Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

When I was growing up, I thought summer school was only for children who didn't do well academically.  Now that I have a child with special needs, I'm learning that summer school can mean very different things. Evie just finished her second day of summer school.  To her, we go in a different entrance and there are new teachers and new classmates.  But as soon as she saw her new classroom, she went right for the blocks, and I knew she would be just fine.   If a child has an IEP, it's not an automatic thing that they will qualify to have Extended School Year (ESY) services.  It has to be apparent that the child will regress without school, or take a long time to relearn certain skills due to lack of school during the summer.  Some kids qualify for therapy sessions during the summer, and others, like Evie qualify to go to the summer school program for 1 month.  There was no question that Evie qualified for ESY when the IEP was first written--I didn't have to fight

I once bought a book called "Smart Girls Finish Rich" by Suze Orman.  I don't remember at all what it said. And I'm not rich yet, so I'm not sure the book worked.  Once we had Evie, we knew off the bat that we would need to plan ahead financially for her, and more than the typical situation.  We hope she will be able to live on her own as an adult, and hopefully have a job (as a rock star or a model--let a mom dream).  But we need to make sure our little girl will be provided for. I asked on our awesome Facebook group for local families with kids with Down Syndrome, and got some great recommendations about places to call. We picked an advisor that was two towns over, but mostly because this financial group is specifically equipped to help families with special needs. One co-founder has a son with Down Syndrome, and the other has a brother with special needs.  Back when they needed help, there wasn't much out there to advise them on how to prepare for the

Hi everyone! My mommy is too busy to blog, so I have decided to blog for myself today. I had my last day of preschool last week, and I am enjoying vacation.  I wanted to tell you about my thoughts on preschool since starting in January. It's awesome. When I arrive, I meet with Miss Amanda, and she helps me walk in to the classroom. As soon as I walk in, people say hi to me.  My friends C and F are especially good at saying hi to me, and make me feel really special.  In fact, they have been greeting me at the car, ready to hold my backpack and hold the door open for me.   After I go inside, I put my name on the attendance board and then join in free play.   On Mondays, I do therapy with my speech, PT, and OT therapy ladies, and they usually come into the classroom and hang out with me.  Sometimes we go and walk down the hallway with my walker. I'm getting really good at that. When I walk down the hallway, the older kids know my name and say hi to me.  I guess they r