Dear Justin’s Teachers

Dear Justin’s teachers,

It would be the understatement of the year to say we miss you.

It’s been ten weeks now of home instruction, and while I feel extremely grateful to say it’s gone well, I know having his mom teach him is no replacement for all of your expertise. The fact that he lets me lead him around the house to do various tasks is not nearly as much a testament to my teaching prowess as it is to the landscape of learning you’ve laid down for him since he was seven, inculcating a love of learning and a willingness to be taught that I could never have inspired here.

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Have I mentioned we miss you?

As usual, as soon as school closed you had a plan, and instruction started the first day Justin no longer had the option to physically attend school. You quickly implemented Zoom meetings which always elicit at least a few smiles from my boy when he sees you (and smiles from me when it works), and with your excellent instructions I’ve seen my boy make progress. To my delight I can’t say he’s regressed in any area so far.

May that remain the truth.

The support from all of you has been incredible. The fact that my son can still get excellent ABA services, speech therapy, occupational therapy and PE while a global pandemic is going on is phenomenal. And while I am fully aware that all of you do a much better job than me, I still feel like he’s moving forward and acquiring skills.

I even dare say he’s enjoying it.

I’ve learned a lot about my son these last two-and-a-half months. I’ve completely shed my fears that he’d be miserable at home if there’s a significant gap between graduation and a day program years from now. I’ve learned that my son likes long walks, and won’t try to get into the car to go somewhere a lot more fun than his house. I’ve realized that my boy, who is at the cusp of adulthood, a still-child who has had significant behavioral struggles in the past, is yet again that inherently happy soul I knew in his youth.

And so much of that peace, that contentment, those rare smiles that undo me, is because of all of you and your hard work with him this decade past.

I don’t know when he’ll return to you. But I do know this.

With all of your help, hopefully I will be sending you back an almost- man who’s made progress with self-help skills.

And with luck, I will be returning a student who’s improved academically, with his love of learning intact.

I am confident I will be giving back a child who is infinitely happier seeing his teachers in person than seeing them on a screen.

Thank you for all you’ve done for him and all your students this year, and every year past. We can’t wait until this is over, but in the meantime, thankfully, we’re okay.

We hope to see you soon!

For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com

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