Hey Everyone!
I'm off tomorrow, so I should be able to post an update soon...
Ed and I just returned from a rather lengthy meeting for parents of Special Education students in our home school. The Supt. of Schools has been having these meetings for the past several weeks. He wanted to "touch base" with us to see how our experiences with the school district have been... the good, the bad, and the ugly!
I was so excited to get this opportunity to talk with other parents that have similar situations. Billy has been in the school system since he was three years old and this is the first time anyone of the "higher ups" has ever invited Special Ed parents to such a meeting.
Because of current financial woes in New Jersey, we have just learned that our school district will no longer be receiving any state aid. That's a big
ZERO... we're losing 4 million dollars, to be precise. Wow.
Of course, this means that there will be many, many cuts made. We figured that Special Ed services would be the last thing to get cut, but we were still concerned. So were a lot of other parents. The room was packed.
The Supt. had each one of us take a turn to talk about our child/children in Special Ed and give our opinions about the services provided. Overall, most parents were happy with things and we were happier to learn that the services indicated in our childrens' Individualized Educational Plans would be safe from the sweeping cuts.
Anyway, what I
really wanted to tell you... and now comes the WDW tie-in... was that I met a lovely woman sitting next to me at the meeting. Our row was one of the last to speak, so we had already sat through about thirty individual stories from parents. Most kids attend our school within district (mainstreamed), but a few (like Billy) are sent out of district because they need more intensive services. Most of the kids have some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Learning Disability, etc.
Well, this mom starts talking about her son (age 11... same as Billy) who has Cerebral Palsy and a host of other medical conditions (multiple surgeries, fed via gastric tube, etc.) and, like the rest of us, has been happy with most services but has a few concerns. She spoke so eloquently and calmly that many of us moms began to get teary-eyed. The woman whose turn it was next was so choked up that she couldn't speak and had to pass on her turn and talk later.
You think that
you have it tough and then you listen to someone like that who is bravely dealing with so much more... it is very humbling.
So... after the meeting ended we all stood up and I turned to her and said, "I've just got to give you a hug!" We hugged and she told me that she liked my Mickey earrings.
I asked her if she had ever been to WDW with her son. She smiled widely and said they had been there eleven times and were DVC members!! Then we agreed that WDW is really the only place where our families could vacation and feel "normal"... its so hard to describe this unless you are in a similar situation... but we exchanged phone #s and I'm sure we'll be talking soon.
I didn't get to ask her if she was a DISer... but I intend to! It sounds as if she would fit right in!
Okay, sorry to bend your ears (or, technically, your eyes!) Just wanted to share. I'm off to bed and will be posting tomorrow!
G'Night! Sweet Disney Dreams!
Kathy
the Muppets -- I remember watching The Muppet Show growing up and all the movies, so I always get a kick out of the 3D Muppets at the Studio. Although, I must admit, I laugh the hardest during the preshow when Rizzo comes out dressed as Mickey Mouse. 
if you can ship yourself to Chicago, I'll take you w/ us in a suitcase too 
