by Whitney Barthel posted in Parenting

Daniel, my son with Down syndrome, just finished kindergarten this May. To put things lightly, I was a complete wreck for at least the first month. As I'm sure many mothers of a child with a disability are when starting school.

Daniel is nearly non-verbal, has sensory issues making feeding very difficult, and he is a runner. How was a child who cannot communicate in words how they are feeling, who needs to be spoon-fed, and will run away the second you turn your back, going to survive at school 7 hours a day"
During the whole first week of school, Ryan or I would go in during lunch to feed Daniel. I put a Pull-Up on him just in case he got excited and leaked a little, even though he?s been potty trained for two years. I seriously questioned whether or not he was ready for school. Then, Daniel?s teacher asked me to not come during lunch, to not put a Pull-Up on Dan, and to have faith because she was going to make sure Dan did everything just like everyone else.

Daniel and his amazing kindergarten teacher.
By the end of the year Daniel was feeding himself at lunch, going nearly every day without leaking, signing several words, writing a ?D? for Daniel on his papers, and just blowing everyone away.

It turns out I was the one who wasn?t ready for kindergarten.
Daniel?s teacher being a hardass on both Daniel and me was the best thing that has ever happened to us. From her I learned the only thing limiting Daniel?s ability are the...