David started another year of preschool. It has been fun to see him with all his friends again and learning new things. He seems to be fitting right in and settling in to the new routine. He definitely comes home tired from all the excitement every day. It's been a fun few weeks. Except for one event. David is taking the bus to school for the first time this year. He takes a bus that is specifically for children with special needs. He is suddenly such a big boy and I have moments when I so want the sweet baby in my arms again. I miss those days. I thought for sure he was not going to want to get on the bus. Apparently, all the preparation that I gave him prior to school starting sunk in. I began telling him a few weeks before school started that he was going to take the bus all on his own without mom and dad to school every day. I would show him different pictures of buses and tried to read him stories and sang over and over again "Wheels on the Bus". So, he was definitely prepared. The first day of school when the bus came he just walked right on the bus and didn't even bother to say goodbye. LOL I was shocked but so happy! :)
Later on that morning I received a call that said he had an accident in his pants on the bus. Ugh! I was bummed. But, then again these things happen so we move on. The next day he had a cough and I kept him home from school. The third day he took the bus and he had an accident again. :( I was so frustrated. David is not potty trained but wears pull-ups and is completely out of diapers. He seems to enjoy sitting on the potty so we have just gone with it and we got rid of the diapers and are trying to train him now. I am so over the diaper thing. Anyway, we had already scheduled a meeting with his teachers to just talk about David and his needs. We talked about the bus situation and came up with a solution to try. We decided to send him to bed earlier and get him up an extra hour to see if that would help him take care of business at home before he left for school.
Then it happened. Mama bear had to appear. The next day when the bus came I told the driver and the aid that I was aware of the situation and that we were working on a solution. Then she said, "Yeah, cause if he is like that we can't transport him". I was SHOCKED!!!! This is a bus for children with SPECIAL NEEDS!!! I didnt know what to say so I just said, "We will do our best". What in the world?! The other part that bothered me was that she said this in front of David. Children may not be able to speak but they hear every word you say!!! Watch what you say....little ears hear and little hearts either feel loved or feel sad by what you say. My heart just sank and I have to admit I cried on the way back into the house. It just broke my heart that what I felt was her saying, "your child is too much for us to handle". It hurt. Then I got mad.
I am not a confrontational person at all but it is amazing how your children bring this out of you. After I came in and had a few moments to think and clear my head I called her supervisor. I explained to him what had taken place and he apologized and made it very clear that this was not her call and was not appropriate and that he would address it asap. I was also able to explain to him that I believed that it was due to him having to get used to a new thing. I really felt that he was having a reaction to anxiety he had from this new experience. This has happened earlier this summer when he went to a new pre school summer program. It took him the first week to get into the routine. He agreed and he also went on to explain that there should not be a reason that David could not ride the bus. By the way, David has not had another accident on the bus whatsoever! :) I was pretty proud of myself speaking up for David. That is what we are as parents. We are their voice! We are especially our child's voice when they are not able to speak. Watch your words. You may end up with a mama bear on your hands. :)
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