There was so much I wanted to say, reading through this thread, but then I got to your response, Pemberley, and I am all tears and beaming smiles, and can barely see the screen through them both. I will return to this post when I find the journey overwhelming - as well as when I am celebrating the incredible places it brings us to.
The only thing more amazing than your mothering is the daughter you have raised. So many years focused on fighting battles to deal with everything wrong. We do mourn the childhood lost, as well as the future that won't be. That is reality. But only a small part of it, overwhelming as it feels these younger years. Immersed in problems that demand everything we've got (and then some), we easily lose track that they are only a small piece of our child. But the strengths - oh the strengths you have unleashed! She is an extraordinary girl, your DD, and she is going to take on the world in ways that will astound you.
For many of our kids, school makes incredible demands on their weaknesses, and allows little room for their strengths. The latter seem insignificant in comparison, and seem to provide limited benefit. But the real world, scary as the prospect is, is full of places where those weaknesses will matter so much less, and her strengths so much more. She will have the freedom - and the courage and strength and skills and perseverance - to find the right places and people, the ones where she will take those wings you've helped her grow, and soar. She really, really will.
On a more prosaic note, I happened to be at a meeting of our local LD association last night, and the presenter was discussing how fast the workplaces out there are changing. A generation of kids is coming through with iPads attached to their fingertips and assistive technology as natural as breathing. I was fascinated to hear her describe how they are walking into workplaces expecting Individual Employee Plans - and they're getting them. The workplace is changing faster than the schools, it would appear.
