At one time, the hubby and I had hopes that Dominic would go
to college. My husband told other people, "I think
Dominic will go to college!" As the years have gone by and we have
watched him get further and further behind academically, both my husband
and I have come to the conclusion that our dream of him going to
college will probably not happen. We had a meeting with his teacher early last week about which "path" we
thought our son will be heading down this fall when he goes to the
local high school. If this was a meeting about a "typically"
developing teen, we would have been discussing the classes he would be
taking in ninth grade and college plans. Instead, we discussed him
earning a "Certificate of Completion," and continuing to learn basic
self-care and life skills. I think in that moment, I realized the dream I
had been keeping in my head for all these years was gone. My entire focus, not just parts of it, instead should be on helping him to find those
skills he is the best at. Both my husband, Dominic's
teacher and I are in agreement that we would love for Dominic to
have a job. Legally, in Michigan, he can be in
the school system until he is 26, so he is halfway done. Last week, I told three of
my close friends about the meeting with Dominic's teacher. I have to
admit, the first friend I told, I got kind of choked up and could feel
myself on the verge of tears. It's one thing to think it, but to
verbalize it has been difficult. One thing I've discovered though, the
more people I tell, the easier it gets. When Dominic was first diagnosed at 2 1/2 with Autism, I spent two
weeks coming to terms with it. I think it is important to go
through that process before you can move towards full acceptance.
Finally letting go of my dream that Dominic will not be going to college
took about a week. Now, it's time to move on!!
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Presume Competence
Since we have traveled outside of the United States since Dominic was very small, we have had to get him a Children's Passport every fiv...
-
Since we have traveled outside of the United States since Dominic was very small, we have had to get him a Children's Passport every fiv...
-
Last Thursday morning, my husband, Dominic and I went to our county's Probate Court and had Dominic's Guardianship Hearing. My husba...