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At the beginning of the summer, we enrolled Cordy in a summer preschool program for two days a week. It was hard on her, but slowly she adjusted, and by the end of the summer, I could take her to school and leave her there without tears.

However, last month Cordy began the evaluation process for developmental delays. The school district determined that Cordy has delays in social-emotional, communication, and adaptive behaviors. They told me that, based on the testing, they would consider her autistic, although high functioning. She's intelligent, but she has trouble connecting with other people and with transitioning between activities. Based on these results, she qualified for the school district's preschool. Besides being free of charge for us, the school has therapists on site that work with the children individually and in groups throughout the week.

The one downside of this is that we are starting all over again, just when she got comfortable at her old school. It took months for Cordy to feel comfortable transitioning from the car to the classroom, and I was scared that switching now would make it even harder for her to ever adjust to school. But the change is for the best, and so last Thursday I took Cordy to meet her new teacher.

Her first day of class was a mixed bag. She was a little nervous seeing the new building, taking her time walking in the hallway. As soon as we got to the classroom door, I told her, "Cordy, this is your new class," and she responded by throwing herself to the ground and crying. No surprise there.

Cordy's teacher came up to her and tried to say hi, but Cordy hid behind me. Soon she noticed the room was full of toys, and she slowly inched away from me to examine the blocks and puzzles. The rest of the class showed up, and Cordy ignored them as she explored the room. The other kids were quick to point out that Cordy was breaking the rules (kids are always good at ratting out their fellow classmates, aren't they?), but the teacher reminded them that Cordy was new and didn't know the rules yet.

After being there for about fifteen minutes, I left. Cordy cried and screamed when I left, but the teacher reassured me that she would be fine. I spent my two hours running errands, worried about how Cordy was coping with her new surroundings. When I returned, Cordy was walking with the rest of the class out to the bus area. Her teacher told me that after I left she did very well, even sitting and listening during story time in the library. I was amazed. This teacher clearly has the magic touch! I noticed Cordy was in a good mood, and even wanted to get on the bus with her classmates, forgetting that I was there to pick her up.

Her second day went even better, giving me hope that this will be a positive change for her. She's not the only special needs child in the class - in fact, most of the kids are special needs, with a couple of "normal" kids in the class as well, serving as peer models. She'll be receiving speech therapy and movement therapy once a week, and in the classroom she will be expected to follow the rules and participate in group activities. I'm guessing there will be many times she will be unhappy with her teacher because her teacher will force her out of her comfort zone (as opposed to her old school's teachers, who learned what upset her and tried to avoid those things), but this will help her learn and grow.

^{Disney Family does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Call your doctor regarding any medical condition. Never disregard your doctor's advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Disney Family site.}