February 11th, 2014 the very next day after Jaden's 3rd birthday he started preschool with the school district. They have a special program for kids with autism that includes speech and occupational therapy as well as the usual preschool fun things.
They actually wanted him to start on his birthday but I asked if he could start today instead. It worked better for us.
They offered to pick him up with a school bus and take him. But I felt it would be better all around if we went together. I wanted to meet his teacher and see where he would be going to school since he would be at a different school than Jaxen. That is the one thing we'll have to get used to, that Jaden will most likely always be at a different school than Jaxen.
The autism preschool program is set in three different levels: High intensity, Intensity and integrated. Not every school is able to accommodate each class. So it's possible that when he moves up a level he'll start at a new school.
Today he started at Arnold Adreani Elementary School. It is actually quite a ways from our house. About a 25 minute drive each way. It will be a lot of driving for me each day but it will be a nice way to break up the day. His teacher is Jenna Dube. She was nice and happy to meet Jaden. I like how the room is set up into different stations. Jaden went into the room with no problem. He seemed excited to be there and wanted to play. That was up until it was time for us to leave. We've never left him anywhere before so he was not so sure how he felt about it. He was a little scared and unsure at first but his teacher said after a few minutes he was okay. He enjoyed his day and when he saw me come to pick him up he got excited and ran up to me and gave me a big hug. It made my heart happy to know that he had a great day and was excited to go back. Congratulations and good luck Jaden! We are so proud of you and excited for all the new adventures you'll have.
