Preschool Readiness Program

Tom is very lucky to participate in our Early Intervention provider, Achieva's, Preschool Readiness Program. He goes on Thursday afternoons for an hour and a half.

from their website...


Preschool Readiness Program


A variety of learning and social activities are offered through the preschool readiness program, including:

• Directed Free Play - Includes theme-related puzzles, books, etc.
• Circle Time - Includes welcome, discussion and songs
• Snack - Includes getting ready for and having snack time, clean up, making choices and encouraging language cooperation
• Group Activity - Includes arts and crafts, games and fine motor activities
• Gross Motor Activity - Includes moving to music, taking a walk, etc.
• Book Time and Closing Song

I was so excited when I got the call that a spot had opened up for Thomas to participate in this program. It is such a great experience for Thomas to learn and play with other children.

I know that inclusion of kids with special needs within groups of normally developing children is important. And I do want that for Thomas...eventually. Now he just isn't ready for other children his age. They are too quick and he gets left behind.

But I see this group as an opportunity to develop an awareness of other children and some important social skills. Tom is an only child so he is used to playing with adults who are trying their hardest to engage him. That's just not the way it works when playing with other children.

Learning is fun with his iPad.

I looked into playgroups in my area for Thomas but they all seemed more like social groups for the parents. And the last thing I want to do is deal with questions about my son from the parents of normally developing children. I don't mind the kids asking questions; they are just curious and often very kind to Tom. It's the stares and looks on the faces of other parents when I explain that Thomas is blind, and no, he doesn't talk much yet. The worst the the look of relief as they look back at their own child and think how much better they have it.

But they don't know Tom and they don't know how clever and sweet he is. They don't see how far he has come and they don't see how much potential he has. For now, I love the safety of networking with other parents of children with special needs.

This preschool group is a safe cocoon for him to grow and blossom before going out into the bigger and faster world. It gives him the opportunity to get comfortable with hearing and playing with other children. Even just getting used to the noise and chaos of other children is a great learning experience for Thomas!

His favorite part of Preschool is singing songs. They do a great job of allowing the children to make choices and giving each child a chance to participate. They have a prop or tactile element to represent each song - the children all wear fireman hats for the fireman song. So when it's Tom's turn to pick a song they offer him two tactile symbols or props to represent the song choices. I love to see Tom participating with just minimal adjustments!

Last week I brought in Braille labels of Tom's name to put on his coat cubby and his placemat at the table. I also brought in a Braille book from the APH called, "That's Not My Bear." This is a large Braille book that has real objects and textures on each page. In the story, a child loses his bear and gets offered many replacement bears until he eventually finds his own bear again. I thought it would be cool for all the kids to see what Tom's books are like and enjoy the tactile elements these books have.

After Preschool, Tom takes a well deserved rest with Noodle.