What a mess!

We put Kyle on the school bus this morning because we informed the EC Case Manager his "start date."  She and I have been emailing each other since a week before school started.  I emailed her a few days before school started that he would be a bus rider and she said she filled out the forms for us.  Apparently there was some miscommunication because here is what happened (keep in mind, we had no idea about the miscommunication as we thought everything was already set up)...

We have a neighbor girl (who is about 8 or 9 years old) who also attends the same school as Kyle.  She also rides the bus.  There are at least 10 other kids that have the same bus stop as Kyle.  Anyway, her mother asked if we wanted her daughter to "watch over" Kyle and make sure he gets on the right bus and gets off at the right place, etc.  We agreed! 

We put Kyle on the bus this morning.  The neighbor girl takes Kyle's hand while waiting in line to get on the bus (cute) and she gets on right after him.  Kyle sits down at the first seat and she sits right next to him.  She informs us through the window that there is no seat belt!  Before the bus drove off, I wanted to let the bus driver know of his "EC status" but she closed the door so fast and then drove off!  The neighbor girl's mom reassured me that her daughter would watch him.  She said her daughter is very "motherly" and loves the responsibility. 

As soon as I walked in the door [after getting Kyle on the bus], I told Shannon that there was no seat belt on the bus and the driver shut the door before I could let her know about his special needs.  Shannon immediately starting worrying about Kyle's safety (as was I).  I told him that I would email the "EC Case Manager" and let her know our concerns.  Here's the email I sent her at 7:33am, Shannon helped me with the message we wanted to convey:

Dear _____

I just put Kyle on the bus [number 750] and there were no seat belts.  Also, the bus driver seemed oblivious and I didn't have a chance to let her know of his special needs/EC status.  As soon as the last child boarded the bus, she quickly closed the bus doors and drove off.  We have a neighbor girl who also rides the same bus and she said she would "watch" over him, but as parents we can't rely on that.  While we do trust the neighbor girl, it shouldn't be up to a 8-9 year old to watch a special needs child.

  This bus situation really worries us because he does not talk and he will try to stand up or even get up in the bus and walk around without a seat belt on. 

  If the school is unable to accommodate his special needs (seat belt), we will take him to school ourselves.  However, there may be days where we are unable to take him and he won't be attending school those days. 

Shannon then wanted me to call the school to make sure he made it to his classroom, so I ended up calling a little after 8am and asked to be transferred to his classroom.  I talked to one of the assistant teachers and asked her if Kyle made it to the classroom and she said yes.  Shannon and I were so relieved!  We also decided (beforehand) that we would pick him up, so I told the teacher that we would be picking him up! 

When we went to pick him up, I asked the teacher how this morning went.  She said that he was actually standing in the other Kindergarten line!  The other assistant teacher (for his class) saw him and gathered him up to take him to class.  I was just so relieved he made it to his class.  The teacher also told me that "Mr. Harley" was supposed to call us and he didn't.  I guess he one of the "bus coordinators" for the school.  She asked if we could drive him to school on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully by then the bus would be equipped for Kyle's needs.  I even told Shannon what the teacher told me. 

Here's where it gets crazy...

This afternoon, the neighbor girl stopped by to make sure we had Kyle.  Shannon told her that we picked him up.  While they were outside talking, they find out that another girl that rides the bus was put on the wrong bus and had to be taken home by Mr. Hartley!  But it was her mom's mistake as she forgot to let the school know that she moved! 

The neighbor girl also told Shannon what REALLY happened this morning and how Kyle ended up in the Kindergarten line.  The bus stops at the school and the bus driver announces, "all Kindergartners need to get off the bus first."  The neighbor girl (not knowing what to do) tells Kyle to go ahead and get off the bus.  He gets off and he just starts walking and walking.  The teachers are oblivious because they are too busy talking to each other to watch the children.  The neighbor girl was watching this all go down through the window.  When it was her turn to get off the bus, she quickly goes to get him (because he's still walking) and puts him in the Kindergarten line.  She waited in the Kindergarten line until his assistant teacher came to get him!  I don't even want to know what would have happened if we didn't have the neighbor girl watching him!