So this is mainly to get my inner-Grinchiness out of the way before the holidays. In January, Parker moves up to the next room at daycare!! Normally, this would terrify me, but I am excited! He does so well with peers as his models. His current room is 12-18 month olds, and he is 25 months, so he will be back with kids his age! After two years and three daycares, it is amazing to me how clear it is when people LOVE Parker, versus being intimidated by his diagnosis, versus thinking of him as more work. I think it is a mixture of Mommy instincts, plus teacher instincts that tune me in to this...and sometimes it is depressing.
Parker has intensely and abruptly entered into toddler-hood. He is mischievous (and clever), wild (and hilarious), stubborn in his exploration, and beautiful. Typical toddler, right? The hard part is that his communication struggles prevent him from comprehending commands or instructions-- so he is diving head-first into two-year-old behavior with the language skills of a 10 month old. This makes some of his behavior challenging. Currently, his teachers are frustrated with his swatting, pulling, and throwing. He is STRONG! So he throws hard, and sometimes hits other kids with the toys he throws. Gone is the baby whose calmness was envied by our friends and family with kids-- which we did love, but truly, we are SO thankful to see him engage with his environment!
The bottom line is, that it has become clear that some people see Parker as extra work and effort, and I hate being witness to that. Teachers have a LOT of responsibility no matter what age level they are teaching. But less teaching or child development knowledge is much more excusable when I know they love my boy. To be fair, this week has been worse than others, but still...I look forward to the next step...because it brings new opportunity to bond with people who love Parker despite his challenges, and who believe in him, and believe he can achieve.
