Disability Is Natural Books and Media
No More Sacrificial Lambs
What if ensuring a student’s educational "rights" are met causes more problems for the student and/or her family? Or if doing so sucks all the energy out of us, so we’re no longer happy, loving parents? There are many other situations to consider, aren’t there?
Kathie Snow
Parents often go to extraordinary lengths to make sure their children receive the services, programs, and rights they’re entitled to under disability laws, insurance benefits, or other sources. And this seems like a good and noble thing, but is it really?
Extraordinary parental efforts may occur within IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings, which are often tension-filled skirmishes with educators. Or they may play out as a firm, determined interchange with service providers, therapists, or other professionals. But sometimes, during parents’ Herculean efforts, the child actually become a sacrificial lamb, laid before the gods we know as Rights, Entitlements, and Laws. “Getting Services” becomes more important than the child’s life.
“Karen” was not happy with her daughter’s education. Twelve-year-old “Mandy” had enjoyed several successful and inclusive years in elementary school, but middle school was turning into a disaster. Karen had spent countless hours trying to work with the 7th grade educators, but to no avail. She was frustrated and angry. Simultaneously, Mandy was suffering: she was pulled out...Click here to continue.
DISABILITY IS NATURAL!
New Ways of Thinking and Revolutionary Common Sense