And It Begins....

HARK....The new school year approaches!So much possibility!

Like most over-achievers, I LOVED this time of year! As a youth....
I would revel in the clean notebooks, the pens full of ink, the backpack (sans rips), the sharpened pencils lined up in a row...like little soldiers standing at the ready to battle the absurd, the uninformed, the apathetic.....

Yet, now as an Aspie mom, the beginning of a new school year holds a COMPLETELY different meaning. I can feel the double-edged sword. Every opportunity for success is also an opportunity for failure and regression.

I am besieged by questions like:
     "Will the teacher(s) be open to suggestion?"
     "Will the kids and the teachers be understanding of our sons?"
     "When will the first note, e-mail, or call come?"
Or worse:
     "Why is there NO communication with the teacher?"

I must say that our middle son has had some AWESOME teachers in the past!!!
And a teacher can make all the difference in the world...and has...thank God!
But it is the knowledge of our oldest Aspie son's trails through the years that make me question.
I know that our middle son has benefited from our older son's experiences. We have learned and we have educated. Yet, our older son is still a pioneer in the frontier of Aspie kids acceptance.

We recently had a parent-teacher conference with the new counselor at his high school. She is spot on...maybe because she has personal experience with Aspie kids. She allowed us to share information with his teachers that could really make a difference in how they view him. Yet, as we know, that does not mean they will listen to our suggestions. I DO NOT mean to tell them what to do.....I am just trying to make their lives...and our son's life...a little easier.

Yet, as the eternal optimist, I find myself saying....
     "Maybe THIS year will be different."
     "Maybe THIS year will be the year he comes into his own."
     "Maybe THIS year people will be open, informed, empathetic."

Sounds like I am still fighting the same battles as I did when I was a youth...
....excited about my pencils.