Cash was not very happy the morning of his first day of school. He was sad and mad at the same time. I thought I would retake his big photo shoot after school but I decided not to because this is what it was...he was not a happy camper. It was very sad for the both of us.
Poor baby.
By the time we arrived at Little Lambs, Cash accepted his fate was in wee better spirits.
He happily put his backpack and lunch box away in his bin getting back into his old routine.
He proudly found his name in the basket and placed it on the welcome board.
This is when I was about to ask sweet Ms. Marsha to take a picture with Cash on his first day of school. As you can see, I do not have this picture. When Cash turned away from the board. his eyes started to swell up, he pouted his lip, and his face was turning red. He knew it was time for me to leave. It was so, so sad. As he began crying, I hugged him and gave him a few comforting words as Ms. Marsha sweetly took his hand and guided him to the table. She sat with him a few minutes until he was calm and then Cash began coloring with his classmates. This is my stalker mom picture of him from the hallway as I watched to make sure he was ok.
***Update***
When I picked Cash up from school, he teacher looked at me with a big smile and said, "HE TALKED TO ME!!!" Needless to say, it was chaotic in there with all of the parents picking up the kids so she said she would email me later. I looked forward to getting this email all day because this is big news in the Bartels' house. I never mentioned this in the blog before because it is a hard topic. Last year, Cash was diagnosed with selective mutism. It's a condition where a child chooses not to talk in social situations. One of the main outcomes of selective mutism is that your child basically does not have a voice and other students may take advantage or bully him which as a result may lead to social isolation. Talk about one of your worst fears as a parent.
We went to our pediatrician at the request of his teachers, who then referred Cash for testing, a psychologist, and a teaching specialist. My goal was that if things didn't change this year, I would look further into counseling because I didn't want Cash to be labeled in Kindergarten or placed in a special classroom.
Well today, things have changed!!!!!!
HALLALUEA, HALLALUEA, HALLALUEA!!!!!
Kelley,
I wanted to let you know how excited I am about Cash today! : ) He had a great day! I heard his voice several times. It was mostly one-word responses each time; however, I feel like that is a major accomplishment for us the first day. YEAH!!!I had some questions to ask him about a class book we were making. I asked him how many brothers he had - he said "one". I asked him how many sisters he had - he said "none". I asked him what his favorite food was - he said "soup". I asked him what he liked to play - he said "cars". I asked him if he would like for me to get the track we use for cars and put the cars out when he comes on Friday and he smiled and said "yes."At the end of the day, we played a game to help familiarize everyone with names. I had a song I would sing and when I rolled the ball to them, they caught it and would say their name. Before we started, I told everyone that over the year, we would do many games that would give them the chance to speak up. If they ever felt uncomfortable and didn't want to, it was ok and I didn't mind speaking up for them if I could. When I rolled the ball to him, he caught it, smiled his beautiful smile, and said "Cash." This is especially a big deal because there was another little girl before him, who chose not to speak up and I said her name for her.After the rolling ball game, I used my baton pointer like a microphone and asked the class to raise their hand if they wanted to share with us their favorite part of the day. Kelley, he didn't have to, not everyone did, but he raised his hand. When I aimed the microphone at him and asked him what his favorite part of the day was, he said "playing outside."I am happy to share this with you. I hope this continues and feel like he will eventually feel even more comfortable to speak up in our class if he did so well today. I did not push him in any way and will continue not to.Hope this makes your evening wonderful!Marsha :)
I know this is a long blog but this is a milestone for Cash. Today, he kicked selective mutism in the butt and to the curb! I am undeniably proud of him and can not write this without tearing up. Cash has never, ever, ever spoken in a group before. He has had countless opportunities over the last few years and has NEVER said his name. And him raising his hand to contribute when he didn't have to, let me just fall over now!!!! It's absolutely remarkable! Bye, bye selective mutism and hello, Cash! I'm so happy everyone can now get to know my sweet, lovable boy and his funny, little personality!
