Ryan Update

I started volunteering in Ryan's class today. I was amazed and glowing when I first walked into the room and saw him working. If I had to walk in there and pick out which child had autism it would be very hard to decipher. I was there for 2 1/2 hours and saw Ryan work, walk (in the hallway), sit and follow directions INDEPENDENTLY the majority of the time. He only needed a few prompts to help him along, but he did amazingly well.
I was able to talk to his teacher for a few minutes about him. She is very pleased at how well he is doing. She even said that she has never had child with autism, like Ryan, who has adjusted so well. We both had smiles on our faces as we were watching him diligently cut out shapes on a paper and glue them. She turned to me and said, "doesn't it warm your heart when you see him doing so well?" "Yes, you'll never know how much"I said. I had no idea he would be as far as he is right now.

After talking to her I know that she accepts and understands Ryan. She knows just what kind of modifications and supports to use. She knows almost the exact point in which to engage him before he (or his mind) starts to wander. I was so glad to also see that the aide is not one of those "attached to the hip aides." She sits back and lets him work as independent as possible, but is there in the sidelines when he needs her. I got the impression that they had a mutual trust between them....almost an instinct. I could also describe it as a confidence. She is confident around Ryan and that only seeps onto him giving him that confident feeling.

I asked his teacher how Ryan is doing with hitting. She looked at me and said with a bold voice, "NEVER!" Then she retracted and said that he hit one of the aides ONCE. That is only one time in 9 days!! OMG!! That's miraculous compared to the start of school last year.
It is very obvious that we made the right choice by moving to Williamson Co. And after all the homes and other schools we checked out before we found our house, it's also obvious we fell into the perfect house with the school that is "just right!!!"