The school year is almost complete, and Simon has made it through like a champ. I think it was kind of a rough schedule for him, with standard pre-K in the morning and his exceptional class in the afternoon, but it's also pretty clear to me that it helped him a great deal and made it obvious that mainstream kindergarten is a no-brainer for next year. He'll still have an IEP, but there's no reason at all to hold him back or put him in a class with other ASD kids.
Academically, Simon is easily where he is expected to be, which is awesome considering the number of developmental experts who believe the widely held expectations are too high and out of line for kids of that age. He's good with numbers and letters, and he's starting to read a little bit. His writing skills aren't great, but again, not necessarily behind.
Socially, in most ways he doesn't fall into the ASD stereotypes at all. This is the kid who will introduce himself to anyone at the playground, and wants to help adults at every opportunity. This might be one of the things that made it obvious he needed to be in a "regular" class. He doesn't care for his exceptional class much, though this may in part be because he sees his morning friends (including our neighbor) getting to do fun stuff in the afternoon that he can't be a part of.
Still, there are some things that Diana and his teachers are talking about with regard to his IEP. He has what seems like an attention issue, but we theorize that it has more to do with the fact that he won't engage if he's not interested. It's not that he can't focus, it's that he chooses not to. We've seen it when he has coloring homework... he'll look around at stuff other than the paper when he's doing it. In general, he doesn't really care to be told what to do much of the time. I wonder where he gets that from.
Simon also finds it challenging to deviate from routine or his expectations. This is one that has led to a lot of bona fide public meltdowns. It's particularly frustrating for me, because he used to be a lot more flexible. The crying manifests itself in situations like not being able to sit at a certain table for lunch, or not sitting in the first car of the monorail when leaving Magic Kingdom. He'll sometimes flip out when you turn off the TV and don't leave it for him to do it.
Challenges aside, this is where I hoped he would be, and it's a serious relief. I feel like him being behind by a year is a stigma he would have to deal with for a dozen years, and that would suck. So next year he starts in a brand new school, and I think starting in second grade, he'll start in an even newer school down the street from us. Assuming we're here for the long haul, then he'll be in a new-ish middle school, and a new high school that will be only a few years old when he gets there. While certainly the people matter, there's no question that new buildings carry a lot of enthusiasm for excellence, so it's a solid arrangement. I'm proud of all his progress in the last year.
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