The Boy of summer

Despite the tone of the last two posts, we really have had a good summer. Actually, I should say Noah has had a good summer, so we all have had a good summer.

Noah is at a different summer day camp than he was at the last two years. This one has two parts - a special needs part and a "typical" kids part. His group is a bit of a hybrid between the two sides. The staff is well trained, and mostly special ed teachers or in school for special ed. Many of the counselors have siblings with special needs.

Noah loves it! He comes home every day and can't stop talking about how much fun he had. We had a goal for him that he would learn to swim, and he met that goal in week five. Yeah Noah! They have sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, therapy horses, a donkey, gardens, plus all the typical summer camp activities.

They facilitate inclusion and he has had a couple "buddies" from the "typical" side that ask to play with Noah frequently.

I will admit I was nervous about sending him to this camp. I knew the special needs side was highly special needs - mostly low-functioning autism and mental retardation. I wasn't sure how Noah was going to handle that. Well, he has handled it wonderfully. We have had some conversations throughout the summer about how everyone is different, and that some people have brains that work differently and that they need extra help. It's been a good way to work on acceptance and kindness.

The week before he started camp I found out the group he was in was going to range from 8yo to 13yo. Noah was the baby and whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.

Noah has had a perfect summer there. No issues with aggression. A few reminders to keep his feet on the ground and that he is not a mountain goat climbing all over the picnic tables, but basically that is it.

What a difference from the last two summers when I worried every time the phone rang that it was going to be camp calling with a problem and had a constant fear that he would be asked not to return.

For the first time in three years I don't want summer to end! I wasn't sure I would ever say that again.

But in true MNT fashion, I am now worried about school starting and how he is going to handle the transition to a new teacher and the increased demands of third grade work. I had hoped to have more information to give the school about how Noah's brain worked and what he would need to learn, but instead we took a step back from that and are giving TNP time to get to know Noah so she can help guide us.

I'm still concerned about the tic, but I'm no longer crying when I see him do it. He commented today that he couldn't make it stop and it was annoying him. I asked him if it happened all the time and he said no. He was fairly matter of fact about it.

We talk with TNP tomorrow so I hope to have a better idea of our plan for the next few weeks as we head back to school.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support! Your kind and encouraging words mean so much to me! I am very lucky to have such wonderful readers.