Laura D's Page

I think every IEP season a small piece of me dies. I hate all the pedantic statements and the meaningless numbers that try to quantify the unquantifiable and create the illusion of objectivity. But what I hate most about it all, is how it paints us flat, every one of us, beginning with my son. Although the whole 30-page document is about him (supposedly), how is it that I don’t recognize him in it?  Could it be because there’s no mention of his most notable qualities:…

I wear the dual hats of being a parent of a child with special needs and of being a professional who works with families such as our own. In both of these roles, I’ve often found myself wanting to push people past thinking about inclusion as a practice that benefits individuals with special needs toward seeing what benefits inclusion can bring to society as a whole. This is hard, sometimes for all of us. Today I experienced an exchange with my own son that…