Kicking things off!

What an exciting week!  A lot of 'unknowns' are now becoming more clear for me, so it has been really fun to have more of an idea of what my work is going to be like this fall!  I haven't been this excited about general work routines for several years, so it is a breath of fresh air!  So far, the dreams I had for starting this business seem to be worth the risk - I have been able to be with my kids at key moments this week in the first week of school, and my schedule is looking like it is just right for me.  Now talk to me in a few weeks in the craziness of first assessments and sorting out caseload and I might be singing a different tune, ha!  I'm super thankful for my kind friends that are giving me invaluable help through this transition.

But as I head off to the schools tomorrow, advocating for kids with disabilities, this thought comes to mind this evening.  

To me, this seems like sort of a no-brainer at first.  But I have seen evidence to the contrary a number of times in my career, even, I will admit, by myself in earlier days.  I have been guilty of making assumptions about what kids were understanding, just because they didn't have a way to indicate their understanding to me.  But I have been proven wrong in a glorious fashion a number of times, and I'm thankful that I was.  

This quote says it fairly clearly - it is safest to assume (at least at first) that a child is capable of learning.  I believe it is a human right to learn and to be challenged and to be given the same opportunities as other kids whenever possible, with adaptations to compensate for the complex communication challenges.  In essence, it's about respect.  And students deserve respect just as much anyone else.  In my humble opinion!