Time for a transition

So we had our first meeting with the school district folks today. We're not really looking forward to this transition since we feel like we're finally settling into a nice routine, we like all of Quinn's providers, and he is doing really well. But he is 2.5, and so The Transition Must Go On.

The school district folks were nice enough, but it was pretty weird how they kept talking about how Quinn needed to be "assessed" to determine his "needs" before we could even begin to discuss service options. Haven't enough public funds been spent on assessments for our child? We really know quite a lot about his "needs" and have stacks of paper to prove how knowledgeable we are.

Part of what's frustrating is that because Quinn's issues are primarily developmental, not physical (if you ignore the absence of FMR1 protein, hypotonia, macrocephaly, and increased risk for seizures and mitral valve prolapse), people always feel they need to "assess" for themselves. If Quinn had no legs, people would simply say, "Of course he needs some help getting around." But because he has no/little speech and a host of other less visible issues, he always needs to be "assessed". Even though to me not being able to say "mama" at 2.5 years old is as obvious a sign of disability as missing legs. And I'm not minimizing the difficulties of having missing limbs. I just envy the speed and objectivity with which missing limbs can be "assessed".

The hilarious part is that at the end of all these assessments, the conclusion is always the same: "Your child is really delayed." No way! For real?

As I said, the people were very nice. And I get how bureaucracy works. But it really is a PITA and I feel entitled to whine just a little.