It's been a great two and a half years for Kyle in the Colonial School District! He has had many educational and recreational opportunities come our way, due to our new residence and new contacts with new groups of people. His middle school teacher, Mrs.Cheryl Rossini, worked diligently with Kyle to improve Kyle's adacemic skills and levels. Mrs. Rossini is an amazing teacher! Kyle also has been involved with Challenger Little League in Plymouth Whitemarsh. Coach Dan and all the other coaches have been so great with Kyle and all the kids on the team. It's amazing how every single child gets a turn to play and participate, no matter what their disability. Kyle has gone bowling at Whitiker Lanes and to sensory bounce nights at Horsham Bounce U a handful of times. He did Karate for about six months until he was an orange belt. His teacher needed to leave due to an illness in the family, so Kyle no longer wanted to go. Now he goes to a tennis clinic twice a month and does drills. He smiles and has fun with the coaches and students participating at Legacy Tennis Youth Education. Connections really do happen between Kyle and other people in his life!
This is Kyle's first year in high school and he loves it! He is in the Best Buddy program and has a great connection with it's student leader Maddison. "Maddie", has taken Kyle under her wing and even helps him out on occasion during the school day as a volunteer when needed by the teachers and staff. As, for Kyle's classroom, I can't say enough positive things about it! He has a brand new teacher, new to the district, Ms.Prager. She is very enthusiastic, innovative, professional, and really cares about all the young adults in her classroom. She and the instructional aides within the classroom are like a tight-knit family. They have a good raport with oneanother and work hard to teach our kids academic, social, and life skills. Kyle enjoys going to school each and every day! There will be many more opportunities coming along this year: dances, tennis, parties, bowling, art classes, cooking, community outings, etc.
It's so nice to feel good about Kyle's schooling! It is great to feel like you can put faith into his teachers and administrators here and that they are receptive to well thought out ideas and goals that reflect an appropriate education. The other day, Kyle got promoted to an off campus job! I am so excited for him, and I really expressed how proud I am of him for all his progress. He is doing well with his communication and academics. I sometimes wonder if he is getting the real world experiences that other typical kids get. I wrote down some ideas with accommodations for Kyle from a terrific presentation at the February Parent Council Meeting by science, math, and technology programs. My hope is that Kyle's high school career is an inclusive one that leads him to a good transition into a work program when he leaves. The CSD has really been great and has a ton to offer. I would like our community to highlight all the great things that Kyle and kids like him do on a regular basis.
Kyle will need to expand on all the skills that he has been taught over the years. Kyle will need to work especially hard on expanding his "social cognition". Starting and ending conversations properly is very difficult for him. Most children on the Autism Spectrum have difficulty approaching people, making eye contact, and taking turns. I am currently reading some of Michell Garcia Winner books on "socialthinking". He currently works in the high school library one day a week and reshelves books. Anyone that knows Kyle, knows that he loves looking at books anywhere he goes. Kyle will need to learn to communicate and learn a job skill or two. Maybe he will be able to intern? Maybe he will get to go to the tech school? I have already began to look into resources and programs for Kyle to attend when he finishes high school. I recently started a web-site autismguards.org to help advocate for supports and resources needed within our local communities. I look forward to working with all the good people in our neighborhood schools, intermediate unit, mental health agencies and more... Together we can create a brighter future for Kyle and all our special needs children!
