Just another tough decision to make

As Amy's third birthday approaches we are re-evaluating her needs for speech therapy. She's doing great, talking a lot and saying more words. Her ability to communicate her needs to us improves every day. She's been with this speech therapist for almost a year now. We love Miss Cari. When I went back to work Cari was willing to continue Amy's sessions at the daycare instead of at our house. She has a great personality and Amy has trusted her and responded well to her from Day One. Cari has also called and left messages on our voice mail at home with a funny experience she shared with Amy from that day's session or just an update on how she's doing. It also helps that Cari brings trains every once in while to the therapy session. But Amy is "graduating," so to speak, to another level of therapy. Her case is being handed over to the school district. They will have Amy in a preschool setting a couple of days a week with a speech therapist and other kids to help her speech/development. The problem we run into is that "school" where Amy would have these sessions is on Travis Air Force Base and they are held in the middle of the day. I work 30-40 minutes away from the base. Logistically, it's a nightmare to even think about having to take off work, pick up Amy at daycare, drive out to the base, get a parking pass, wait in the car while she has class and then do it all again in reverse. I'd easily be away from work at least two hours. Thinking about the gas frightens me as well. The speech therapist informed me that they could provide transportation to and from the daycare. "Oh, what does that entail?" I asked. "Well, she would bussed out here," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You put a three-year-old on a bus?" "Yes, there are others her age that do it," she said, not at all seeing any problem with it. "Sorry, I am not putting my three-year-old on a bus and sending her across town," I said. Our other option is to decline the services. We know that's probably not the best option either. Amy still needs therapy. She especially needs it in the environment that the school district can provide - a group setting under a speech therapist's watch where she can help Amy learn to communicate with other kids her age. When she's at daycare now, and another kid comes within two inches of her, she gets raging mad. She hits, screams and shows a lot of anger. The teachers there are not trained to help her in the way a speech therapist can. We can only tell Amy so many times to "use your words" but if she doesn't know how to do that, it makes no sense to her. I've asked the speech therapist in our district about the possibility of an inter-district transfer. I work in Vacaville and it seems logical that they would try to honor this. She skirts around the issue and then eventually changes the subject. I am going to keep pursuing this option because it seems like the best option. Amy wouldn't start with her new speech therapist until the fall (she would be on the regular school year schedule for the most part) so we have some time. In the meanwhile, our district would perform an evaluation (which they are going to do at our house, thankfully) and see where she's at. If there is room in the Vacaville district program come fall, they might be able to squeeze her in. Who would've ever thought I would have to be on a waiting list for speech therapy for a three-year-old? Geez! Let the educational drama begin!