Those Post-ORS Review Blues
Is there such a thing as Post-ORS Review Blues?! Well I’ve made it a thing and I think it’s worth talking about!!!! To all the Mamas and Papas out there that have to go through the stress, anxiety and the whirlwind of emotions that come with applying for ORS and then later go through the review meeting, I feel ya. It’s always catch 22 isn’t it? You want your child to get ORS so they get to benefit from the support of a Teacher Aide and Specialist Teacher but then it dredges up all those emotions that you went through during the early days when you were discovering that things weren’t quite right with your little one.
For those who are not familiar with what ORS is, it stands for Ongoing Resourcing Scheme. In a nutshell this is what will give your child the additional support they will need if attending a mainstream school or will support in the application to attend a Special School. It has nine different criteria (when applying for ORS what criterion you apply for is dependent on your child’s needs) which covers the five different needs required for learning support. It is with the child throughout their schooling years (up to the age of 21). I won’t go into the details as you can access this information online.
Why am I talking about this today? Well yesterday I sat through an almost two-hour meeting discussing everything Ava can’t do. I get it, we need to highlight this to justify the hours she’s receiving (as any student who receives more than 20 hours of T/A support is more likely to get pulled up for a review with the hours reducing over time) and I was totally fine during the meeting but once I left, it hit me. I was so emotionally drained, so guttered, so heart-broken as a parent. I think sometimes Professionals forget that I’m a parent when dealing with Ava. They think I’m going into a meeting with my SLT hat on but in actual fact I’m going in as a parent, nothing else.
Ava has made some great progress in the last year and we have an amazing school, teachers, teacher aid, therapists on board but in reality, if your kid’s hours don’t get slashed it is clearly a reflection in their overall development.
So, what did I do when I got home? I poured myself a glass of red (or two or maybe two and a half), kept it together in front of the kids and got stuck into the evening grind; dinner, bath, play, and then story. It wasn’t too bad, nothing tipped me over the edge tonight, I thought to myself, woohoo, I made it! Then my husband came home. All of a sudden, I just let it all out. Why? Because I had my better half around to balance me out and be my rock. My yin to my yang, the cream in my coffee, the cheese to my macaroni. I had a little sob on his shoulder and like he always does, he turned a negative into a positive. We talked about all the amazing things she’s achieved and how she’s simply unique and we wouldn’t change it for the world. We’ve planned that when the next one pops up I’m going to do something afterwards to balance out my mood, to lift my spirits a little. Such a simple thing but something we don’t often think to do as parents!
As my final note, if there’s one thing I can say, just remember that your child is amazing. They make us stronger people and change us for the better.
