Navigating School Transitions and Neurodivergence
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~Oh, hey, I can't hear myself. Okay. That's better. Can you hear you? I can hear me. Can you hear you? Wait, I can't hear anything. Hold on. I can hear both now. I can hear you. Yep. I don't know. Oh yeah, I can slightly hear me. Okay. I think I definitely need this closer for me. I think, I feel like I just have a microphone in my face the whole time.~
~Yeah. Okay.~ Welcome back to the Atypical Life Podcast. We're full and a bit behind schedule. ~Whoopsie~ life happened. Life has been happening in full swing, but one day at a time, today we are back talking about school and transition back to school. Some changes in our household for what school looks like, but we are in what?
Week, ~week, week~ four of the term. Wow. Already almost halfway. We've got a public holiday here in WA next week, which throws things out again. ~Um,~ but we thought that this is a topic that often comes up for our families, [00:01:00] worries about school. ~Um, sometimes school can't, sometimes. Um,~ the battles and advocacy that go along with school.
We've, ~oh God.~ It feels like it's been a journey already for our family. With school. We're, we've got one, ~one~ in primary school at the moment ~last year of primary school.~ Last year of primary school. So we're at the end of the journey, but ~hasn't.~ Oh, it's definitely been a journey, let's just say that. But, ~um,~ we know that there's probably a lot of families out there that are, can relate to that feeling, ~um,~ of it being a, ~a~ journey, that ongoing conversation.
~Um, and~ if you're like us, you know, we kind of get to week for or week three even, and it's like the novelty of going back to school has worn off and suddenly we're in the trenches again. And some of those. Challenges start popping their heads up again. Yes, term one's always tricky historically in our family anyway, but a lot of children do struggle with that.
Back to school transition after that big [00:02:00] Christmas break. ~Um,~ obviously new year, new classroom, new teacher, perhaps a new ea. New peers in their class. New expectations as well. Yeah, like new routines, ~new routines,~ new, you know, sometimes a jump in the curriculum, so the learning expectations. ~Um,~ so a whole lot of new, a whole lot of change, which can be really tricky for our little people to navigate.
But, ~um,~ something that always comes up in my trainings, particularly when I'm running them, is. Carol, how do you navigate advocating for your child at school and at which case? I normally turn off the recording. ~Um,~ but I suppose there's an element that would be helpful to share with a lot of families and, ~um,~ we have a, let's say an ongoing relationship with our school that our children attend.
~Um,~ I feel like we're, we're at a healthy point now where there is a lot of. Good things that are happening. Mm-hmm. But it [00:03:00] has definitely been a learning process, I think for everyone from the family lens and also the school themselves. We started what over? What, wait, how many years of school is that including kindy?
Eight. Eight years. So we've done eight years, ~um,~ at the same school? Yes. So started from the kindy transition, gone all the way through, ~um,~ for both of them. And I think for us, that's been a learning experience as a parent because we've had to understand kind of. What can be done and what can't be done in the school setting.
Mm-hmm. What, ~um,~ can be done when you ask the right questions and what is kind of like a non-negotiable or determined based on the school itself and Yep. The principal for our kids, they're very relationship dependent, so something that we've [00:04:00] always. Made sure was kind of the foundation was that we knew who their people were because mm-hmm.
It's a big deal for any parent. And I was watching another beautiful family on Instagram the other day who dropped their child off at mainstream school for the very first time. And even they were talking about the trust that you give to that school, to those teachers. Yeah. You're, you're trusting that whoever.
Is in their life, whether it's the teacher, the ea, whoever is responsible for them, ~uh,~ 100% attuned to their needs, which is a really, is a huge thing as a family. If you're a parent to a child with disability, I'm sure you can relate to that, that sentiment of, you know, there's a whole lot of unsaid, unspoken language between a parent and a child.
With additional needs. And so you're expecting or hoping [00:05:00] that whoever's in that school setting, they're listening. They're listening, they're attuned. They're attuned, they're watching all the time. ~Um,~ and whether that is, you know, sensory needs or relationship needs or, ~um,~ communication needs, communication, even medical needs, you, you're wanting to know that someone's kind of fearful them.
