public vs. private

The public system is shrouded in dark confusion. It is never clear who you should be communicating with. People are impossible to get hold of. Calls are not returned. There is bureaucracy and a never-ending chain of command. There are lost forms and passivity and NO INTIATIVE. You have to advocate for your child. You have to chase up EVERY SINGLE THING or it will not happen. Nobody looks out for you. Nobody is helpful. Recently i spoke to the DECS speech therapist who evaluated Willow late last year. i needed a copy of his evaluation to give to her current school. He still hadn't completed it although he had seen Willow months previously. he told me smugly... "i can tell you now, that there is NO WAY willow will get support under the Catholic program".

Willow's current school approaches things differently. when catholic ed said Willow did not qualify for support based on the reports we presented the school asked the special education officer to come out and observed willow. instead taking a glance at her from across a crowded room and saying "I can tell you know there is no way she will get support", which is what the disability coordinator at DECS said to me after less than a minute's observation of Willow, the catholic ed woman spent and hour with willow and came out saying "she doesn't fall into any of our funding categories, but desperately needs support and I will find a way to get it."