Here we go again.

This week we start preschool again.  I am so excited for it to start because my little girl loves it, but I am also nervous. It will be five mornings a week, and two of those days she will be in preschool without her therapist by her side.  

Last year, she went to preschool twice a week, and her ABA therapist went with her.  She did really well, but still had some issues communicating.  This year she will have some days each week where she will be in class on her own.  The teachers at this preschool are wonderful, but I am concerned that without the therapists there to assist in her communication and socialization, she will just play by herself in a corner instead of interacting with the other kids.  And since her academics are pretty advanced (thank the Lord), the main purpose of preschool is to get her to interact with "normal" peers.  Hopefully she will be able to find some little friends in her class this year.

Within a few weeks of starting school this past year, the teachers and therapists noticed that my daughter and another little girl seemed to gravitate to each other.  No one pushed them together, they just sort of found each other.  The amazing thing was that the other little girl was on the spectrum also.  Neither one of them were outstanding in the social skills arena, so it was great that my daughter could find a friend on her own.  It was also nice for me to have coffee with the little girl's mother frequently throughout the school year.  It is so rare that I can sit down and talk with another mother who truly gets it.  Someone who understands what I mean when I say it has been a "rough morning".  Most kids with autism are boys, so it was wonderful to find someone I could relate to.  Unfortunately, that little friend and her family have moved across the country, so we get to start all over again this fall.

As kids get older, they become more aware of the differences between the "normal" and "not completely normal" kids in class.  When my daughter scripts (says an entire tv episode to herself), doesn't look at them when they talk to her, or wanders off from the group, the other kids will no doubt notice it this year.  I pray that they will be kind.  Hopefully she will not face any mean girls or rude boys this year.  My daughter probably won't even notice if other kids are being mean to her, but if I hear or see it, I will be crushed.  When I drop her off at preschool each morning, all I can do is pray that she will find her own way to succeed and hopefully thrive.