Yeah. And cares. As much about them, you know, obviously no one's ever gonna care about them as much as the parents, but mm-hmm. Care's enough to have them at the front of their mind for the, that full six hours. Yes. And, you know, our, our kids spend a huge chunk of their lives in the school setting, so you are hoping that they do feel safe and supported and welcomed and, ~um.~
It can get everything that they can out of that environment. But for a lot of families, that's not always the case. ~Um,~ a lot of the environments in schools aren't set up for children like ours, particularly our autistic or [00:06:00] neurodivergent learners. It, the mainstream classroom setting can be quite overwhelming.
~Um,~ so. Cumulatively over the, the days and the weeks, it can feel like a lot. And so you wanna know that the school or teachers are doing everything that they can to accommodate them to help them thrive. ~Um,~ sometimes schools do it really well. Sometimes they don't. ~Sometimes they don't. Sometimes~ it's dependent on.
The teacher and who you get. Mm-hmm. ~Um,~ and not even always about how educated they are, but how much they're willing to listen. Right? Mm-hmm. As parents, we often feel the need to share because we need you to know everything that's led up to that drop off. So that you can have all the information you need to support them during the day so that when we get them back again at the end of the day, it's okay and it's not too much.
~Um,~ so some of the things that we've done over the years working with the school [00:07:00] is, ~um,~ you know, learning early on who their people are gonna be for the year ahead. Passing along information that has, ~um,~ been helpful or would be helpful for them to know. ~Um,~ things that have worked in the past and things that had definitely not worked.
~Um,~ for Cooper, it was always about her communication needs and making sure the teacher knew that when she did this, that means that, yep, because. The, her communication wasn't always obvious or accessible. Mm-hmm. Especially in those busy environments. And so for her to get the most out of learning, they had to know what those subtle signs meant.
And for her we had a lot of really special EAs Yes. Throughout her journey that we were lucky to continue the relationship for multiple years. And that was foundation, I think, for her being able to attend school if we had had different EAs all the time. If we had had, ~um,~ a high turnover of staff or even not even carried through the relationship year to year.
That [00:08:00] would've, her journey would've looked so different. Yeah. I don't think we would've got there. And there was a period where we did take breaks, ~um,~ and we had to adjust kind of her duration of schooling because she was getting so tired. But even having the flexibility to do that was good for her.
Mm-hmm. To sustain that participation. So knowing who the people were, were kind of foundational, having access to flexibility in the curriculum. ~Um,~ I spent a lot of time as a mom going into the school to support how to implement, I guess particularly the use of Cooper's a a c device, because that's not.
It's not an area that teachers get taught about and unless they're specifically seeking out training in that area, it's a huge gap in implementation Yes. Of curriculum. ~Um,~ so I spent a lot of time in there coaching teachers and EAs on how to use her [00:09:00] device, particularly for her and how to, ~um,~ incorporate the learning into that.
We got there in the end, but it definitely wasn't always easy. ~Um,~ so having flexibility in curriculum, having access to assistive technologies for Mr. L, ~um,~ pacing and co-regulation mm-hmm. Has always been. He's kind of key element to support. He is a yes person, a people pleaser. ~Um,~ he credit to him always wants to give everything a go, but then it also burns him out.
Yes. So it was also, we've also had to strategically embed breaks for him in his days so that he gets a break even when he thinks he doesn't need one. But for him, relationships are kind of foundation. Like when he feels seen and heard in the classroom, it's when he like [00:10:00] strives. Yeah. And that's when he learns at his best.
And his learning journeys looked a little bit differently as well because he has, ~um,~ I guess huge academic potential due to his giftedness. But then that's also been a barrier for him over the years too because as he would say, teachers have only, they only see my giftedness. They don't see my autism or my A DHD.
And so, ~um,~ I dunno if you like remember this occasion of just, just side story, side quest. ~Um,~ we went to. Have a meeting with his teacher one year in the afternoon. 'cause he wanted to have a chat to her. Oh yes, I do remember this. And he wanted to explain to her that, you know, what his brain felt like during the day because she was, ~um,~ you know.
