First day of home intensive therapy

In May we hired a young behaviorist named Kadee for the summer. Her name is actually Kade too but she goes by Kadee with us so not to create confusion for our Cade. 6-8 hours a week, in 1-3 hour sessions, she came to his OT appointments getting to know Cade, his preferred activities and his triggers. Walked to several McDonald's lunches with us to form a bond.
She was highly recommended by a friend with an older autistic son.  She was more expensive than what we would typically pay a home therapist, and that was at her sliding scale rate for a nice policeman and soccer coach budget, but Kadee turned out to be worth every penny and more! She even came to some soccer tournaments this summer, sat with Cade in the car until he was comfortable, then gently lead him out to the field where he was greeted by mom and dad and a small pop up tent for refuge from the sunlight and busy soccer sidelines.  She immediately understood him and he appreciated that she respected his differences.  Kadee teaching him that he has choices, there is always time for a break and a Plan B and how to be a "Negotiator" empowered him.  Still, he struggled with any stressful situations and Kadee ran high levels of support and interference so he could function in group settings.  We needed her 6 hours a day, not 6 hours a week.
Then it happened...Summer was over, funds were exhausted and Cade was not fixed yet!  What I didn't previously mention was the HOURS of meetings, phone calls, emails and headaches spent "negotiating" with Northshore School District over my son's education.  Finally, on the first day of school last week, the Special Education Director called me and made my year.  NSD had contracted Kadee for 6 hours/day through December!  Today was her first day.  We were all wondering how it would go.  Could he tolerate her for more than 2-3 hours?  Could she tolerate him for more than 2-3 hours?  I never left the house, listened to the therapy interactions,..Cade made it 5 hours easily! Tonight I prayed and thanked God for the miraculous intervention He had given us in Kadee.  He provided funding for the summer when we had nothing.  He worked his way into the steel walls of the school district budgets. And continued with the probable success of this new medication.  God is good.  Look for another blog posting soon on the possible CIIBS Waiver for Cade through DDD.