and WITH much gratitude to you, dr. john hall.

Shelley and my community of Cedars therapists and teachers, being "in the profession," as my mom once labeled them, were certain that I should move on to a special-education first grade. I needed to continue in small classes and slowly work my way up the developmental chain. They still considered me significantly delayed and pointed to my continuing language problems and aggressive behavior. Sending me to regular school, where I would be faced with twenty-five or thirty other students in a classroom that had only one teacher would put me at a tremendous disadvantage and essentially set me up for academic, emotional, and psychological disaster.

My mother vehemently disagreed. She knew - as she always had - that I could do more than they expected. She expected - no, she knew - I would be successful in regular school if given the opportunity to try. Over all protests, written and verbal, she arranged for me to start school, on time, in a regular classroom with a standard first-grade curriculum.

With that one decision, my mother totally altered the trajectory of my life away from perpetually disadvantaged and toward limitless possibilities.

God bless you, Mom.

sarah

it is a powerful excerpt from one of the first books i read in my neurodiverse parenting journey. it has lived in my heart and mind ever since and inspires my work to this day. 

Even If You Don't Join Our A List Community, I Hope You'll Read This:

Even if you don't join our A List Community, I hope you'll read this: