I am fortunate to live in a town that values special needs and works with the individual child. I hear from many parents out there that struggle with their districts in getting the services and support they need just to get through their child's school day. To me it's hard enough managing your child and all that's needed for that child in terms of paperwork, in house therapists, schedules and meetings this is a challenging situation. My advice to you if this is at all possible... get active in your school and district. I am fortunate that I get to benefit from trailblazers who paved a path years ago who too struggled and made a difference for the good of all our children. I'm fortunate that I get to thank some of those great ladies.
We have a parent run group in our district that meets once a month with our district's special needs administrator. We stay on topic meaning district wide issues surrounding the special needs programs. Topics we discuss can be about transitions, IEP's going electronic, parent satisfaction surveys (yes we did this not long ago), our district's referendum, etc. How fortunate to be in a forum where we can ask a questions and receive well rounded answer.
Last year I was so concerned about my daughter's kindergarten transitions for this year as she was going to a new school with all new teachers and therapists except one. I voiced my concern in this forum last September and it was an ongoing topic that was re-vamped and thankfully implemented. I am pleased to state my daughter's IEP meeting, mini transition meeting and soon to be one month follow-up/goal strategy meeting had just about perfect attendance from her teams. In addition, we have a working online Google doc that is updated regularly. This online webbased working document is for my daughter's team and her parents to dialog on a daily basis. Brilliant if you ask me. The turnaround time for strategies and info swapping is amazingly fast and the flexibility of work around is miraculous.
Not every district has what I have I am painfully aware of this and I truly feel for those parents who are struggling through. BUT you can make a difference. Be a trailblazer and get involved. You will not be sorry you did so and your child and other children will only benefit from those efforts. If something doesn't seem right, ask and seek out solutions. Find other parents and compare notes. Work out a strategy that's reasonable and take steps to get you there. This can happen.
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