Mistakes and authenticity

So we all make mistakes and when the public school official (whom I trust the way I would a cobra) sent over the IEP and it was one page, well, that was a mistake.

But before I knew that I called someone helpful, another parent.  I wrote about that in my last post.  That parent has been really open about their process and that has been a huge help to me and my family.  

So now I have a full draft copy of our IEP.  I feel like I've really earned this thing.  I don't think it's terrible.  I don't think we will have to fight too much harder for too much longer. 

And yes, while we are at a private school they are not required to follow the IEP by law.  Of course ethically they need to be either making an attempt to address the concerns in it and at least be honest if there are areas where they cant help my child.  We shall see.

Not that I really have any trust in any of it.  I mean for these folks it's a day on the job.  For me it's my child. 

One thing I learned recently is that there are varying levels of parental involvement when it comes to learning differences. 

I also realized that my spouse and I are deeply committed to educating our children.  We will sacrifice in other areas to make sure that they are well educated.

Some parents simply have too much else going on to micro-manage the situation the way we are doing with our child.  I want to say for the record that I understand this.

In many cases a parent is new to this whole concept of dyslexia and learning differences.  It was hard to hear that diagnosis, even when I was expecting it.

A parent may also have bad memories of school themselves or the classroom with children who were shoved to the side and labeled in an unhelpful way.

I understand a lot of this.  I remember these things about school also. 

In many cases when people are remembering schoolwork badly and a sense of failure there that is an indication that there could have been an undiagnosed learning difference. 

The advantage that the helpful parent and I have is that we are not new to the concept of dyslexia. Our children are second generation with a diagnosis.  We knew about dyslexia when we were children. We saw our parents handling the learning difference situation.

In my case my brother was diagnosed in the 1980's when he couldn't read by fourth grade.  He went on to the private school that specializes in this area that my daughter now goes to.  He went there for 3 years,  it helped his self esteem and taught him the tools he needed to read, write and go on to college. I thank him all the time for his openness about his struggles and how they have helped my family.  I am in his debt.

Our helpful parent friend also had diagnosis in the family.  She also was a special education teacher and she has all the connections that this brought.  This has been a huge asset to her in her quest for education for her child.

I have no claim to formal credentials in this area.  Although both my mother and grandmother were teachers. I have no education in education.  No special education degree here. 

What I am is a concerned parent, writing an online diary (aka blog) about the struggles facing our family since finding out our daughter has a dyslexia diagnosis. 

I am learning a lot though.  It helps me help my daughter to write it down. It helps me clear my thoughts, vent my anger, decide where to go next.  It helps me to think that someone else may one day find value by reading my writing. 

This is not a commercial blog.  If we buy something I will most likely talk about it.  This is the same way I would talk to my next door neighbor who is also a lovely friend.  Commerical blogs get on my nerves.  The internet has turned into one big overpriced flea market and I want no part of that aspect of it.  The part of it I like has a lot to do with community and sharing information.