The best advice I have for
any parent of special needs children in this first meeting with a school/program is:
remember that YOU have as much interest in getting information out of this meeting as they do. Proceed accordingly.That often takes some of the pressure out of things-- you aren't necessarily there to "prove" anything, or even to elicit promises from them about services or placement. This is just a "getting to know you" meeting in what has the potential to be a long and productive partnership to benefit your child. This isn't a sprint-- but no matter how badly it goes,
information is still a good thing, as Grinity notes. This will help you to decide whether or not it is worth your energy to have a
second meeting with them, if nothing else.
Make a list of questions that you really would like to know the answers to, and take notes.
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What Nan says is painfully true. Even my daughter's own family members who were trained educators refused to believe that she was actually doing the things she was doing-- preferring to think of them as interesting parlour tricks instead of overcoming the cognitive dissonance that it induced. Pretty sad when your own family is telling you that "She seems like a completely normal, average four year old... it's not THAT unusual for kids to ask about situational ethics and the cultural significance of myth before kindergarten... nevermind reading..." <bangs-head> It was very hard for me to come to grips with the simple fact that these people were flatly
wrong. I have no idea what the motivation is behind that kind of rationalization or denial, but I know that it exists.