~I~ trying to do the best for him. And she was trying to extend him all the time and giving him extension work. And he was like, it's just too much mom. It's too much for me. And so he wanted to tell her, you know, you only see my [00:11:00] giftedness. You don't see my autism, or my A DHD. Mm-hmm. And he's like, it's like this.
And then he gets out the pen, the paper, and he starts drawing a picture of the Coke bottle and the Mentos, and he's like, this is what my brain feels all day. It's just. Fizzy, fizzy, fizzy. And then I get home and I wanna explode. And she was like, I'm so sorry, Lincoln. I get it now. Yes, I understand. He's like, I can do it, but not all the time, which I think credit to him and you know.
That's his personality in a nutshell. Right? He is such a great little self-advocate. Yes. ~Um,~ but we've also, you know, empowered him to do that over the years by telling him, you know, what he can ask for. And normalizing that because he also had those huge expectations on his shoulders of like, well, everyone else is doing it, so I should be doing what everyone else is.
And we've had to obviously coach that just because everyone else is doing it. You are also ent, like everyone needs what they need in order to be successful. And I remember [00:12:00] sitting there having that conversation one day trying to explain it to him because unfortunately he did have one year, and you'll know which one I'm talking about, but where the teacher just wanted him to be like everyone else.
Mm-hmm. She wanted him to be dropped off at the door. ~Uh,~ without like a handover, just wanted him to walk in independently and put his stuff away and sit down, whereas he needed that time to say goodbye and she wanted him to, because she could see that capability. Just be like everyone else. She thought she was doing him a favor, I'm guessing, because she didn't want him to be treated differently, and so we had to obviously talk through that.
Actually everyone needs what they need in order to be successful. And actually you will do your best when you have X, Y, Z in place, what you need. Yep. And for him, that penny didn't drop until we explained it at like, in a couple of different ways. ~Um,~ because, and I think we were talking about the use of visual schedules.
So he [00:13:00] usually had a visual schedule on his desk, which told him what was coming next, and that helped him feel. More comfortable with those transitions, but the teacher that year had a whole class schedule on the board, and so she thought he didn't need that individual one because she had hers, and so he was like, well.
No, this teacher said that I, I can't have that and I don't need it. And he was, ~um,~ you know, kind of, it was kind of like that form of ableism. Like, and he was, had that internalized shame of like, well, everyone, everyone else is doing it this way, so I wanna do it this way. Mm-hmm. Until I actually explained to him, you know, would you know if you asked someone that wears glasses and if someone took those glasses away and asked you to do your work, would that be fair?
And he was like, well, no. I said, what about if you are someone that uses a wheelchair and you're in a running race? And someone said, no, you need to get out and run like everyone else, would that be fair? And he was like, [00:14:00] no. And I was like, what about if you are someone that uses a communication device to communicate your wants and needs, but someone puts the iPad up on a shelf where you can't reach it?
And he was like, like Cooper. He said, yeah, I like Cooper. No, that wouldn't be okay. I said, right. So what about if having a schedule on your desk helps you feel more comfortable? And less anxious. And the teacher says no. And he was like, oh actually Penny drop. Penny drop. And I think it was from that moment on that he was like, well, actually no, I need this because of my autism.
Mm-hmm. ~Um,~ and that kind of gave him the understanding that actually it is okay to ask for different things. And actually it is okay to take breaks and actually like. I need you to listen to me because this is what I need right now. And I think over time this is something we're still putting into [00:15:00] place.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Everyone needs something different. Yeah. To strive. Yeah. Everyone needs different things in different moments. In order to feel comfortable, feel safe. Mm-hmm. Feel connected, be able to learn, be able to play, do all the things that they wanna do, and do it well. Everyone needs what they need in order to be successful.
Yes. So that's something that we've obviously established kind of over the year years with school and in try to include our kids' voices as much as possible, especially in the IEP processes. ~Um,~ and voicing, I guess, our concerns early rather than letting it bottle up because. As parents, we often, you know, we get overwhelmed and we are scared sometimes to rock the boat because we don't want our kids to be treated differently or we don't want, you know, to leave our kids in an [00:16:00] environment where we feel like they are, you know, we're gonna be that parent and they're gonna be that kid.
