Off to preschool
February 1, 2000
We survived another holiday season and I am returning to work part time. Julia began potty training at the end of December and now only wears a diaper at night time. We took Julia for her preschool assessment this week. Julia seemed to get along very well with the other kids. This was not surprising to us because we had some new neighbors move in a few months ago with another little girl about Julia's age whom she loves to play with. Julia seems to prefer playing with the other girls but will interact with the boys. We know this is the time children start to develop gender identity. Given the exposure to our little neighbor friend who is a girl, we think Julia tends to be drawn to other girls because she sees similar traits to herself.
Julia also seemed to warm up to the examiner making good eye contact and she seemed to be at ease with the new situation. This was comforting to us as we know children who have autism tend not to make eye contact and can be withdrawn in social situations. Julia seems happy and excited to attend the preschool. We try to talk to her at home as much as possible about the transition so she will be well prepared on the first day.
To help Julia keep pace with the demands of a school environment, we continue to read stories to her at home and give her tasks that will hold her attention for about 10-15 minutes. We also try to limit the amount of TV and media time Julia has. While it is easy to put her in front of the television while I get things done at home, we know this is not helping Julia learn as effectively as interactive play. We try to limit her TV time to one hour per day.
I am mentally preparing myself for that first daycare drop off because having talked to my other friends with kids, I know the first day is often harder on the parents then the children. Our preschool assessment confirmed our suspicion that Julia is securely attached to both myself and my husband and has encouraged us to keep up our authoritative parenting style. We believe setting clear boundaries and limits with Julia will help her take instruction well from a daycare provider or preschool teacher.
We survived another holiday season and I am returning to work part time. Julia began potty training at the end of December and now only wears a diaper at night time. We took Julia for her preschool assessment this week. Julia seemed to get along very well with the other kids. This was not surprising to us because we had some new neighbors move in a few months ago with another little girl about Julia's age whom she loves to play with. Julia seems to prefer playing with the other girls but will interact with the boys. We know this is the time children start to develop gender identity. Given the exposure to our little neighbor friend who is a girl, we think Julia tends to be drawn to other girls because she sees similar traits to herself.
Julia also seemed to warm up to the examiner making good eye contact and she seemed to be at ease with the new situation. This was comforting to us as we know children who have autism tend not to make eye contact and can be withdrawn in social situations. Julia seems happy and excited to attend the preschool. We try to talk to her at home as much as possible about the transition so she will be well prepared on the first day.
To help Julia keep pace with the demands of a school environment, we continue to read stories to her at home and give her tasks that will hold her attention for about 10-15 minutes. We also try to limit the amount of TV and media time Julia has. While it is easy to put her in front of the television while I get things done at home, we know this is not helping Julia learn as effectively as interactive play. We try to limit her TV time to one hour per day.
I am mentally preparing myself for that first daycare drop off because having talked to my other friends with kids, I know the first day is often harder on the parents then the children. Our preschool assessment confirmed our suspicion that Julia is securely attached to both myself and my husband and has encouraged us to keep up our authoritative parenting style. We believe setting clear boundaries and limits with Julia will help her take instruction well from a daycare provider or preschool teacher.
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