Start of the year

Start of the school year, that is, which seems like the start of the year for students and parents. And how's it going? Pretty well, for Janey. I feel like a grinch when I say to people that the beginning of the year always goes well for her, as if I am waiting for it to stop going well, and I'm not. I hope it goes well all year long. Janey is in 1st grade, in a great classroom with wonderful teachers. She has a desk. The desks are pushed into tables, and she is right there in the thick of it. She seems very, very excited in the mornings before school, and is cheerful when I pick her up, if tired. The surprising thing at the beginning of the year was her hugging spree. She isn't much of a hugger, but I think she was truly happy to see people she knew from other years. The best was when she hugged her friend Michael, who is in 5th grade and who she has known since she was a baby. It was totally spontaneous---we were just standing there before school and she went over and hugged him. His mother and I both got misty-eyed, I think. She hugged several teachers and therapists, too, and said to her PT therapist "I want to ride the bike" which is something they do together.

At home, she's been fairly happy too, but in a not-sleeping-so-well phase. The last few nights have been okay, so hopefully it's ending. I think the start of the year had her so hyped up she was waking in the night excited about it, and staying up for hours. It's the hardest thing. You can deal with almost anything, if you get sleep.

Her reaction to the year starting was making me think about her traits that have nothing to do with autism. She is like her brothers in her liking of school. They would recoil in horror if I ever breathed the words "Home Schooling". They want to be out there, seeing people and part of the crowd, and Janey does too. She likes the routine. She's not shy. Her brothers aren't either. It still makes me marvel, and wonder where they get it. I don't think that is part of the autism---it's part of her underlying personality. I like seeing it come through.