Mm-hmm. And so, ~um.~ Obviously there's are times that have occurred where we've had to, had, have hard conversations at the expense of potentially not being liked. Mm-hmm. Which is why we sometimes say it's a love-hate relationship, but I think in the biggest scheme of things, voicing those concerns early and having that open communication with school has definitely helped 100% and we're getting to the end of the journey.
And I don't, you know, maybe school's thinking, thank goodness this family's gonna be out of our hair for a couple of years until SG comes through, potentially. ~Um,~ but I think it's ultimately improved, I think inclusion for the whole school too. 'cause obviously when we learn a little bit about what works for one child, it can also benefit multiple children.
[00:17:00] Mm-hmm. But. For those that you know have, I guess, school administration that are maybe not as, as accommodating or as willing to learn because. This is the way we do it because that's the way we've always done it mentality, which is quite common. ~Um,~ that can be an ongoing battle. And so that's when we do see that mismatch of expectations, mismatch in communication, mismatch in, ~um,~ transparency and, and willing to accommodate support needs for children.
And that's where we see that school can't 'cause children. And not feeling safe in school environments, which is really sad. Yeah. Especially when they spend so much time in that environment. Yeah. And there's a lot of work being done in this space at the moment around inclusive education and, ~um,~ formalizing, ~uh,~ guidelines [00:18:00] with probably minimal input I would say.
That's fully my opinion. ~Um,~ with minimal input from lived experience, caregivers, students, student voice, families, ~um,~ which is worrying. There's a lot of work, good work being done in the inclusive education advocacy space. ~Um,~ but a lot of it is struggling to. I guess transfer over into daily schools and practices, watch this space.
But, ~um,~ the other thing that we wanted to talk about, which is a new for us, slightly new, ~um,~ is for our family this year, it looks a little bit differently again, because we also have a full-time homeschooler that's also a high schooler. Crazy. Scares the crap outta me. How is she this old already? Oh my gosh.
I was that age when I started with you guys. Blows my mind that you were that old when you started working with us, but that's how old she is now. ~Um,~ but obviously [00:19:00] we, I mean, the great and kind of scary thing about homeschool is that it's. Kind of really flexible. Mm-hmm. ~Um,~ and unmonitored. And you can, there's so many different ways that you can do homeschool, like from choosing an online curriculum or a, you know, an at an air school where you dial in every day and do classes like you would at a normal schedule.
~Um,~ you can do. There's a lot of families are doing unschooling, which just going the complete opposite direction of structured curriculum. You can do project based learning, you can do all kinds of stuff. You can do a mix of all of it. Just thinking about that, that project, oh, lordy. And so, so we, we've obviously, we've done homeschooling for a short period of time.
With Cooper already when she needed a break from her mainstream primary school a couple years ago. ~Um,~ but this is ongoing now. Mm-hmm. This is, and so I guess like that's been a big [00:20:00] routine change for our family this year because, you know, normally during that school holiday period, you're, ~um,~ you know, talking about which classroom you might be in and what's.
Teacher you're gonna have, and you know, wondering which of your friends might be in your classroom and et cetera, et cetera. Whereas Cooper this year didn't really have any of that back to school chatter. Right? Yeah. Which I think threw her a lot. 'cause she was kind of like, okay, what do I do now? Yeah.
What, what next? And so we've obviously tried to. In bed, a routine without too much of a routine. And so we are fortunate to have a great space mm-hmm. ~Um,~ in our community, which is our home, away from home. Our, our office, our happy hub. ~Um,~ and so she is still kind of has that routine of like getting up outta bed and then getting [00:21:00] dressed, ~getting dressed,~ making her lunch and coming into the office where we do her.
Her homeschooling. Mm-hmm. And what that looks like at the moment is a little bit of easing into the routine with some life skills, which I think is for us, for our family anyway. Probably more important than the curriculum learning. Mm-hmm. A hundred percent. We know that she is a capable learner when she's got the right supports in place, but we also know that she is, ~uh,~ one of those kids that she will do it when she's ready.
