It Takes More than a Village

Some of you may know that my younger son has a form of autism called by the extremely clunky name Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified. His developmental delays are not terribly obvious to most people, but he requires a high level of services through our area Children's Hospital and school system, including speech, occupational, and physical therapy, special education services, an inclusion classroom, aides, and summer school. In the last three years, he has received support from over thirty education professionals at two different schools. This year, he will be in a TEACCH classroom (autism-specific) half the day and in a regular classroom the rest of the day, which means he will have seven professionals guiding him through first grade, not including the PE coach, librarian, music, and art teachers.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to thank ALL these wonderful people? I coordinate Jack's care and am the center of communication for all the educators, the therapists at the hospital, and the developmental pediatrician at our military hospital. But they know so much more than I ever could about how to do their jobs. I'm grateful daily for the dedication and hard work and LOVE that these women and men put into their jobs. I see the progress Jack is making because of them, and my heart overflows with gratitude. Which, for the craft-obsessed, means sayin' thanks with paper and ink.

But when you have more than a village to thank, you gotta keep it simple. When I made this card, I realized I had a thank you card I could mass produce for the summer school staff who helped Jack through extended school year in July.

If you're reading this and are one of the people who touches the lives of children with special needs, thank you. This card's for you.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Fruitful, Paper Tray
cardstock: PTI white
ink: Versacolor cubes
accessories: none