I have got to find a better way yot use my tme - other than worrying...

[dlp]

Does everyone else fret, a lot. I swear it feels like I always have something to worry about.

My dd has infantile scoliosis (discovered last summer at 3 1/2). We are having our quarterly x-ray Wednesday and I "just know" we are at the point of needing to brace her. Which will first require an MRI to rule out a tumor or other malformation. uuugh. Bracing (or serial casting) a 4 1/2 year old seems daunting, and a bit sad. So, here I sit fretting and wondering if she can still use her same car sear...

Then, finally get past the due process stuff (took forever for the district's lawyer to type up the agreement that actually had everything we agreed too and then agree to pay for services undertaken while they were having typing issues...) and now the school district is making major cuts to dds preschool program. They are eliminating all blended inclusion classrooms, which dd is in one. It is a great bridge between a SDC and gen ed: 14 typical and 5 SNK. The SNK have a master's level spec ed teacher and an aide. The gen ed pre schoolers have a non-credentialed teacher and an aide. There will now just be two choices: SDC or gen ed. The SNKs in gen ed will be assigned a Spec Ed teacher like a case worker who will visit the classrooms and advise (yeah right) They will be letting 4 master's level teachers go. And neither option is right for my dd. I guess she we will have to fight for a properly trained aide.....

But on the bright side, we are off to do out first theraputic horse riding session today, where dd actually gets to get ro ride today... (if it doesnt rain....)

Thanks for reading...

Di

[danellsar]

You should check into the bracing and see if there's a way to do it that's easier on your dd. I've known kids who wore their brace for a certain number of hours a day, but then could remove it to bathe and play. Others who've worn it on a week, off a week, etc. There has to be a way to make it work with such a young child who needs to move around and play!

As far as the schools, just hang in there and keep fighting! The child's Least Restrictive Environment is supposed to be the deterimining factor in placement, but that's not always the case due to budget cuts. I'd ask if your dd could be in a regular ed classroom with an aide? Maybe that would work.

Good luck. Lots of worries and things on your plate!
Ellen

[lemonjen]

I will never look at my children the same as I did 4 years ago. Four years ago, life was easy! As easy as it could be with 2 toddlers. Then 1 day which seems like it hit out of nowhere, my ds had a brain tumor that comprised more than half of the left hemisphere. The acquired trauma to every region of the brain should have killed him. But he stands before me today and he is getting better every single day. Recently I have had people tell me he actually seems "typical" compared to when we started our journey.

I don't sleep, I worry about every bump, bruise, every hurt feeling, every detail of every minute of every day. I even worry about our 2 "typical" children. Every ailment is a huge worry for me. I've worked very hard at getting past worrying about every detail but it's hard somedays. I find it particularly hard when there are so many changes being made that are out of my control. They usually surround the school setting.

I'm sorry you are going through this. My point here is you are not alone. A very well respected Brain Surgeon has told me that my worry will never leave. I will never look at my son and not wonder if there is something I'm missing or something I should be looking for or doing for him. He also told me I was special.

We are all special here. We have all been chosen for this job as mom's of special needs kids. And I think our daily fights, daily battles with the schools, our perserverence, our advocacy makes us stronger! I am amazed at what I read here that is accomplished, being fought for our children!

Go Moms!

Jen

[trek]