Super Friend
C was a new friend to Mikey this past school year. She is the one who drew the picture of Mikey with his talking iPad (featured in the Facilitating Communication post). C was a typical kid who met Michael only because he was included in a typical homeroom in addition to his special ed classroom. She was funny and outgoing! C was a gem!
The Cutest Thing
In our back-to-school letter, I encourage families to reach out to us if their child would like a playdate with Mikey. It’s tough for him to go to other people’s houses because he needs so much supervision – so our solution was to have an open-door policy at our own house.
Still, over the years, only a handful of moms reached out to me to schedule playdates. C was THE ONLY kid ever to ask her mom if she could write me an e-mail to ask for a playdate! She was a dynamo and Mikey loved her!
Note
If you think you may want to send a back-to-school letter, click the link below for an example from Mikey’s third grade year.
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About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
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