They Want to Take Him Home

I met with Leo’s teacher for his parent-teacher conference today.

Leo marched into school like it was his place. He took me right to his classroom, knew exactly where he was going.

While I met with the teacher Leo worked on the computer, turning the little mouse right where it needed to go, typing on the keyboard.

Mrs. L started the meeting off with:

“We love Leo. He’s doing great.”

I was worried I was going to start crying right then and there. I mean, I wasn’t expecting bad news. There had been nothing to suggest Leo wasn't doing well. It’s just so nice to hear that he is, straight from the source. What can I say, Leo chokes me up. Often.

Mrs. L showed me what he’s been working on, handwriting, math, reading and vocabulary. She said he’s only had two potty accidents the entire school year (much better than he does at home but that’s another story).

So far, he’s only “run off” twice (I had concerns going in about the size of the school, the number of kids, Leo getting, you know, lost), and both times were en route to a trailer that the P.T. uses for therapy sessions. I guess going outside can get him distracted. I imagine him thinking Such pretty leaves on the trees! What a cool playground over there!

He still isn’t loving the lunches I’m packing (I’ve had to find more cold alternatives and he’s just not a sandwich guy). The teacher keeps asking me why I don’t want him to have hot lunch. Sorry, but the options are kind of junky sounding. He does get cheese pizza on Friday, which he loves.

Mrs. L. said she’s so glad that she thought to ask me (via a note in Leo's communication book) who “Ruby” is (she’s our golden retriever, aka Leo’s second best friend--after Ellie). Apparently Leo talks about Ruby A LOT at school.

The only real downer was when I asked about Leo's language. I've noticed in the last few weeks he seems to be speaking more, putting more words together (see the report on the four word sentence over the weekend) but Leo is still pretty difficult to understand. I asked Mrs. L if most kids at Leo's age get easier to understand as they get older. She said it's really hard to predict and it's very "individualized." What? No crystal ball? No guarantee that Leo will be one of those people with DS for whom speech is not a problem?

Oh well.

Mrs. L. concluded by saying that Leo is doing everything he should be and progressing nicely with all of his skills. And also, that “everyone in the school loves him, they want to take him home,” and that he “gives great hugs.”

All of this is wonderful, except for the taking home part. Sorry guys but he’s all mine. Although there are certainly days when I might consider letting someone borrow him for a few hours.