The Impact We Have

Although we might not always realize it, school psychologists have a significant impact on the lives of the children and parents we serve. This was brought home to me a few months ago at a case conference. It was the third or fourth meeting of the day, a fairly routine staffing of a cute little seven-year old girl (we'll call her Margaret). The evaluation team found that she had a reading disability that would make her eligible for academic support services.

Margaret's Dad, a Captain in the U.S.Army, attended the case conference. Dressed in his well pressed, camouflage uniform, he cut an impressive image of a tough, battle hardened American soldier. He was recently back home from a 16-month tour of duty in Baghdad, where he had served as an officer with an armored unit. I could only imagine the things he must have seen and done while in Iraq. He entered the conference room, seemingly uncertain of the protocol as to where he should sit. After a moment, I suggested the head of the table; after all, as Margaret's Dad he outranked us all.

The meeting proceeded typical of the other meetings held that day. The teacher presented her observations, the resource teacher went over her educational testing, and I presented the report of my psychological evaluation. As I reported my findings, I looked up and noticed a quiet tear fall from the eye of Margaret's Dad. He wiped his eyes and apologized, saying he was upset that he had not noticed the problem with "Daddy's little girl" earlier. Of course, we all made overtures to assuage the man's emotions, but there was no denying his pain. As tough as he was, through all he had been through in Iraq, hearing that his little girl had a reading problem was truly upsetting to him, bringing him to tears. It was very moving.

I have told this story dozens of times, because it reminds me of the significant impact we as school psychologists have on parents. Next time you are meeting with parents at a case conference, maybe it's your fourth meeting of the day, maybe it's just a "routine" learning disability; think of Margaret's Dad and the impact of what you are telling those parents.

My thanks to Margaret's Dad for his service.

BACK TO HOME PAGE