Without missing a beat the principal said "Well, that's certainly optimistic of you!"
That's probably seared into your soul now. But it won't matter. You'll educate him, you'll get DD into a better place, and he'll never remember that that was what he thought. (He'll probably even get to take credit for how well she's doing later. Oh, well.) Forgive him, and gradually educate him to get him on board with what your DD needs.
We recently hired an educational advocate who will revisit the IEP at the next meeting. He found some flaws that he thinks need to be addressed. Since I rejected the IEP last week over the hat issue we will hopefully be able to meet again soon.
Excellent. We have found our advocate to be worth every penny we pay her. It makes the IEP stronger. It takes some load off you, too, which is important.
This is all just SO exhausting, frustrating, demoralizing, etc. I totally sympathize with DD but don't want to feed into it. How can I keep her engaged and optimistic when I am feeling so beaten down?
This is where you have to put on your own oxygen mask before assisting other passengers. You are in a marathon, not a sprint. You need to figure out how to feed your soul, and do that thing, whatever it is. (Exercise class? Trashy novel? Only you know what that thing is, but make it happen at least a few times a week.)
Your DD needs you to be in good shape emotionally, so that you are not done in by the various struggles.
Hang in there.
DeeDee