And it's funny 'cause we always, ~um.~ I guess we knew that because of her communication style, that she processed information in her own way and it took her time to, you know, have expressive or outputted responses as, ~um,~ but it was only like in the last, like six months or so that we realized [00:22:00] actually this is not just.
Communication and processing style. This is actually PDA and that her subtle, like, I don't know what you mean, is just her way of going. I'm gonna pretend I don't understand, so I don't have to do this. No, or you do it. Yeah, you do it first, which means you know, I need to see you do it so I can build my confidence to do it.
Which we did know. She's always been an observer. ~Um,~ but that's the other reason that we think homeschooling is gonna work more. More so in her. Favor, favor, then structured schooling. ~Um,~ but yeah, like you said, our first project so far, ~uh,~ so we thought, ~um,~ we would get an office pet and we thought this would be a great opportunity to start because we all love animals.
~We all love animals.~ And, ~um,~ we've been talking about getting an office pet for ages. Cooper loves animals obviously. And so we wanted to use her interest to embed. Learning. And so we decided to get an office fish, four of them, [00:23:00] four fish. So part of the project was what we, we researched what kind of fish, ~um,~ she could get, and what fish go well together, ~what fish go well together,~ what they need in return, what size tank they would need.
Yeah, what they need, ~um,~ what they eat. You know, which yeah. Fish kind of compliment each other and what their personalities are like, named them all. And yeah, she designed how I was gonna set up the fish tank. We've, ~um,~ done some research around, you know, the water quality and, ~um,~ we did that this week when you weren't here.
~Um,~ but, but we also sought advice from a pet shop. Well, yeah, we went to the pet shop. We, ~um,~ we did some budgeting around mm-hmm. What it was gonna cost to get all of the bits and pieces and set it all up so you can see like there was a whole lot of things that went into the preparation, come getting the fish.
She was so excited, so, so excited. Finally, we're gonna go get the fish shattered in her mind that she was gonna have, ~um,~ a range of different fish and an ax little, and we knew the ax little was probably gonna [00:24:00] need his own tank. Mm-hmm. And so we went and we chatted to the lady and we, you know, went to the local pet shop and to see what kind of fish they had.
And they had all different kinds and she had it in her mind that she wanted, ~um,~ like a gold fish, a Goldie yellow fish, and an orangey fish. Mm-hmm. ~Um,~ and then so we talked to the lady about, you know, which was a good fish to have, how many of these types of fish you could have in the. Tank size that we had and we ended up deciding on the two fish, ~uh,~ two different types of fish.
We've got two yellow fish and we've got two orange fish. The lady gives us the instructions, which we forward very carefully, instructions how to transfer them and do it slowly and, ~um,~ you know, let them adapt to the temperature of the water, what temperature the water needs to be at Cooper's face, like carrying the fish from the pet shop in the calf.
She was so excited. She was sitting in like in front of a tank talking to them. Yeah. Like even before we transferred them just. Yeah, [00:25:00] I look a proud, like she was so proud and so she had one, one tank in her office, her particular room in the building, and then we had one tank, like the common room in the common and waiting area, and we've set them all up.
We've done the slow transition, she's happy chatting away to them. So stoked. And you know, we come. All, all afternoon, all evening, as she's going to sleep, she's like, mom, I can't wait to see my fish friends again. And she's so excited to go back the next day to feed them. And we come in in the morning and we come into the waiting area and she's like, oh, what happened?
Oh, poor little yellow fish on the side, on the bottom of the tank. What? Devastated. I was like, my heart was breaking. Watching her, her heart break. I just remember her coming back. 'cause I was at home watching her walk back in. She looked heartbroken. Yeah. [00:26:00] That whole day she was crying. It's like an emotional rollercoaster.
Like she'd forget about it one second and then she'd remember and just sad again. But I mean, it shows one, like how much she cares for animals. Mm-hmm. Also, two, like I guess the difference in like comprehension, emotional processing, all of that. ~Um,~ but then just her. Like, she was so scared then to even look at the other fish.
She went, come back. Who were still alive. Are still alive. They, they're fine. The other fish are fine. ~Um,~ but she couldn't even come back into the building. She was adamant Oh, and taking them back to the pet shop. Well, she was like, I need a different pet. I need a different pet, because these ones might die as well.
