Meetings

Did you get the call about the meeting we scheduled? We'll be sure to follow up with a debrief of the meeting, meeting. And then we'll have a follow up call to our debrief meeting, meeting where we can sit and talk about the same thing we met about last year and again this year. And then we're going to send you some paper work from our meeting that no one is going to actually look at or implement but at least we're meeting about it and creating a paper trail that proves we were all at the meeting.

The worst part about these meetings is that they don't even have snacks. Is it too much to ask to bust out some donut holes and bad coffee?

Hmph.

Yes, I am a bit of a complainer. As I'm sure you've concluded by now.

I love that the Doodle is getting so many wonderful autism and special needs services don't get me wrong...but with so many agencies involved there seems to be nothing but meetings and follow ups and in home visits. Every day I have an Aid of some sort here in the house and when I'm not having a meeting about the Doodle, I'm having a meeting at the school for Jimmy. So there's the appointments with the aids and then there is the meetings with Supervisors of the aids. Then there's meeting with the Regional Center and there's meetings with the Teachers and there's meeting with the Nursing Agency and there's meetings to determine if these services are needed or necessary or can be continued. Blah. Blah. Blah.

At our last IEP Meeting back in A U G U S T , we discussed that the Doodle would be receiving Physical Therapy (PT and OT is special needs kids buzz abs--abs is short for abbreviations). There it was written on that legal document they call an IEP (Individualized Education Plan--more terms to catch up on for special needs kids acronyms) that the Doodle is supposed to be getting 80 minutes per month of OT and an evaluation to determine the amount of minutes he should be receiving PT. Do you think that's happened yet? No. He has been in school now for over a month and is supposed to be getting these services but has not. And, we already had a meeting about it. So now, I get to have another meeting about it. I met with his Special Ed Preschool Teacher yesterday where she told me she didn't know about this.

"Hmmmm", I said, "But you were sitting at the IEP Meeting when this was decided. And, you have a copy of the IEP so I'm not sure how you don't know
about it".

I get it that things fall through the cracks, that things get overlooked...but when that happens you take responsibility for said things, apologize and move on. She looked at me straight in the face and told me that this must have happened because of the Doodle's inner district transfer or some bull crap like that. I told her, he never went to another school first and reminded her again that she was actually present, physically anyway, at the IEP meeting and it shouldn't matter if he came from Mars...the point being he has lost over a month of PT and OT services.

Damn.

So now, we're gearing up for another meeting about the meeting and whether an addendum needs to be written so we can meet about it. I will have to fit this all in, in my spare time. Time that I have so little of already to rehash more of the same. Lucky for me I am skilled in time management and can schedule these meetings in between my 40 hour a week full time job and trying to care for my family.

I received some great advice the other day from a nice lady I met online with a special needs child...she said not to make myself crazy with all the different appointments, therapies, doctors, counseling, support groups, etc. to just give myself some room to breathe that it is OK to say No Thank You to a therapy appointment or two--PT, OT, Speech, etc for the Doodle. I guess I have been feeling guilty if I don't take advantage of every single opportunity that comes his way in the form of helping him develop something...or catch up...or learn something. But she's right. Sometimes it's too much for one person to handle and juggle and at some level it's not helping if I am a stress case running from meeting to meeting and appointment to appointment and I can't take care of myself and the rest of my family. It's why I have given up Weight Watchers and my weekly therapy sessions...I'm just tired of having to be one more place for one more meeting. When I have a free hour to myself with no kids, the last place I want to be is at Fat Camp or getting analyzed.

So tonight, I am going to set an "intention". My intention is to let go of some of my guilt and say No to some things that don't fit into our crazy schedule so that I can create some space to be a better, happier MOM, daughter, friend, wife and person.