Meeting the Fossdal’s
Description
of the child and family
I met with the Fossdal’s after I was given their information from the
Youth Pastor from the church we attend in Matthews, North Carolina. They live
outside of Charlotte in a middle-class neighborhood. They were super sweet and
very gracious to let me interview them in person. I was greeted by the dad, the boys, and
Apollo (a kitten). Jason is an 8-year-old boy with downs syndrome. Jason likes
dinosaurs, dancing, singing, and his classmates. He likes basketball and bowling
for physical activities. They had two children later in life. They also
have a four-year-old boy, Gabrielle, who has developmental disabilities. I
initially started the interview speaking with Robyn and then she had to go be
with the boys and put them to bed. I then spoke with Jon about the boys and
what it’s like to have two children with disabilities. My interview lasted near
2 hours. A couple of the transitions we spoke about were life for Jason and
Gabrielle during the pandemic. Gabrielle struggled with it the most because
he’s in that developmental stage where he’s learning how to socialize and
developed anxiety. He didn’t have a lot of outside social interactions. Now
he’s transitioned into a pre-k and is in taekwondo. One of the other
transitions is that a cat passed away and they told them that Buda when to be
with Jesus. They dealt with the death of Grandma. They are getting into
questions that are challenging for Dad that he has to get advice for, like why
do leaves fall and death.
Value of
education and communication with the school
Jason is in 3rd grade. Jason had an IEP done where it’s geared
toward more age-appropriate goals on behavior. He knows his numbers 1-10 and
15- 30, they want him to learn math now. He can do the work but doesn’t want to
do the work, he likes the social aspect. He’s in a self-contained classroom but
does PE with the typical children, his mom said. He went to Queens Grant, and
they didn’t like the EC teacher there. That was a big transition, where the
school had Jason come in every day the first week where everyone else was
online, to get to know him. His teacher takes him to lunch on the weekends. His
teacher created her own curriculum with him, and they do videos of the day. His
teacher works on scripting with him. One of his goals he must play with someone
for 15 minutes, he doesn’t have social engagement skills.
Gabrielle goes to a Pre-K program. They work on conscious discipline. He
loves his teacher, Ms. Debose. I thought Gabrielle would benefit from ABA
therapy even if he’s not diagnosed with ASD.
Transition planning and supports
Things
that I asked questions does Gabrielle have Autistic Spectrum Disorder, but
could they get ABA therapy and a diagnosis, and they don’t think he is well mom
doesn’t. I think the family could benefit from Respite help. Denise told me
that if I wanted to, we could ask them if we could sit for them. I would be on
board with it if they would be. I also emailed them information about the
exceptional children’s assistance center for their needs.
Analyze the interview process
The
biggest hurdle of the interview was bedtime, but it was great seeing the
parents, tag-team the boys, and get them ready for bed. When it was time for bed
I got to talk with dad about his experience with his “previous life” and he
said he enjoys being a father a lot. He and Robyn met online in a chatroom.
They never had a real honeymoon. He lost his dad after the wedding. He had helped
to take care of a lot of family and life has been very unconventional. One of
the takeaways is that Jon and Robyn love the Lord and having a church family as support is huge. Another one is like they need some alone husband and wife
time they are an amazing duo. One of my huge takeaways from dad was he
wouldn’t change any of it even though it’s not easy. He’s one of my hero dads
just like my dad. I wouldn’t change my
interview with them. I felt a little guilty getting there within the bedtime framework,
but I just minded my place, watched it fall together, and got a really great
interview from it. That Hillary Clinton quote about taking a village to raise a
child is incorrect. It takes a loving home to raise a child with or without
disabilities. Robyn said that she wouldn’t change anything either and she knows
that her kids will grow up to be good men someday. That was very hopeful and a
positive thing to be given from her.