After an eight-year break, I am back to blogging. In those years I did many things. Most were fun. Those not fun then, are fun now in retrospect! My daughter is now a young adult (and that's another story). Our journey began when she was 5 years old and assessed for Dyslexia and ADHD. Special education and occupational therapy followed. Now she's a well-adjusted teenager going through normal teenager 'angst' and has 'regular' mum-daughter fights. It has not been a smooth ride. We fell off many bumps and had to jump extra hard over obstacles. That's okay. But every time we fell, we picked ourselves up, dusted our backsides and continued on our journey. My daughter and I made a good team. That's important - a good team. Another four years and she'll be out of school.
An important lesson I learnt: I have to advocate for my child. At five she doesn't know it, I fight for both of us. By the time she's 8, she knows Special Ed and Occupational Therapy (OT) are good for her. But she still needs encouragement from me. I have to advocate for her. By the time she's 10 there's free will. She does most things on her own. She's independent. I still advocate for her. She's 14 and I continue to advocate for her. I have to advocate for her until she's 18.
That's her entire school life!
An important lesson I learnt: I have to advocate for my child. At five she doesn't know it, I fight for both of us. By the time she's 8, she knows Special Ed and Occupational Therapy (OT) are good for her. But she still needs encouragement from me. I have to advocate for her. By the time she's 10 there's free will. She does most things on her own. She's independent. I still advocate for her. She's 14 and I continue to advocate for her. I have to advocate for her until she's 18.
That's her entire school life!
You will and you can continue to advocate for her as long as she needs it. When she is a confident adult it will drop on its own. No time line for that. Best of luck. Thank you for your courage.
ReplyDeleteYou will and you can continue to advocate for her as long as she needs it. When she is a confident adult it will drop on its own. No time line for that. Best of luck. Thank you for your courage.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks. You are one of my guiding lights.
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