Hi all:
Now that my dd is happily settled into first grade with no anxiety, solid team support on the ld's and IEP and a great teacher who seems to understand her I have turned my focus to learning all I can about what she will need moving forward. I am in the middle of 5 or 6 different books - many recommended here ( The Misunderstood Child is amazing!). I am finding that the more I read the more emotions I am starting to feel about this whole situation. Did any of you go through this?
At first it was just a mad attack to gain as much information as I could to get her settled into a new school year in the proper place and with the proper support. Now I guess I have hit the stage where I feel sad about the difficulties she will face alternating with pride that she is such an amazing little person. Then there is fear about what the future may hold for her. Will she ever have the chance to make use of that amazing little brain with all these ld's to overcome? Then of course there is guilt - as I read more and more I am identifying some of my own issues and many of DH's. It leaves me feeling like this poor kid never had a chance with the genetic pool we offered her.
And then there is the anger - WHY didn't anyone at the last school recognize what was going on or listen to me when I tried to address it? And then of course more guilt over how could we have subjected her to that environment. Then occasionally pride that despite no support from the school we were able to find this early and get proper services in place.
DH is also experiencing this although his own dyslexia is making it very difficult for him to read as much or as fast as me. He is feeling totally guilty but also found out in the midst of this that during his own childhood the special ed teacher from his elementary school approached his parents several times with concerns about him and they refused to listen. "Boy it really would have been nice to get some help." So now he is beating himself up over what he passed along to her and also feeling resentment about what might have been possible if only he had the support he needed.
So anyone else experience this rollercoaster of emotions? On one hand I feel strongly that knowledge is power and so I want to learn all I can about how to help her, on the other hand so much of this information makes me sad, fearful, angry, guilty, etc. Any words of wisdom?