And she was terrified. And so yeah, she wanted me to take them back to the pet shop, get them outta the building, just away gone, can't look at them anymore 'cause it was making her so emotionally distressed. ~Um,~ I. So obviously we gave it a [00:27:00] few days, so she, she didn't come in and I just kept kind of delaying it, hoping that there would be some emotional distance from the fish soon.
But we gave, we did put, ~um,~ oh, bless her heart too. This is the way that she kind of consolidates what's happening, but she, well, she went home and she made that. Little animation, which is a new favorite thing to do, is like make little videos with drawings. And the thing that I, it's not funny, but when I asked her what she wanted for dinner, she asked what fish?
It hasn't quite connected. That real fish is also the same as crumb fish that you eat for dinner. Are you sure you will bumped up dinner? And she's like, yeah, I like fish fingers. I'm like, okay.
But she, yeah, we'd put the little yellow fish in a little box and we buried them in the backyard, which I think actually helped her like feel a little bit better, I think. Bless her in her little like drawing her little grave gravestone, drawing her like, which Penny? Penny and [00:28:00] Goldie, the yellow fish from yesterday to today.
Their lifespan. Bless her. ~Uh,~ but, ~um,~ animation she made. Yeah. And I think the fish going to heaven questions about a day on where the fish was wig was going. Yeah. If, yeah. Yeah. We, ~um,~ I. Yeah, obviously he gave it quite a few days. ~Um,~ and every day she'd ask me, ~uh,~ you know, have you got rid of the fish? Have the fish gone?
Have you taken the fish back to the pet shop? And I just kept saying, oh, I, I haven't done it yet, but I'm gonna do it and yes, I'll do it. And ~um,~ part of me I think was thinking, you know, if the other fish died, maybe these ones will die too. Well the next, the next day. 'cause I was here first, I was like, if.
Bruce Fisher two. Yeah. I would've gone to that pet shop and replaced him and told nobody. And in hindsight, we probably should have done that the first day, just to be sure. But she was like, straight in here, like, I wanna see my fish. ~Um,~ but yeah, I, I [00:29:00] think part of me was like that. These ones might not make it, so I'll just wait it out a little bit.
But every day I kept coming in and checking on 'em and they were still there and still happy kicking around. And then, you know, people had said to me, just, just get rid of them. Just flush 'em down the toilet. I said, no way. Came in. I was like, no, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna move them and hide them in another room.
So that she doesn't have to look at them. ~Um,~ and just pretend that I've taken them back to the fish shop. And then I came in and I looked at 'em. They're so happy. They're like swimming around. I was like, there's that way I can get rid of these fish. I'm too attached now. And SJ be like, Nemo. Oh yeah, he.
It's, well Nemo his new favorite movie at the moment, so he's been loving them. So I didn't wanna get rid of him for him either. So yeah, we moved him into the other office and I think baby steps fo well and over time she fed them this morning. Yeah, she greets them. Yeah. And, and she actually was okay with that once I said, oh, I'm just, I've put them in the [00:30:00] other room so they're not in your office anymore.
~Um,~ and we've got the blinds in there so she could close them if she didn't want to. But she's just like slowly being like peeking at them through that little window. Well, she was on to me this morning. She was like, have I had breakfast? Yeah. I was like, no, I was waiting for you. She's like, we need to feed them breakfast.
Yeah. And so, yeah, obviously over time she's like, okay, ~um,~ okay, they're okay. They're not gonna die. They're safe. I'm safe. Which is, yeah, I think she's still like cautious, but she's definitely like feeling better, not as terrified that they're gonna die. But yeah, that's ~uh,~ great first project we had home school project number, I guess that's teaching should have just got a Mac out.
That's teaching a whole lot of other new lessons. I guess incidentally is that, you know, life happens, life cycles sometimes we can do all the right things and nature has a different plan. Sometimes we need to, I don't know, adapt and. [00:31:00] Recover, build resilience to process emotions, but mm-hmm. That's where we are at at the moment, I guess.
