The Deaf School.. following your GUT

My tour of the deaf school last Wednesday went well. Carl and I actually feel pretty good about it. At this point, we figure we may as well give it a try because if we don't we will never know...

Crew has attended the preschool with our district for two years now. He has made some good strides but nothing significant. We are still struggling to communicate with him. This past Christmas we received the entire "Signing Time" collection and believe it or not his ASL has taken off.

I was able to observe all three deaf preschool classrooms together for "large group" activity. It was fun to watch the kids interact with each other. Most of the kids have hearing aids or cochlear implants. Many of them have glasses and a few were in wheelchairs. It didn't matter. The kids seemed to all be friends. They interacted well. They communicated with each other. I saw happy happy, smiling, giggling children.

Sometimes when I think about the strides we've made in the last 6 weeks I get kind of choked up. It's my greatest desire to see Crew communicate. And while the thoughts of having him away from home for such a long day make my heart sink, I hold out HOPE that this change will be a good one. We only want what is best for Crew. With that in mind, I made the phone call today that will set this transition into motion.

There is that parental instinct when you decide to do something you never thought you would do. I call it parenting through your GUT. Not that I haven't spent a lot of time on my knees though.

Have you ever made a decision "in the best interest of your child" that you never thought you would make? How did it turn out?