A Different Perspective on Back-to-School

Guest blogger, Amy Murray, is Mom to Michael and Eric, twin boys who are students at Kennedy Day School. The Kennedy Day School, located onsite at Franciscan Hospital for Children, provides fully collaborative special education, therapeutic, and health services to students, ages 3 to 22, with significant, complex needs from more than 30 cities and towns across Massachusetts. If you have questions regarding the Kennedy Day School, please contact Lynne Goyuk at lgoyuk@fhfc.org  or 617-779-1113.

My husband and I are the proud parents of 13-year-old twin boys named Michael and Eric and a 10-year-old girl named Katie. Our 13-year-old twin boys were born at 25 weeks gestation and spent the first 147 days of their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at UMASS Memorial Hospital. At the age of 1, Michael and Eric were diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Spastic Quadriplegia. They are both nonverbal, unable to use their arms and legs, have had numerous surgeries in the past 13 years, and require 24 hour care.

Our daughter Katie was born at 34 weeks gestation and is a typically developed girl. Katie enjoys karate (she’s currently a blue belt with green stripe) and recently participated in her first karate tournament, placing third place for her weapon routine! She also enjoys playing softball in the fall and spring.

Katie loves her brothers with all her heart. She is a very caring and supportive sister, aware of and helpful with their needs. She enjoys reading to Eric and making Michael laugh. Playing such an active role in her brothers’ lives has meant that Katie has grown up faster than most children her age.

Going back to school means something different for Katie than it does for Michael and Eric. Katie attends school in our town school district but the boys are bused from our home to the Kennedy Day School in Brighton – a 55 minute drive. I’ll never forget the first time we put them on the bus to head to school. It was a leap of faith for us, trusting that they would get there and back home safely. Most parents keep their children close to home until they reach a level of responsibility and self-reliance, a level where it feels right to let them go further from home. For our boys, it was just the opposite. We needed to let them go physically farther from us so that they could be in an environment where they could work toward more independence.

As parents of two medically complex, special needs children, life can be very stressful. It’s overwhelming to constantly be concerned for your children’s well-being – especially when health crises are a very real reality for our boys.

While researching out-of-district school options for our sons, my husband came across the Kennedy Day School (KDS), located onsite at Franciscan Hospital for Children. We had researched other schools and toured many of them.  We went for a tour of KDS and when we walked in we both knew immediately that it was the school for our boys. Seeing other children like our sons, seeing how happy and active they were, and speaking with such happy, friendly, and welcoming staff helped us recognize that KDS was the right choice for our family.  Michael and Eric have been attending the Kennedy Day School since first grade, and they will be starting eighth grade before we know it!

The first day of school is right around the corner for many families – ours included! Katie will be starting fifth grade at the middle school in our town, a big transition for her. She joined the school band and will be playing the clarinet. The boys will be returning to Kennedy Day School for another great year.  Michael and Eric will each have a communication notebook for daily communication between home and school. We are able to send our boys to school with peace of mind knowing they are being taught and cared for by the most caring staff we have ever met. Michael and Eric are the happiest when they are going to school! They love the routine.

We are looking forward to another great school year.  As always, it will be hectic, but with the great support we have from family, friends and the staff at the Kennedy Day School, it will all be worth it!

Wishing your family a healthy and happy school year!

This blog was published as a part of the Back-to-School Boost campaign. To learn more, please click here.