~Um,~ a lot of people consider homeschooling, particularly if they have PDAs or neurodivergent kiddos, ~um,~ especially when those battles with school are kind of ongoing and that advocacy is just exhausting, wearing 'em down. And one of the questions that parents like. Commonly ask is, you know, how do you fit it in with like watching the other, you know, with the other kids and how do you fit it in with work and.
I still don't have the answers. I have a Chelsea just quote me. Yeah, so obviously you having you and you know, the NDIS doesn't, or you know, no one else provides funding of support for homeschooling and is full parental responsibility. You can access a small. Payment through Centrelink to offset [00:32:00] some costs, but ultimately the responsibility sits with the parents.
But I think for us, we obviously have your support for daily routines, and so that helps her. I think the good thing is, is so you know, previously you were supporting Cooper to access community, and that might have been after school. Or maybe on a weekend or on the Fridays when she wasn't gonna school on the Fridays.
Whereas now we kind of have more flexibility. And you can do that if I'm going to the shops for something she tags along or, yeah, those little office jobs, outside office jobs, if I'm, yeah. Yeah. So she's getting kind of more incidental opportunities to access community, but also doing it when she has more energy, more capacity, ~more capacity.~
And so I guess like the other day was a great example. They, ~um,~ went to, so Cooper and another one of our supports went to the library to research, ~um,~ the science behind the [00:33:00] fish tanks. And so they'd practiced looking up, you know, how to find the books in the library and then they found the information, wrote it all down.
~Um,~ and then after that they went to. ~Uh,~ Kohl's and chose a recipe for something to cook for lunch. And so she'd gone and done a bit of budgeting and then come back and cooked the food, ~um,~ and then checked the receipt, ~um,~ to make sure that everything added up the way it was supposed to, and that she'd been given the right change.
~Um,~ and so you can see that there's so many different skills that have gone into that, but you know, aside from. Academics like the, the math and the science and the measurement and ~um,~ all of that. There's also the communication with the librarian. Mm-hmm. The commun, the research skills, the navigating aisles, trying to find what you need.
Like there's those life skills that are being embedded as well, which is really cool to watch for her. And you kind of see, like, she definitely [00:34:00] still has days where she's. Tired. ~Um,~ and some days she does a lot more than ~um,~ others. But that also I think, works for her having that flexibility. But I think overall, like you can see like her confidence is building so much.
I mean, even this morning, like making a video call randomly to her family member and having a full conversation on her own, I was like, who is this kid? But I think, but that's because of having space in her. Weeks and days that she's able to do that. 'cause she's not exhausted. Mm-hmm. From being in a, from moving at her pace.
Yeah. Yep. But, ~um,~ yeah, obviously, well not next year, the year after, we are starting all over again with SJ and already thinking about how we're gonna. I guess do it better this time around because at the first time with the big kids, it was like constant learning experience for the school and for us. [00:35:00] Lot of unfortunately, like researching on legislation and calls to the education minister at times.
~Um,~ whereas this time we have all of that information already in our back pocket. And, but he obviously is a different kid again. So who knows? Like brawling, that school, who knows what he's learning? No, no, no. Well, at the moment, as long as they're teaching alphabet numbers, colors and shades, animals and animals, he'll be fun.
He'll be winning. So, but yeah, if you're, ~um,~ listening along and, you know, wanna share your experience with. Education. Feel free to pop comments below or send us a message if you, ~uh,~ wanna, wanna touch on or wanna ask questions regarding anything in particular, ~um,~ advocacy wise. Again, feel free to send, to send message, ~um,~ but obviously we could talk about school for [00:36:00] ages and, ~um.~
You know, it looks differently for every single child and every single family. You know, if you've got multiple drop offs in the morning, if you've got, ~um,~ you know, complex. Homes and yeah, there's a lot that can influence how children show up for school, but also how successful their schooling journey is.
Mm-hmm. It's complicated, but, ~um,~ and exhausting from a family lens, but when you get it right, it works, but it takes a lot of work and a lot of effort both on families and schools. ~Schools.~ You really do need a good partnership, but. Yes. Thanks for listening in to this episode and ~uh,~ we will catch you next time.
Bye bye.
~My headphones kept cutting out. ~
[00:37:00]
