IEPs are so sad

I don't find IEPs particularly challenging at this age. I have been lucky to work with so many wonderful, skilled teachers and staff who are genuinely looking out for my kid's potential. I feel that I know my kid well and can suggest valuable ideas to the IEP team. We have 2 years of Special Education behind us and that label does not cause me anxiety. There is no stigma here - just love and support.But IEP meetings are just plain sad. It is really stinking sad. We sit in these board rooms to hold 2hour+ meetings that review long, detailed reports (from the teacher, school psych, the OT, the Speech therapist, whatever whomever might as well be the lunch lady too) on all of the places that our kid has"deficits" that can be remedied with intervention. Or worse, showing deficits that barely scratch the edge of normal so they legally do not need to provide intervention. And then we plan for next year and think about ways to monitor his growth and success in very technical terms. I know that this meeting is not the whole of our child. I know that my child's future is not determined by numbers on a chart, taken at a snapshot in time. I know we, as parents, are strong enough and mature enough to face the facts while still holding hope and faith in our kid's abilities. But the whole process is just a shitbowl of sadness.Thanks for reading. Just needed to let it off my chest. via /r/Parenting http://bit.ly/2U7GfXN