We've been sick on and off since mid September. I was sick for my birthday in late September. I seemed to get better only to have it return with a bang about 2 weeks ago. Mark was just starting his second round of antibiotics and Melodi suddenly became ill on Madilyn's birthday. She tested positive for swine flu and shortly after that I started feeling sick again. The doctors assume I had swine flu but also said walking pneumonia. Now 9 days later I'm on my second round of antibiotics and still sick. The coughing spells are bad, luckily I have an inhaler now to help.
Mark seems to be doing better, Melodi bounced back quickly and Madilyn has not been sick (knock on wood). Let's hope I get better and we get back to normal life soon.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Unnecessary Battles
It seems that we are always in some sort of battle with the school system. I am amazed that there are laws in place, yet they are not followed and that we are the bad guys for insisting that they be followed. I've spent the past 3 years learning Special Education Law in order to fully advocate for my kids. My law books have become my bible and I've actually had to use them in school meetings when I'm told I don't know what I'm talking about. These are not simple misunderstandings between us and teachers or even the Principal who may not be well versed in the law. These are major debates with top District Administrators who oversee Special Education and are paid to know the law.
I am also constantly amazed that the school system will not admit if they've done something wrong and that they will make promises to your face but never document them and then deny the promises later. The mistakes and promises are always classified as "misunderstandings" or "miscommunications" despite audio recordings and the use of state assigned facilitators/notetakers. There are never any apologies - nothing. I'm not an insensitive horrible person. I understand that people are human and mistakes are made. There would be alot less battles and hostilities if people and the system in general would just own up to things if they've messed up or made empty promises.
I recently sat in a meeting where the school District tried to make major changes to my daughters Individualized Education Plan (Iep). They had no data or assessments to support the changes as they felt that their opinions were sufficient. I knew the law required them to provide more to support the change. The District Administrator at the meeting admitted that they did not have all that was needed to make the changes but that the changes were being made regardless. I tried to work with them, asked them to obtain the necessary testing/data first and then re-visit the issue, they refused. I warned them that I knew I could file for a state hearing which would require them to maintain the status quo until the hearing was completed. They didn't care and told me not to threaten them. We were forced to file the state hearing paperwork that night to maintain the aide for our daughter and are now the bad guys. The State is required now to pay an out of State Attorney to act as the Hearing Officer and our District has hired their own Attorney also. We suspect the matter will be quickly resolved before a hearing as they have no legal standing for what they attempted to do, the law is very clear on what was required and they will not want the hearing to become a public record. In the meantime tax payer dollars are paying for these Attorneys to be involved because the school district tried to avoid following the law and now doesn't want to do the right thing unless forced. There will never be an admission of wrong doing, they will simply try to settle in "the spirit of compromise." It's really sad that I as a mom of two special needs kids has to spend my time policing the school system and their compliance with basic laws. I am not paid for this, yet the idiots involved can sit in countless meetings about the issue and drag things out for as long as possible while they are being paid. It's all just ridiculous!!!!
I am also constantly amazed that the school system will not admit if they've done something wrong and that they will make promises to your face but never document them and then deny the promises later. The mistakes and promises are always classified as "misunderstandings" or "miscommunications" despite audio recordings and the use of state assigned facilitators/notetakers. There are never any apologies - nothing. I'm not an insensitive horrible person. I understand that people are human and mistakes are made. There would be alot less battles and hostilities if people and the system in general would just own up to things if they've messed up or made empty promises.
I recently sat in a meeting where the school District tried to make major changes to my daughters Individualized Education Plan (Iep). They had no data or assessments to support the changes as they felt that their opinions were sufficient. I knew the law required them to provide more to support the change. The District Administrator at the meeting admitted that they did not have all that was needed to make the changes but that the changes were being made regardless. I tried to work with them, asked them to obtain the necessary testing/data first and then re-visit the issue, they refused. I warned them that I knew I could file for a state hearing which would require them to maintain the status quo until the hearing was completed. They didn't care and told me not to threaten them. We were forced to file the state hearing paperwork that night to maintain the aide for our daughter and are now the bad guys. The State is required now to pay an out of State Attorney to act as the Hearing Officer and our District has hired their own Attorney also. We suspect the matter will be quickly resolved before a hearing as they have no legal standing for what they attempted to do, the law is very clear on what was required and they will not want the hearing to become a public record. In the meantime tax payer dollars are paying for these Attorneys to be involved because the school district tried to avoid following the law and now doesn't want to do the right thing unless forced. There will never be an admission of wrong doing, they will simply try to settle in "the spirit of compromise." It's really sad that I as a mom of two special needs kids has to spend my time policing the school system and their compliance with basic laws. I am not paid for this, yet the idiots involved can sit in countless meetings about the issue and drag things out for as long as possible while they are being paid. It's all just ridiculous!!!!
Friday, October 2, 2009
The Simple Things
I just love my kids.
-We had new beds delivered yesterday at the same time that the roofers were here doing repairs. The squeals of delight were precious as they watched the men go up and down the ladder and saw the delivery truck arrive. You would have thought it was Christmas around here. They love love love their new beds. Madilyn had been sleeping on a really old mattress that I bought for my first apartment 20 years ago while Melodi had been sleeping in a toddler bed with her crib mattress. It was definetly time for new beds. Both girls were so excited to show daddy their new beds when he got home last night. Melodi kept telling us that she is a big girl now. There were giggles last night as we put them to bed and smiles this morning. It was all very cute.
-They had a play date yesterday with a friend at McDonalds (thanks Caroline). There were more giggles and excitement. Play dates have been rare up to this point as we've been busy with therapies for years. It's so nice to know that these can become more common now.
-Today we are going to bake together. I call it "cooking with mommy time." They are both so excited to be in the kitchen and want to help with everything. It's a nice bonding time for us.
Their happiness is a good reminder for me. Life gets too complicated/stressful, sometimes you just have to enjoy the simple stuff.
-We had new beds delivered yesterday at the same time that the roofers were here doing repairs. The squeals of delight were precious as they watched the men go up and down the ladder and saw the delivery truck arrive. You would have thought it was Christmas around here. They love love love their new beds. Madilyn had been sleeping on a really old mattress that I bought for my first apartment 20 years ago while Melodi had been sleeping in a toddler bed with her crib mattress. It was definetly time for new beds. Both girls were so excited to show daddy their new beds when he got home last night. Melodi kept telling us that she is a big girl now. There were giggles last night as we put them to bed and smiles this morning. It was all very cute.
-They had a play date yesterday with a friend at McDonalds (thanks Caroline). There were more giggles and excitement. Play dates have been rare up to this point as we've been busy with therapies for years. It's so nice to know that these can become more common now.
-Today we are going to bake together. I call it "cooking with mommy time." They are both so excited to be in the kitchen and want to help with everything. It's a nice bonding time for us.
Their happiness is a good reminder for me. Life gets too complicated/stressful, sometimes you just have to enjoy the simple stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
