Message from 11

Hi Dawn,
I wanted to take a moment to share an update on Locklan’s day with us today, along with some observations and positive interactions we experienced.

This morning, we noticed some challenging moments during transitions. For example, while the educator was speaking with another parent, Locklan was engaged with some magnet toys. When a friend gently asked him to join in play, Locklan reacted by throwing a piece of the magnet. A little later, he pushed a chair toward the board where we write children’s names and climbed up to erase the names. I stepped in to explain that he could use our classroom’s designated kids’ board instead, but he continued trying to reach the high board, which became unsafe. I ended up lifting him down and redirecting him to the kids’ board. Once there, he initially began throwing the chalk, but when I engaged him by asking if he’d like to write numbers—something I know he enjoys—he responded positively. We wrote numbers up to 35 together, which held his focus for a good 10–15 minutes.

After that, he began crawling under the board and lifting it onto his head, so I suggested we get ready to go outside. He was happy to do so, and once we got outside, he played well with his friends. I stayed to observe for about 5–10 minutes before returning to my tasks, and he continued to play peacefully.

During nap time, after waking up, he promised to play quietly with a friend and did well with that. They were working together on a toy, and it was a really lovely moment when I heard him say, “Lily, you are my true friend, and Isaac too.” I told him how nice it was to hear that he had good friends, and when I asked who else was on his list, he proudly named Lily, Kaison, Isaac, and Yosi. After some gentle prompting, he added Jelena, saying, “Oh yes, I love to play with her.”

It was a day filled with both challenges and heartwarming moments. As we’ve observed before, transitions can be difficult for Locklan, particularly around pickup time when he sees other children leaving. I really appreciate your openness in our recent conversations and your willingness to try an earlier pickup, as we do notice that he can become overstimulated at the end of the day.
I’ll continue to share as many observations as I can moving forward. I hope these notes will be helpful for CASA as they get to know Locklan and begin planning ways to support him in a way that meets his unique needs.

Thank you again for your ongoing support and communication—we truly value working with you and supporting Locklan together.

Warm regards,
Prerna