(First in a Pair)
Focus on Your Child’s Strengths
The idea of “Islands of Competence”
Thoughts from my former self: I am the mother of an adopted daughter who experienced trauma as an infant. I originally wrote this article in 2016. Since then, I have continued to learn and grow. Updated insight are contained in
Deficit-Driven Systems
Have you ever noticed how the systems set up to support special needs children are deficit-driven? Mental health diagnoses, IEP goals, therapy goals — they all focus upon what the child doesn’t do well enough, or does too much, or doesn’t do enough, or must learn.
The focus is always on what needs to change.
Identifying possible improvements and helping the child work toward a better life is what loving, responsible parents do. But when a child has complex special needs, parents may become bombarded from well-meaning professionals and educators, as well as from their own desires and expectations. The message? “Work on this, work on this, and also work on…
