailed her teacher and asked if she would allow me 15-20 minutes of her class to read one or two of the books. I have realistic expectations... I don't expect every child to understand nor to even listen, but if just one child were to listen, to understand, to show compassion to another child that was 'differen't' from them... then it would be worth it. What if that one child were to become best friends with Cheyanne?
Her teacher seemed to be onboard and asked me to send the books to school with her and we'd set up a conference to discuss all the details. It was such a relief to get that response. Then, today I received an e-mail saying she had shown the books to the principal and she said they weren't age appropriate. I'm not even sure how many times I have opened my inbox to re-read that e-mail to hopefully have misread it. I've tried looking at it from a different perspective but I can't possibly understand how this can be viewed as something inappropriate. I'm not expecting to go into her class room and have a lecture about autism, I'm reading a children's book... and bringing puzzle shaped cookies. Who doesn't like cookies?! I've been on amazon and the age level for one of the books is Kindergarten and above, all the reviews raved about how it's a great learning tool in a classroom. It only leaves me to believe it's personal, the beginning of Kindergarten last year started out rough. I've given the school a second chance... but I think they may be on their second strike soon.
Today has been a complete let down, hopefully once I get to speak to the principal face to face and express my concerns I can change her mind.
