A Year Of Lasts

My sons Andrew and Austin

                              
This is the last week of summer before my last baby chick starts his last year of school.  Andrew, in the picture above with Austin and I, is starting his senior year in high school.  It is a bittersweet achievement.  You moms know what I mean!  Andrew did great his whole kindergarten year.  A half a day of school worked perfect for him and his life plan.  But time marched on and he started first grade.  When he came home after his first day of a full day of school, he informed me that going to school all day was not for him and he only wanted to go for a half day.  "Oh buddy," I told him, "you have a long twelve years of school ahead of you!"  Who knew those years would fly by so fast!

Austin attended his last year of school a year ago.  He is officially in the class of 2007.  However, in the special ed program in our school district the kids can attend school for an additional four years.  This is what we decided to do with Austin.
 

Austin at school

Change is very hard, if not virtually impossible, for autistic kids.  This past year has been very difficult for Austin.  He doesn't understand why he cant go back to school and he doesn't have the ability to verbalize this.
Austin will say    "Kids....  Centennial?"
Centennial is the name of the high school he attended for eight years.
I say   "Yes buddy the kids are at Centennial."
Austin says   "Me....  Centennial."
I say  "I'm sorry buddy. Your too old now."
And Austin will walk away.

We have this conversation a couple of times a week.  I wonder if Austin thinks that if he tells me enough times that he wants to go back to high school I will finally say yes.  Or maybe he thinks I don't understand what he is telling me at all.
 
 Attending school wasn't just getting an education for Austin.  It was his work life and his social life. He worked every day for eight years in the high school cafeteria cleaning tables. His class took field trips to movies, restaurants, the mall, etc.  They went bowling and attended baseball games. They held social get togethers such as dances with other high school special ed classes.  He knew all the special ed teachers and kids and they knew him.  For your average high school senior, saying goodbye to high school means saying hello to a bigger world.  For Austin, saying good bye to high school has meant a much smaller world. 

Austin and his friend Chad

As Andrew starts this last year he is excited to finish and say good bye to high school.  He will play his last high school football game, go to his last homecoming dance, write his last high school essay,  and say goodbye to his friends.  And that is how it should be.  I'm excited for Andrew and proud of him.  His world will get bigger after this year of lasts.  I will cheer and applaud at graduation.  Austin will be there too.  And hopefully, Austin will also begin to say good bye to his high school years.
.