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I finally stopped talking for people at my own IEP meetings and it started with a para in Dayton
I used to let my mom do all the talking at every IEP meeting because I was scared I'd mess it up or sound rude. Then at a meeting 8 months ago in Dayton, a para who worked with me pulled me aside and said flat out, "You know what you need better than any of us sitting at that table." That one sentence flipped something in me. Now I write down my three main points before every meeting and I say them out loud myself, even if my voice shakes. It took me until I was 23, but I'm not handing my own needs over to someone else to explain anymore. Has anyone else dealt with family who means well but keeps speaking for you?
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riverowens1d ago
This happens EVERYWHERE, not just at IEP meetings. People with good intentions jump in to "help" and before you know it they've taken over your whole voice. I see it at work when someone talks over a quiet coworker in a meeting, or at the doctor's office when a spouse answers every question for their partner. The pattern is always the same: the loudest person in the room decides what everyone else needs. That para in Dayton gave you the one thing nobody else did, which was permission to trust yourself.
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