All children are normal in a special way.
Some learn differently and need assistance in helping them adapt to other learning styles.
Some children have physical limitations and need help in adapting to the environments where learning takes place.
Some children are anxious or fearful and need help overcoming those anxieties so learning will be fun.
Schools are not the enemy. Teaching is an honorable profession, and while some teachers are better than others, most teachers teach because they have a love for children.
We all want the "best education possible" for our children. That has different meanings for everyone including school administrators. The process you may be about to undergo will be frustrating at times, maybe the whole time. But, it's important to remember that school districts are driven by a "process", and we need to manage the process in a way that gets the maximum benefit for your child.
You may feel that because you personally know someone at the school you have a benefit -- you don't. In Special Education the process is the determining factor. Together with an Advocate you need to manage the process to make sure it works to the advantage of your child.
There are so many differences in children and their needs. Please understand that there is no "one size fits all" in life, in Special Education, or in Advocacy. It would be an overstatement to suggest that anything in this website is more than the smallest tip of the iceberg. Your unique child will be treated as unique. It is our job, together, to find the right fit for them!
I have always appreciated this quote because it addresses what we are doing --
"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." -- G. K. Chesterton