We went for Jake's arena evaluation for the county school special education department today. He did really awesome, especially considering that we went at 12:30 which is close to when he used to nap (and occasionally still does).
There was a psychologist (who I really liked instantly), a preschool teacher (Kathy, my childhood friend), a speech therapist (Amber, my cousin) and a parent mentor (who I spent the most time with and who I also liked a lot)... As usual I will remember their names later. The mentor took me into the next room while the other three ladies did whatever with Jake. Every now and then we would hear bursts of laughter from the other room. Jake was definitely keeping everyone entertained. Unfortunately, while I was standing up to soothe Manny, Jake saw me through the window and remembered my existance. He broke down and cried and I had to go into the toy room with him for the rest of the time. He was still being pretty funny, although he was getting tired and frustrated.
It was a pretty positive experience. I answered all the questions I've already answered 100 times in different places. Everyone was very nice and said that we've done a great job with him so far. They commented on how peaceful and kind my kids are, and that made me feel good. They will compile the information that they got today along with information that they'll pull from the pediatricians etc and we will be meeting with them on September 26th. Ack, a whole month?
The mentor suggested that I call St. Marks Preschool if I am interested in getting Jake in school. It is an integrated preschool with both special needs and neurotypical children. My good friend's daughter goes there, and I had called them last year, however they didn't have any openings at that time for NT children and I had no "proof" that Jake had ASD. I called and left a message. I would definitely like to see what it is all about. I think that Jake might do better now that he is older. He is learning to follow instructions a TON better and helps me around the house several times per day. Having him in an environment with other children and adults who are professionals at working with special needs kids would take a little of the burden off of us to work with him all day, especially since I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. The school year has already started, so I'm not very hopeful that they will have openings. We will see.
In other news: Jake needed a change of style and a more "big boy" haircut. This morning I gave him a fauxhawk! He looks so OLD now. He hates haircuts and usually sits and cries while I use the clippers. He actually did a bit better today and there were periods where he wasn't crying.
While looking at the picture of his new do on the computer, he started touching his spikey gelled up hair. He looked at me and said "porcupine!" Way to use your imagination dude! I swear I had not mentioned the word "porcupine" all morning. That was all him. (by the way, I got a new camera with a good video recorder, so expect more and more videos of Jake!)
