We went in for Dutch's parent/teacher conference last week. It was full of surprises! Almost without exception Dutch has improved enormously in everything since school started. He's more social, more engaged, paying more attention, listening better, and - the best of all! - he now has "normal" speech for his age. I was so surprised when his teacher and speech language pathologist told us that!
The last few months his language has just exploded, but I hadn't realized it had gotten THAT good. He's used words like "catastrophe" and "ruckus" and keeps surprising us with how much he's willing to say. There are still times when I can't understand a word, but those are few and far between.
To put this in perspective: Last year on Dutch's first day of pre-school I asked him what he did at school today and he responded, "I played with toys." I cried because that was the most he had ever said all at once. Now, only a year and a few months later, he is telling Chris, "Daddy, take your coat off. It's really nice in here."
His teacher said that he should be ready for kindergarten next year, no questions asked. That made me really nervous. Chris and I had dabbled with the idea of holding Dutch back a year, just to make sure he was ready. Turns out he won't be eligible for the early intervention program next year because their policy is if the kid is 5 he goes to kindergarten.
Friday the answer to my prayers came. A few weeks ago Chris had applied Dutch for a special autism starter program that the state is starting. They had so many applicants that they did a lottery and picked 250 kids. Dutch was one of them. This means that he will get a lot of extra help, one-on-one attention, and a lot of opportunities he wouldn't otherwise have.
I feel really lucky and blessed that things are going so well for Dutch. Like every mother, I worry about what the world holds for my child. Now I can rest a little easier knowing that he is being given his best chance to succeed through all these amazing programs and people.
