We went today to take a tour of the year round school that Timmy will be attending come July 21st. We got to met the teacher assistants. Unfortunately, Mrs. Bishop (special education teacher) wasn't there. She was at home taking care of a very sick little one. Hopefully we can reschedule a visit at a later date so that Timmy and her can meet before school starts.
The playground is very nice. The best part is that it has several types of adaptive swings. There is also a courtyard off of the classroom, which has raised flower beds and sandboxes for the children to play and be able to help grow flowers or other plants.
I like the changing area. It is nicer (Ok, ALOT nicer), than the one at JC Roe, Timmy's current Pre-K school. Codington's changing area has a very nice changing table that can be easily raised or lowered. There is a washing machine that the teacher and assistants use to wash the children's bibs, blankets or any clothing that may have gotten messy during the day. The school system even supplies the wipes! This took us by surprise, being that the school system isn't doing that for Timmy this year.
The classroom is very spacious. There is plenty of room to push Timmy around the classroom while he is in his KidKart without running into furniture or having to rearrange furniture. There is a treadmill, exercise mats, walker, exercise ball, and I can't remember what other PT equipment was there in the classroom. There was 3 computers that can be adapted with a switch and all have voice output. I can't remember the name of the piece of equipment, but it is a large touch screen projector system, that the teacher uses to get the children involved in learning. It can be used to display the daily schedule, teach numbers and letters, days of the week and months of the year. Movies can also be shown on the screen. This is only a few things that the screen can be used for. It too also has voice output. How Cool is that?!?
I spoke with the on site speech teacher today. She is going to talk to the approperate people to get the ball rolling, so that we can try to have a FM trainer in place possibly by the time school starts in July, for Timmy's use.
I really think that as Timmy's parent, Timmy will excel as long as the teacher, OT, PT and the Speech teacher are willing to work together and follow the IEP goals that have been set for Timmy, for the upcoming year.
Oh yeah, there really isn't a student to teacher ratio for this class, but for this year, there are 6 students to 1 teacher and 2 assistants. This can change from year to year though. I'm really looking forward to volunteering at Timmy's school! Wow, if Emily gets accepted into the Pre-K program, I guess my life will comprise of volunteer hours! Oh Boy! Good thing I really liked school as a young child/teenager!
- Timothy Ethan
- I am the Momma of 8 children. Seven here on earth and 1 precious little Angel in Heaven. My children range in age from 2 months to 25 years. My 6 year old was born with a laundry list of complex medical conditions. He has Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), a rare brain malformation, which resulted from a mutation of the PAX-6 gene, bilateral anophthalmia, which means that he was born without any eyes, so he is totally blind. At the age of 2 1/2 months old he had to have a tracheostomy to help aid in his breathing. He is hearing impaired, with normal hearing in his left ear and has profound deafness in his right. At 3 1/2 years he had surgery to have a Mic-Key button placed in his stomach (feeding Tube), which is mainly used to give him his medications. He also has insulin dependant diabetes and wears an insulin pump, which gives him a continuous dose of insulin. Even with his many dis"abilities," including being globally developmentally delayed, he has accomplished more than anyone would have ever believed that he could. Join us in our journey living with a Dis"Abled" child....
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