Teddy's New Friend

We know all about AJ's friends, but we don't even know the names of all Teddy's classmates despite there being so few of them. (I think they're up to 8 now.) We don't know who he enjoys playing with or what he likes to do with them. But a few weeks ago, we discovered Teddy has a new friend.

Teddy has a long afternoon bus ride since school gets done at 2:45, and he gets home after 3:30 usually. He enjoys the bus and usually sat by the aide, who enjoyed his smile and praised how well he did on the bus, until he started trying to escape his harness. A few weeks ago, though, the seating arrangement changed, and Teddy now sits next to a boy named Max. Max is probably in 2nd or 3rd grade and pretty quickly melted my heart.

It started the first day when Max was so excited to sit by Teddy. It continued when each day Max tells me that he helps Teddy wave at our house as they arrive. It melted more when Max told me that they read Teddy's book together. It completely melted the day Max said, "Bye, Teddy! I'll miss you!" And it continues to melt as I see how happy both boys are ... to the point that Teddy now tries to sit back down instead of getting off the bus. (I get the impression this is a win-win because it keeps both boys occupied and content

I absolutely love that Teddy has this interaction each day with a child who accepts him for who he is and has a blast with him. That's truly my biggest aspiration for Teddy in the school setting: acceptance.

Yes, I want him to learn new skills and make incredible progress. But what's most important to me is that he's happy and accepted for who he is. I want everyone to treat Teddy the way Max does.