Today when I was picking Charley up from school I witnessed another special needs child's aide being aggressive with Charley and scolding her. I was furious and heart broken. My child doesn't learn the way a typical child does. If she grabs at you she WILL NOT understand if you grab back at her and pull on her shirt. The words "you don't like me grabbing at you so don't grab at me" are lost on her. She understands "calm hands please". She doesn't know why you would talk to her so mean. She just gets stressed and cries or acts out more because she's scared. I'm trying to be calm but the momma bear in me wants to grab that woman like she grab my child and....... I'm sure you can imagine. This is has always been one of my biggest fears. People being mean to my non verbal child - am I supposed to follow her around every second to make sure everyone is being appropriate with her? What am I missing that she can't tell me? It makes me physically ill. She is my child. She is my hopes and my dreams. She is my inspiration. Just because she's not "typical" to the world doesn't mean she's not perfect to me!!
Alicia, I remember the exact same feeling when Riley was younger. I don't know how it is at your school, but I remember being shocked that they will hire a completely inexperienced minimum wage worker for such a specialized and intensive job. We had a nice enough lady, but she had absolutely no experience with special needs kids and I remember daily frustrations because of it.
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Linda Aubery
9/14/2012 02:32:55 pm
Oh Alicia, it breaks my heart to hear that someone in our field could treat Charley that way. I am always available to help out if you need me. Keep me posted if things don't improve.
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My Name is Alicia
I am a stay at home Mom sharing my struggles & joys that come with raising a child who has special needs. Welcome to my blog.