Honestly I do not know how I'm going to survive 18+ years of IEP's where kids 10 years younger than me say things like, "You know kids with Autism are all different." and "You really have to celebrate the small successes and you can't take even the smallest victories for granted".. (Can you all see me sitting there with my fingers starting to tap the table to distract myself from saying something completely innapropriate while my husband stares a hole in the floor trying to do the same thing.) I know, I know, I know... they mean well and they are just doing their job and I am sure that there probably are parents out there that just don't understand the situation but man, they just don't realize how patronizing it feels to a parent who is involved. I may not know more about child psychology or behavior but I KNOW MY CHILD better than anyone ever will.
Honestly, (and I swear this is not meant bitchy) we don't care about all the mumbo jumbo or the observations about our child from someone who has seen him 1 day in his entire life... just cut to the chase and tell us what services you think he does or does not qualify for. Tell us what you would like to add or change in his services, let us say what we need to say and then let us be on our way because WE'RE TIRED and running on fumes and if you make us sit for too long we may just take a nap right there in front of you.
So just for any of my friends that work with Special Needs children and their parents in any capacity try to remember that WE ACTUALLY LIVE with Special Needs 24/7, we eat, breath, sleep it. It's the first thing on our mind in the morning and the last thing before we fall asleep at night... if we get to fall asleep! Take a second to find out how involved the parents actually are first before you get into the logistics of your reports. Some parents may need the hand holding and the "pep talk", but to others it just might be down right annoying, even offensive.
