It is amazing to me when God blesses us with a moment in time that seems like a coincidence or chance encounter. It's not chance at all... God is working around us at all times, and when we choose to look for chances to reach out and interact with other people, we are blessed with an experience that only God can give us.
Take this example...
Last April we took Maggie to Disneyland for her 5th birthday.
We decided to wait in line to see the Princesses... a 2 hour wait!
Who does that?
Well, parents of children who love Princesses, that's who!
Anyway, while waiting in line we started a conversation with the lady in front of us. It was a very long conversation- almost 2 hours, actually. The long story short is that she was a mother of 2 adopted children. Both of her adopted children had special needs and so she was well-versed in the life of Special Education in public schools.
She had since become a Parent Advocate to help families navigate the Special Ed journey through school. She had one major piece of advice for us, since we had shared that Maggie would soon be in a typical Kindergarten. She said that teachers are busy- this we knew! She said that sometimes the teachers are not given, or haven't had the time to read, the IEP's for their students who are identified- this we also knew! But what we didn't know, is that it would be a good idea to make a little "cheat sheet" for our Maggie... nothing too over-the-top... just a little information that might be important for the teacher to know ASAP. Her child, for instance, did not look people in the eyes, or respond verbally very well. So, she always let the teacher know that her son was not being rude, but that one of his special needs was that he had a hard time making eye contact and responding appropriately. Letting the teacher know this information on Day 1 saved everyone a lot of headaches and extra meetings to discuss certain behaviors.
What great advice!
Last April we took Maggie to Disneyland for her 5th birthday.
We decided to wait in line to see the Princesses... a 2 hour wait!
Who does that?
Well, parents of children who love Princesses, that's who!
Anyway, while waiting in line we started a conversation with the lady in front of us. It was a very long conversation- almost 2 hours, actually. The long story short is that she was a mother of 2 adopted children. Both of her adopted children had special needs and so she was well-versed in the life of Special Education in public schools.
She had since become a Parent Advocate to help families navigate the Special Ed journey through school. She had one major piece of advice for us, since we had shared that Maggie would soon be in a typical Kindergarten. She said that teachers are busy- this we knew! She said that sometimes the teachers are not given, or haven't had the time to read, the IEP's for their students who are identified- this we also knew! But what we didn't know, is that it would be a good idea to make a little "cheat sheet" for our Maggie... nothing too over-the-top... just a little information that might be important for the teacher to know ASAP. Her child, for instance, did not look people in the eyes, or respond verbally very well. So, she always let the teacher know that her son was not being rude, but that one of his special needs was that he had a hard time making eye contact and responding appropriately. Letting the teacher know this information on Day 1 saved everyone a lot of headaches and extra meetings to discuss certain behaviors.
What great advice!
I took the advice and am so glad I did!
Here it is... with some information deleted for privacy sake...
Here it is... with some information deleted for privacy sake...
Maggie's teacher thanked me today for the information I gave her,
as she has not been given Maggie's IEP yet.
She said that it was such a good idea!
I thanked God because He reminded me, AGAIN,
that He is always in control, and even when I can't physically be taking care of Maggie, He is!
