Tuesday was a really, really big day for Henry.
In the morning, he had his usual ABA therapy, and put in all the work, doing a great job with that. But in the afternoon, Henry had a couple of new things coming his way.
For starters, it was his first day of official preschool. Henry had attended day care/preschool part time at before COVID hit, but since getting his autism diagnosis, we have been working with the local school district to get him set up with an IEP (individualized learning plan) with the idea of getting him at some point into Pre-K at our local elementary school, where Amelia is a student.
They are just starting to do a little in-person preschool and working up to doing more in the coming weeks, so for right now, Henry will just go for an hour a week, basically to meet his therapists and get a little familiar.
He has been so excited to go to school. For weeks he’s been asking when he can go to school. We were so glad to see this enthusiasm. Henry is definitely a creature of habit and we weren’t sure how he’d handle the change. All of us walked over to school as a family to drop him off. He was excited to meet his teachers, and went inside with a spring in his step.
We were so glad to see that, but I would be lying if I said Erin and I weren’t a little choked up dropping our little boy off at school. He just turned 5, and now this. It’s all going really fast.
An hour later we came back to pick him up, and the teachers said he did great. He participated, he interacted and shared with the other kid in his class that day. And he colored this great sun picture. He rocked it.
We walked back home and he was so happy and proud to have had his first day of preschool. And that wasn’t all! Henry also was scheduled to have his very first drum lesson later that afternoon. We found a school nearby that works with kids with special needs and we decided to give it a shot. So we drove him over and I took him inside to meet his instructor.
His teacher, a guy named John, seemed super nice, and somehow both low-key and enthusiastic. I could tell he connected with Henry right away, and the two of them went into the practice room to start the class while I filled out the paperwork. Even the door to the practice room set the right tone.
Some MAD beats were coming out of that room, let me tell you. I heard him in there, and Henry was following directions, keeping great rhythm and doing an amazing job. I smiled extra wide toward the end when the instructor was teaching him “George of the Jungle.”
He came out, again, super proud and excited. The teacher told me what a great job he did, and that he was really impressed with his natural sense of rhythm and how well he took to the lesson. We were so proud of our little guy, and so glad we decided to give this a roll.
It was a good day for Henry. And back home, Amelia had re-assembled the fort she build the day before, and made it even more impressive than the original. The kids were both having fun playing in it.
What a packed day it was. With all the weirdness, angst and insanity in the world all around us, it felt great to have a day so filled with positivity. It’s a reminder that no matter what goes on in the wider world, there is always good to be found right in front of us.
