My Miracle Maggie: Why I'm afraid for my child with special needs to start kindergarten

I have a daughter who is starting kindergarten in September. She is amazing — funny, smart, inquisitive, social and sweet.

She is my Miracle Maggie.

My daughter has cerebral palsy, which affects her mobility, so she uses a walker and ankle braces to get around. She has epilepsy, a delay in her speech development and a neurocognitive disorder that affects her self control. 

She is impulsive, can be reckless and has poor regard for safety.

I am so proud of her and her accomplishments.

But I am terrified for her to start school. Terrified.

Maggie was born healthy, but just three months later, she suffered what no child should ever suffer.

Maggie was severely beaten by her father. She was so little. She spent time in the intensive-care unit with multiple fractures in her skull, broken ribs, a broken foot and a broken collarbone. 

She suffered two strokes from hemorrhaging on her brain.

As a result of this trauma, Maggie developed cerebral palsy, epilepsy and lost her sight.

But she survived. She thrived. 

Despite her injuries, and despite the chronic health issues and disabilities she now has, my daughter is happy, lively and jubilant.

Maggie is so excited for school, and I want it to be everything it should be — safe, educational, stimulating, fun and social.

But I am afraid for her safety. 

We have had such a wonderful support system thus far — the Janeway rehabilitation team, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the provincial daycare program that's allowed her incredible supervision.

I am afraid that level of one-on-one supervision will not be maintained. 

I am afraid she will jump out of her walker while unsupervised, or dive off her chair when she is not being watched.

I am afraid she will not have the opportunity to excel and thrive — as she has done so well up to now — in a classroom setting that may not meet her many needs.

I am afraid she will be removed from inclusive classroom situations due to her behaviour, and because the attention and time she needs cannot be given to her by the resources available.

I am trying to be optimistic and hopeful. I feel that the individuals in her educational journey will know what she needs and deserves. 

But I am afraid budgets and resources will not match her needs.

Maggie is so excited for September. She already talks about taking the bus, meeting her teachers and making new friends. I wish I shared her excitement, but it is overshadowed by my concerns. 

I truly hope I am wrong and that her educational needs will be met.

When I read the articles about inclusiveness and all the barriers from budgets and resources, and hear teachers say the system has not caught up with the plan of inclusiveness, it makes me nervous.

I hope Inside the Classroom can help the revolution needed to make all students obtain the care and education they need and deserve. 

I hope the discussion can help inclusion become more attainable — with more resources like student assistants and instructional resource teachers.

My daughter is my whole life — my Miracle Maggie. I love her so much. 

My desire, like all parents, is for her educational needs to be met. 

I truly hope my fears are not justified and do not turn out to be true.