Names and other identifying information have been removed from testimonials to respect the privacy of the parents and more importantly, the children. One day these stories will not be parents’ stories. These stories will belong solely to the children and they may wish to tell or not their stories. We recognize and honor the children’s right to privacy.
So What Now was a lifesaver when I was having problems with my kid’s IEP. The school was doing it wrong and they would not listen to me. My kindergartener was going to be kicked out until Diane helped me. She was able to explain my rights, my kids’ rights and what steps I could take to get the school to change the IEP. She went to meetings and talked to the school about my son’s needs. The IEP was fixed. No more calls at work. No more behavior episodes at school. No more arguing with teachers. My kid is doing great!
Anonymous Mom
I thought I was losing my mind when my teenage son was hospitalized for suicide attempts. I trusted the hospital staff to take care of him and they didn’t. In fact, every day that he was in the hospital he became more withdrawn, more depressed and he started harming himself. When I tried to take him out of the hospital, I was threatened with DCS. This is something that no parent should ever have go through and it is something that I don’t think I would have made it through without Diane. I was beside myself with sadness and I felt so helpless. Diane listened to me for as long as I needed to talk or yell or scream or cry and helped me get through each day until I could get my son home. Having someone who knew what I was going through tell me I wasn’t losing my mind was exactly what I needed to sat sane and get through each day.
Mom on the Edge
I was ready to give up and let the school expel my child. My child came home crying almost every day because she got in trouble at school and didn’t know why. The teachers would say she had an episode, emotional meltdown, tantrum, fit or breakdown. They put my child in holds, the “observation room” (a padded room like the ones you see in movies), took away recess, sent her to another classroom to work alone and called nearly everyday for me to pick her up because they couldn’t calm her down. None of this was happening at home so I didn’t know what to do.
It took Kelly no time at all to figure out the problem, which was that the teachers and staff were not on the same page. Sometimes my child would get in trouble and sometimes she wouldn’t. This was too much for a 5 year-old to understand and it caused severe anxiety, confusion and the emotional responses that staff escalated by being inconsistent.
Kelly saw my child as a child, not an IEP or a diagnosis or a problem. She understood my frustration, my confusion and my reasons for wanting to keep my child in that school. She explained the inconsistencies and had everyone look at it from a child’s point of view and move on from there. It was so helpful to have someone with me who could remain calm and keep everyone focused on the solutions.
My daughter comes home from school happy now.
Happy Parent