Gawwwwwd, it has been another rough week. I try and stay as positive as I can,but sometimes I feel like I am banging my head on a brick wall. In reality I know “this too shall pass”, but in the moment I feel like I am sometimes fighting a losing battle.
When you have a special needs child, there are so many struggles that you never imagined facing before you were a parent. You find yourself trying to find a control variable in situations beyond your control just to help your child be able to maintain at school longer than 15 min a day before the principal is calling because he has cussed out 2 people and has scratched, bitten and kicked 3 others. And why? Because his teacher is gone and there is a substitute. The reality is, that is all it takes to set him over the edge. …continue reading
Every special needs parent knows that there are times when you have to step in and advocate for your child.
Sometimes, it’s at a parent/teacher conference. Sometimes it’s an IEP meeting. Sometimes it’s on the sidelines at a sporting event.
Before our kids have a voice or can advocate for themselves, we have to be the ones to speak up and help others learn how to help our children.
I did just that today.
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I had asked for this meeting with Howie’s teacher and his two aides. It wasn’t a demand but more of a “I need to come in.” It was becoming clear that they were having trouble understanding Howie’s sensory processing disorder and how it manifests itself in kindergarten. He was having more outbursts, more meltdowns and new physical aggressions – things we hadn’t seen in over two years. I needed to go in and help them understand my child.
I was nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before. They “knew” autism, but I had to explain SPD in a way that they would get him.
I read MOM-NOS’ post “A Hair-dryer Kid in a Toaster-brained World” three times while working on my presentation. It’s my go-to post always when trying to explain Howie’s brain. I knew if I could explain Howie’s SPD half as well as MOM-NOS explained autism, I would be in good shape.
I searched my brain for an analogy like hers. And it finally came to me. …continue reading
