The DREAMTEAM

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. When I went into labor with Anthony I was 5 and 1/2 months pregnant. It was so early in my pregnancy that they gave me the option to abort him. Of course I never gave it a second thought. I figured that if he was meant to be he would be. And however he turned out I would deal with it accordingly. When I told the doctor that abortion was not an option he told me that there was a 50/50 chance of him living. He also said that if he did live he would probably not thrive and spend a of time in the hospital. I told him that was the chance that I was willing to take. They admitted me to the hospital that same night and he was born almost 2 weeks later. He was 1lb and 13oz and only 14 inches long. Anthony spent the first 4 month of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Chicago. 90% of that time he attached to a machine that was doing most of his breathing for him. For the first 3 years of his life I took Anthony to an array of specialist and therapist weekly. When he was a year old we moved back to smaller town downstate. My husband could not find a teaching job there and I wondered what was next. We happened to move directly next door to a lady who worked for a school district about 45 minutes away. Long story short she encouraged him to apply and he ended up getting hired. I often wonder why he worked there. After a few years of him commuting and the gas getting close to $5 a gallon I finally talked him into letting us to moving here. I have to admit, I hated it immediately. Anthony started school and I was encouraged because he teacher was great. She really cared about him and his education. Then it came time for Kindergarten. I had the choice of all the schools in the district and though his current school made the top 5 I wanted him to go to an even calender school so that he would not loose so much over the long summers. I picked the school with the balanced calender after meeting their administration and a few of the Kindergarten teachers. I hope that he would get placed into one of their classes and instead he was placed into the classroom of someone I feel should not be teaching at all. After many "incidents" and meetings with the teacher and administrators their I decided that I'd like for him to be moved to another class. I was told that this was not an option. So I asked what I had to do to get him to another school. I was told that he would have to wait until May before he could transfer. It was January. I knew that I would not be comfortable with him being in that classroom all that time so I made the very hard decision to pull him out of school completely. I knew that it wasn't and ideal situation for him socially but at least I would know that he was being treated fairly and that he would be getting the education that he needed. After reaching out to the district I was given permission to move him to either a school that was pretty bad or one that was worse. One was not an option for me and the other was not a great option but had to be better than his current situation. And for the second time in his life I felt like I had let my child down. After stalking the superintendent for almost a week I found out that a seat opened up at his current school. I told them immediately that I wanted it. I had no idea what I was getting him into but again I felt that anything would be better than our current situation. He was placed in Ms. Stewart's class. I was immediately impressed with her. Then I met Ms. B and Ms. M. I thought to myself, these girls reaaaalllly young and I don't know how this is going to workout. But I trusted that God would not have set all of this up and then fail me. After the school year ended I was kind of excited to see what would happen next. The next year would prove a bitter sweet one for us when it was confirmed that he was on the Autistic spectrum (something that I knew a while before but had to convince my husband to have him tested). He was placed in the class of Mrs. F and I was blown away at his progress educational and socially. Though he is repeating 1st grade I know that it was the best decision we could have made for him. It kinda gave him time to catch up to himself. I am continually amazed by the knowledge and growth of Anthony on a daily basis and I have the "DREAMTEAM" to thank for this. My son is one of my most prized possessions and I trust them with him daily and they have not let me down at all. I know first hand that good teachers don't hear it often enough but what they do makes a huge difference. His teachers are the best of the best. They are all people who I will never ever forget nor will I let Anthony forget. Words can not express my gratitude and there is no amount of money that I could pay them for the gift that they give him each day. I still REALLY hate the town I live in but as long as they are at his school this is where we will be. So a million and one THANK YOU to everyone who works together and has a hand in helping my Miracle boy reach his goals. And if no other parent ever tells you how they feel keep this forever. Be encourage and keep doing what you're doing.