After four years he did it, he Graduated!!!!!

I am the worst about remembering to get these in the right order. Sorry. You still get the idea. Here is his graduation. They had made their own hats and it was really fun. Holding his diploma and excited for everyone in his class.
Looking so cute with his diploma.
Getting his diploma from Miss Jaimee.
Garrett came to his graduation and it meant a lot to Porter. After the graduation he was so excited to show Garrett his class and we had a party there with the kids who graduated.
Porter with Miss Samantha. It was really sad but the support teachers he worked with most of the year one moved to another class which was really hard on Porter because he loved Nate and Nate is amazing with the kids. Which was why they moved him to help with some kids. Then Kristy, and Cassie graduated and moved on. So he was able to work a couple weeks with Samantha and Anna-lis the last little bit. He really had a good time with them too.
Porter and Anna-Lis
There are two main teachers in each class and Stacey was one. She was over him and made all his goals and programs for him. She worked very hard this year for our little guy and we really loved her.
This is Jaimee. She is the other Head Teacher and the lead teacher so everyone reports to her and she has the final say. She is really dedicated to the kids and she amazed me with her hard work. She also was finishing her Master's this year and we were able to be apart of a few school projects for her. We even saw her at the Autism Speaks walk this year which was a lot of fun.

All the teachers at Pingree are very dedicated to the kids and are very dedicated to the world of Autism. They amaze me with their patience and their positive attitudes. I have never seen an attitude of these kids can't do something. I saw multiple meltdowns and even aggression at times. Having been a preschool teacher for five years I knew how we all reacted to those circumstances. These teachers were always calm and positive. They stayed with the child until they were able to end on a positive note. They celebrated the successes and pushed past the hard days. I never once saw an attitude of frustration with the kids. Imagine 10 kids in your class who have Autism some non verbal, some agressive, some very hyper, and all who can have a melt down at any time. Instead of one child in a class having a bad day there were many times I saw multiple and even all the kids melting down. It did not seem to overwhelm them, and it amazed me. Whenever Porter was struggling and we were not sure what to do, they stayed focused. They called in the Preschool director, the Medical doctor at Pingree, the principal, and the speech therapist or the school phycologist of needed. They would collaborate together until they found a solution. Then together as a team they would implement that and all observe together and adjust as needed. It was amazing to watch how things were run and I was so impressed with everyone's dedication. I was also greeted by the director and she would remember things about our family and she was sincere in asking about us. Even down to the lunch people and bus drivers. They loved the kids and also celebrated their good days and always had something fun to tell me that he was doing. One bus driver always made me laugh when I would pick up Porter. He always had a funny story to share with me and one day he was so excited to share that he had his first Grandson. I walked into school one day and he saw me and he asked me to follow him he had something to show me. He had brought in blown up pictures of his Grandson that he hung on the wall and then showed me his favorite. His oldest son has Down Syndrome and he was holding his new little nephew and was beaming it was a great picture. It always impressed me that everyone remembered me and knew I was Porter's mom. Even the secretary in the office remembered me and we would talk often. This is not a small school but they treat all the parents as part of the Pingree family. They learn our names and want to help us with our child as much as they can. If we need to talk and our struggling they are there for us and even have someone on staff for that purpose. Everyone celebrates the progress being made and even on the bad days everyone stays positive. How could Porter not succeed in an environment like this. He felt confident in himself because everyone working with him and around him was confident in him. He made such good friends in his class because they all knew they were accepted, and loved. It has been such a wonderful experience and I feel very fortunate that we will be able to attend another year. I will have a lot of memories of the kids and it has been so wonderful to see not only Porter's progress this year but theirs as well. Porter has developmental testing done every six months, when we began this journey he was in most areas 2 years or more behind. His last testing shows that now he just a few months behind now and in the 5 year or more for all areas but one. I look at the journey he has taken and the hard work that he has done. I look back and think of all the wonderful workers who have been in our home and worked so hard to help him progress. A wonderful foundation was made for him before we came to Pingree and because of all that work he has been able to grow even more at school this year. I also want to say how much it has meant to Dallin and I to have Susy, Sue and Jennie watch our kids so that I could attend Pingree weekly. Because of my time there he is able to continue, and I know that his progress has been added to as well by me being able to know the therapies and implement them at home.

Nickelle said to me a couple of weeks ago when she was asking me some questions about Autism and about Porter. She said "Mom, we are so lucky about this, we are so lucky that Porter is so special and I love him very much". I feel the same way and I feel blessed for the wonderful people we have met and the miracles we have seen. Way to go Porter! Happy Graduation!