From the time that I knew something wasn't right about my son, I wanted him labelled. You probably would think I am crazy. Why would I want my child to go through life with a Label. To be seen as the child who has a disorder. So teachers and other adults, even peers can see him with different eyes, the one to avoid, the one who has problems. I guess as an educator being part of the school system I've seen first hand what a label can do for a child. All I wanted was help for my son, academically, emotionally, and physically. Understanding that he was different than most kids his age, that he struggled with daily tasks, and anxiety was a huge part of his life.
It started when he was in Kindergarten, I remember being told, 'Chad has difficulty with the alphabet, numbers, and he can't follow simple instructions. As most parents I was devastated with this information, that somehow it was my fault that he didn't know these things. Then came grade 1, with new hope for learning. This too ended as the time before, Chad was struggling and no one knew why. Instead they sent him on to grade two with no diagnosis and no answers. There was some testing done in grade 2, results showed that he was 'slower' than his peers, I think I realized this by now, I just wanted answers.
The more years I spent in the school system the more I realized that if Chad were to get help he needed the elusive diagnosis, something, anything. By the end of grade 3 I had managed to have him seen by a popular Physio Therapist who diagnosed children with Sensory Disorders. I felt this could be the diagnosis that would give him added assistance he so desperately needed. Chad was diagnosed with this disorder, which explained alot of his behaviours. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get any assistance.
As the years went on I saw more children at school who needed assistance and parents who would reject it, all because they didn't want the diagnosis or label. This was frustrating to me, these children were offered assistance and my own son was not.
Chad went on to get many diagnosis, ADD, OCD, Sensory Disorder, Mental Retardation(not a diagnosis I approved of), Anxiety,Non Verbal Learning Disability and ODD. Finally at 13 Brain Injury. I grieved for each and every diagnosis, I also became angry, because after all of these he only received assistance when he got to Junior High. Chad was put into a special program which is what he needed. It took an incredibly long time to get my son the help he needed, I often think back and know that it was to little to late.
Now the school systems are all about Early Intervention, which is a wonderful approach. This will help all children grow to their potential. Signs of problems are caught early and children have so many opportunities to help them. As a parent I know it's scary to think that your child may have difficulties, because we all want the best for our kids. I also know both as an educator and a parent that we owe our children these opportunities, and if they come with a label, it doesn't define who they are. They will always be perfect in our eyes. We need to embrace our children's learning however it happens. A label is not a bad thing, it doesn't define who we are.
Chad's Graduation Pic
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