A Special Question

Zachary's little sister Katie has started school. She is only going two days a week because of her age. Yesterday was a school day. When Daddy got home and was saying his "hi's" to all 3 kids he asked Katie if she had fun at school. Because you have just get simple answers from her right now, we tend to ask yes/no questions and talk about "fun". So he said - "Did you have fun today at school? Did you have fun with Mrs. Marilyn and Mrs. Meg?" Zach was near by and he said "Mommy, is Mrs. Meg Katie's special teacher, or is she just a regular teacher?" And that broke my heart.

Zach hasn't had a "special" teacher, or been in "special" school for 3 years now. He was totally mainstreamed in Pre-K, Kindergarten and now in 1st Grade. So he was 3-4 the last time he was around a "special" environment. But he clearly remembers. The question is what does he think of it??? Does he realize that having a "special" teacher is unique, or does he think everyone has one at some point? I don't know. I don't think he could explain his thoughts thoroughly if I were to ask him. I look forward to a time about 5-10 years from now when I can ask him about his early years and see what he really knows and understands. He hasn't heard in his presence the word autism in years. We made a point of that. But does he still know that he's different?

It saddens me that he asked at all about Katie's teacher though. A 6 year old shouldn't be aware of a difference in teachers, and kids, and that certain people have different types of learning environments. I assure you that he doesn't know another kid his age that had a "special" teacher, and maybe that's why he's trying to see if Katie has one or not - searching for a reason why he did?? Or maybe not - perhaps he has no clue the concept of the word "special" and how very deep that word goes. That is what I'm hoping for.