You Know Your Child Best

You know, when Patty began Kindergarten last year, I had no idea that things were amiss.  Some of the information I was getting seemed a bit strange, to me.  Like it was a little more than I really needed to know as a parent of a Kindergarten student.  I often compare the experience with buying a used car.  When someone is trying to sell you a real lemon, they try really hard to make you think you're getting the best lemonade money can buy, right?  Well, that "used car sales man" feeling snow balled for me during that first year of public school.  It was a wake up call.  It was the reason I started asking more questions and paying closer attention.  It was my blessing in disguise.



Now, after a somewhat rocky first round with the public school system, I read any and everything I come across regarding special education.  I even read articles about disabilities that do not pertain to our family.  I read articles about other states and school districts.  Why do I read all of those things?  Because somewhere in that information, there is something that I might need to know for my own family.

So, I'm going to refer you, once again, to another great article that you need to read and bookmark.  The Most Important Article You Never Saw reminds me that, as one school employee told me last year, teachers get frustrated [with the system] too.  And I do believe teachers and school personnel fear for their jobs.  It's sad that teachers are often silenced by this fear.  But, if I were in their shoes, I'd probably keep my mouth shut, too.  Well, I probably wouldn't, and I'd probably find myself jobless!

The above article will send you to another titled Is your district breaking the law?  I'm not going to sit here at my computer and accuse our school district of breaking the law.  But I will say that the second paragraph of this article perfectly described my daughter's start to Kindergarten.  And seeing that in print, from someone else, just chills me to the core and makes me want to invite an attorney to every school meeting.

So, what's the moral of the story?  If you have a child with special needs, PAY ATTENTION.  Don't sit in your IEP meeting and just listen.  Ask questions.  Make suggestions.  You know your child better than any other person on the IEP team.  And a diagnosis of this or that doesn't result in a magic formula for teaching your child.  It just doesn't.  And when all else fails, call your advocate.

Side note: Patty did better than my wildest dreams last year. I have only good things to say about her teachers and their support staff. Those ladies opened my eyes to the possibilities.  I am thankful for them every day.