JTC Day 1

Yesterday was Orientation Day, where we met the families in Skylar's class and her teacher, and checked out the pre-school and sibling program rooms. The take-away: Skylar was placed with the 2 and three year olds, probably because of where she was with her language development when I filled out the application paperwork back in December. She has come so far since then, and it was clear first to Jim that she should be moved up to the other room with the four and five year olds. We mentioned this to one of the teachers at the end of orientation, and by the time we arrived this morning, she had been reassigned to the older classroom. This was a good move.

Paige hung out with grandma in the morning, making muffins, playing games and fixing lunch. She relished the 1:1 attention, and Jim and I attended the morning class where we heard about the history and

operations of JTC, got a safety pep talk from a USC security officer, and toured the facility. Impressive, all around.

After lunch, Paige and grandma attended the sibling program, where Paige did arts and crafts with the other sibs. Skylar ate with her class, then took a nice nap and remained in her classroom doing activities until 3:00. We got to observe for a few minutes through the one-way mirror in the observation room - Sky is taking it all in and doing great (no drama over our

leaving the room). Yeah! She is such a rock star. The parent afternoon session was a large group circle (Chadwick-like!) where we each introduced our story of learning of our child's diagnosis.

This was only the beginning of the intense work we will be doing learning from each other and supporting each other. I love JTC's philosophy of the parents being the primary students of the program. It's empowering -- and overwhelming, but so right on. We are all here to make life better for our kids.

After three o'clock we all regrouped, had a snack, and went down to play with the other families on the big lawn in front of the apartment building. This time is precious - warm sunny weather, all kinds of kids (from all over the US, Canada, France, New Zealand, the UK, and United Arab Emirates!), kids with hearing aids, glasses, and cochlear implants, black kids, white kids, asian, latino, and indian kids. The diversity of this group is astounding. I really can't think how this trip could be anything other than awesome.

We are all looking forward to Day 2.