6 years ago, when I first started with him in this leaning journey, it was more of teacher focus and less parent conscious, counting on the teachers to improve my little angel, not having the knowledge and experience to deal with it. 6 year now today, I am feeling normal and naturally enjoying the best of both his world and our world. Connected to many people and know more people who have inspired me along the way by their unique stories. I have come to realize Love embodies not in how much one tried, sacrificed or suffer but in excepting the child for who he is inspite of his unique profile.
As I recall my early EIP journey with him, they can be best summarized into the 5 blocks from my own experience. The workshops I attended in the first year of EIP helped me a lot into teach, manage, prevent cycle, understand the child better and tweak to his level of understanding to maximize his learning from functional communication to work habit to self regulation. The partnership with the special educators was crucial especially towards last stretch of his EIP journey/ He progressed inch stone from own agenda to requestor and gradually could string more words together verbally to form sentence as he elevate into early communicator before he transit out from EIP to his next lap of learning journey. Work habits, choice making and learning to transit from one focus area to another are some strength he developed that benefit him greatly in his next learning transition.
It was not smooth going especially when social, communication and task demand went up. More discretionary effort were expended through social rules and stories to manage via 1-1 teaching.
Through out the journey, I had learned from teachers and my little Star to developed positive resilience very essential to carry us to the many races ahead. 3 Ps in Patience, Persistence and Perseverence were more useful in the first year. As more challenges unfold, 3Es were added for Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy to reduce effort to manage positive outcome. 3Cs were then recruited to provide Courage and Consideration in decision making on what best suitable for his next learning phrase and to have a compassionate heart in discharging our best effort and except whatever that comes along without giving up. In the midst, I supplement it with rituals like hugging him or hi-5 whenever I return from work, Always doing our best having the "so what if" mindset focusing more on the effort in the process over results and end with a winner statement in every sharing. Happiness is then appreciating and liking what we have and not what we do not have, constantly adjusting goals according to him and calibrating our expectation from him. I have also learned to acknowledge his challenges more readily and praise for his effort to encourage and motivate him going forward. With the right teaching and support, he CAN learn better and more.
Day to day discretionary effort to bridge daily gaps is continuous work in progress as we learn with him and teachers to maximize his potential.
With all hard work come celebration, We celebrate and rejoice with him from every little success whether achieving his IEP goals, or improvement made over previous or even exploring an opportunity to improve in the future. I wanted to honour and thank the teachers who had crossed path with him and family believing in him and supporting his progress in our hardest fight.
My little Star has progressed into my little Hero and we are happy for him to have come this far, he has recently also put on spec in another baby step of growing up,
The journey in 2014 has been fulfilling and purposeful for him and family as we see him developed further into partner communicator with lots more potential awaiting in the coming days. I had signed up 2 holiday programs in Dec for him to seek opportunity to engage and learn to have fun aside of academic subjects.
The ley highlight of November was The Purple Parade
Glad to see the annual event was successfully completed and looking forward to more great happerning as the movement lives on!
Winners Statement:
