The Changes with Time

It’s been three years, my son’s teacher let me know.

Three years since that initial evaluation, even though we had another reevaluation done a little more recently than that.

He’s made tremendous progress since that initial testing.

Tremendous is not even a strong enough word for it.

Back then, he had a very difficult time functioning at school. We’re not talking what he could learn, but just being able to get through an entire school day.

I worried that he wouldn’t even make it to his classroom, that he’d refuse to go in, that he’d run off. I worried if he’d get overwhelmed by the noises and shut down. If he’d hurt himself, if he’d hurt someone else.

If he’d be able to overcome any of that to actually be able to learn anything at school and show anyone what we could see at home, that he was a smart kiddo.

If he’d make friends.

If the phone could ring with the school’s number flashing without my heart sinking.

And now, three years later.

His teachers tell me he’s working hard, he’s sweet, polite, liked,  and there’s no behavior problems aside from the occasional just like any other kid.

At the midway point of the school year, he’s already hit the majority of the end of year benchmarks.

I drop him off at school with almost no worry at all, just the normal mom worry not the complete anxiety that can come with a new diagnosis.

The school number flashes on my phone and my only worry is if one of my kids is sick or if I mixed up my tutoring days on my calendar and someone is calling to see where I am.

My son still needs some help. His diagnosis was real, I agree with the alphabet soup of labels he was diagnosed with.

Every now and then, there’s a reminder that something that would be super easy for another child, another family, is a much bigger ordeal around here.

But in the past three years, we’ve learned how to better adapt. How to be ready, to get through things. To know what’s a big deal and what we should let go.

And it’s not all the time or every little thing, like it used to be, so it’s easier. I wouldn’t say easy, but still much, much easier than it used to be.

I can remember when we were starting this journey, friends who were further down the path told me these things. They tried to reassure me, but it was impossible to believe in the moment when everything felt overwhelming.

But the changes over the past three years have shown me that I have really smart friends who knew what they were talking about.

And they’ve also shown me that my son is one amazing kid.

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