by Whitney Barthel posted in Parenting

What is back-to-school like in the brain of a special-needs parent" It's like this.
Will my son?s new teacher know how to help him eat lunch" How many accidents will he have in the first day, week, month" Should I make a list of all of his non-verbal cues to give his teacher" I hope he doesn?t do that embarrassing chewing thing or touch himself inappropriately. Will the new kids in his class be afraid of him; will he have any friends"
Daniel (my son with Down syndrome) and Frankie (one of my "typical" children) on their first day of preschool nearly two years ago. 
On top of the basic worries parents of typical children face when entering back-to-school, we special-needs parents have so many, many, more. Worries and fears that go far beyond fretting over our child keeping up with others in their class. Fears of not only the teacher being able to educate our child, but also having the ability to be the primary caregiver for them much of the day. And when your child cannot eat typical food, has limited self-feeding capabilities, and is non-verbal, these fears are terrifying.
In my very short time having a school-aged child who has special needs, I have found my particular back-to-school fears can be summed up in two categories.
First, if you are coming off a low year, you wonder if you could even survive another school year. Second, if you are coming off a particularly high year, you dread school, fe...