Additional Needs

First Day Jitters

Posted by Brittney Baumgartner on 27th August 2018 Additional Needs, Advice & Support, Disabilities

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How many moms out there currently have the first day of school jitters?

I know I sure do!

My first born, Oliver, starts Pre-K at the end of August and the boy has never even been in daycare.

When we first started doing therapy sessions, they would take him back without me, so they could have a one on one session without distraction.

The first days and weeks were hard.

As soon as he caught wind of what was about to happen, he would start crying for me and not want to go.

After all, I have stayed at home with him ever since he was born.

There were a couple times when I would give in and go back with him, but he would just cry for me to hold him and ultimately not get his session done. Luckily, we progressed and moved past this stage.

Now here we are, weeks away from the first day of school, and I can’t help but think of how he will react.

Will the first day be full of crying?

Will he come back excited for the next day or dread it and beg not to go back?

Time will only tell, and I know I am not the first mother or father in these shoes.

Thankfully, we fell in the hands of a school who will implement a health plan for my son.

We have nurses who are eager to learn how to cath my son, so that he is comfortable all day.

We even have cafeteria staff, taking in to account that he has certain allergy risks that need to be avoided.

They may seem small or even monumental to some, but small steps like this get us up the ladder for a successful school year.

A successful introduction in to the real world.

I even took advantage of social media, and reached out to a local mom’s group to introduce my son and encourage them to show their children and let me know if they had questions regarding his means of transportation (wheelchair) or anything else.

I wanted to open the door for communication, and break down the barrier we all may feel sometimes when we’re told, “not to stare”, or to, “mind our own business”.

I do not know when I will stop feeling so nervous about Oliver being out in public school, but I hope he can make the best of friends and memories while doing so.