Get The Ice Cream
I want to share something with the parent who leaves an IEP meeting and is told:
"Goals were NOT met."
TAKE YOUR CHILD FOR ICE CREAM!
Even though every goal may not have been met or achieved or mastered, there is still so much to celebrate.
You are here. You showed up. You are doing the best you can!
And your child may be moving along this journey at their own pace. That tempo can't always be predicted, expected, or measured.
Sometimes goals need to be reevaluated, adjusted, or thrown out. It's not always as simple as:
Goal met.
or;
Goal not met!
Because, humans are complex and nuanced.
So if you left that meeting feeling defeated, guilty, sad, or disappointed... or worse, like you are "to blame," PLEASE give yourself and your child GRACE!
I have been there. I have tried to hold back the tears, only to feel them whelming up and trickling down my exhausted face—while sitting frozen at that table, papers being pushed around, as my heart felt like it was going to shatter.
Here's the thing...
Your child is more than the words and measurable goals on that paper.
They are more than accommodations.
They are more than a diagnosis.
Your child's spirit and humanity can not be measured. They are WHOLE.
TAKE YOUR CHILD FOR ICE CREAM!
Celebrate how far they've come and how far they will go, one foot in front of the other, one day at a time.
You've got this!