Graduation at Last

Tonight Brandon finally graduated from High School.  Well, we are calling it a graduation.  It is actually that he walked across the stage with his peers thanks to a bill requiring schools to recognize all kids at graduation.  Brandon wont receive his certificate of completion until he completes the 19+ or adult transition program and has learned how to transition to being an independent adult.

Tonight Brandon walked across the stage and received his certificate of attendance from Board member Colleen Jones. This was very special to me because Colleen and I served on the Board of Texas Parent to Parent. So it was very touching to have her hand Brandon his certificate. After receiving his certificate, Brandon raised his hands in the air and took a bow and the whole Westlake High School class cheered. It was a special moment I know he will not forget.

Brandon has really been "in school" since birth.  When he was born he stayed in the hospital for over 1 month.  When we came home it was not long before Brandon begin receiving ECI (early childhood intervention) services at home through Easter Seals.  They came several times a week.  Brandon also had private speech therapy.  Brandon also had a nurse come by about once a week through the MAP program to check on him.  Everyone started Brandon on a program to get better.  Lot of hard work building muscle strength, sitting up, working swallowing muscles, cognitive skills, the list goes on and on. 

At 3, Brandon started public school in AISD.  He received great socialization, basic education such as reading and math, a communication device, along with OT, PT and speech therapy.  At grade 1 we moved to Dripping Springs where Brandon went to school until 4th grade.  In 4th grade after a major legal battle with Dripping Springs I removed Brandon from public school and began home schooling him at our house.  I hired a special education teacher and tons of UT students to catch Brandon up on TEKS, help him become proficient on his communication device and determine his exact level of education.  After 18 months Brandon was at the 4th grade levels for English and reading and about the 1st grade level for math.  He was typing full sentences on the communication device and was reading and writing. 

I enrolled Brandon in the Eanes school district where he started in middle school.  Brandon worked very hard all through middle school.  It was during the home school experience when I began to understand the extent of Brandon's learning challenges.  We also found out that Brandon had a visual problem called cortical visual impairment.  This is where the brain interferes with vision. 

We continued with Eanes through High School with Brandon beginning work programs this year, his senior year.  I would like to say it was all easy and time flew by, but for me it was all very hard and time went very slowly.  I think Brandon may think the same thing.  Learning is so much harder for Brandon with all of his challenges due to his health, physical and visual challenges and his cognitive abilities.  Brandon is very smart, it is just his body that holds him back.  He understands everything you and I say.  He just cant respond easily to you and I. 

So for Brandon to be at this point in his life is a major accomplishment.  For Brandon to be able to read, type full sentences on this device, take history classes, participate in film classes, play drums in the school band, sing in the choir, participate in drama, take sign classes, perfect those English classes - those are all very brave things for Brandon.  But completing all those things and making it to graduation with all the surgeries, the seizures, H1N1, the list goes on - is to me inspiring.  It is really hard for me to ever complain about not wanting to do a project or work out in the garden or to move a bunch of boxes when I see Brandon every single day work so hard just to be Brandon and yet really never complain.  He has such a great attitude in life and it is a blessing and an honor having Brandon as my son.  I am really proud of him today with this major milestone in his life - graduation from High School and walking across that stage.

Looking back Brandon has come so far and I would not have wanted to miss a thing.  Congratulations Brandon.