Ava will be three on January 30. And, as of now, we have no placement for her.
For those of you not familiar with special needs issues, when a child turns 3, he/she is entitled to a FREE, APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION under the law. Ava has very specific needs that have to be met by a pre-school program, so not just any school will suffice. I won't go into what her needs are, but she has autism, which requires intense, specific programming.
We thought we had a placement at a private school that specializes in autism. The school district was all set to send her there. And then we lost the placement. I don't know how, but the autism school did not decided not to accept Ava. I have her on the waiting list for many other private autism schools which specialize in the needs of kids just like Ava, but none have an opening right now. All of the public school programs in our area are full or are not appropriate.
So now we have no where to send Ava. And by law, she HAS to have a placement somewhere. There is one public program that wants to take Ava, but the program does not meet her needs in my opinion. The school district feels otherwise.
Also, the day Ava turns three, her services through Early Intervention end. She will have no therapy. I am sure Ava will love the free time, but it is not good for her. She may regress if she does not get the therapy she needs.
Needless to say, I am worried. I so want her to be in a program that will help her emerge through the abyss of autism. And that may sound dramatic, but a parent who cannot communicate with his/her child sees autism as an abyss. I can't explain things to Ava. I can't call her name or give her directions. Every experience is a challenge. Ava is going to be three years old and her brain is still forming. It is still possible to reach her and connect her with the world. Ava is in her own world now and really could care less if anyone else is there with her.
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