Sending Gabe into Battle (an old blog entry I never posted)

Every day I wake Gabe up at 0700 to get him ready for school.  And everyday when I kiss him goodbye I feel like I am sending him to the front lines.  He never complains about going to school, but he never says he likes it either.  Most days I sit and wonder what the school will do to ruin my sweet little boy.  Yep, he can throw a temper tantrum that's unbelievable, but most times it's autism related!  I can't imagine what he must feel like sitting there in that class with all those highly verbal children that seem to effortlessly move from one activity to the next.  How do I help the school understand how frustrated Gabe is with not understanding what is asked of him and not being able to communicate?  How do I explain sensory processing disorder?  How can someone who knows nothing of sensory disorders help him?  How can I expect his teacher to understand that the florescent lighting in the room could be a trigger to Gabe's behavior.  Lighting, sound, people moving, rapid changing of activities.  It's all overwhelming to my little autie.  Every single sensory system in his body works over time.  Sounds are super loud to him, movement is fast and sometimes scary.  What will it take for them to understand, how long will it be until they completely destroy his passion for learning????