Advocating---

I guess I am still learning---and that is not such a bad thing!!

Sometimes when I speak up about Hannah's special needs, I get people looking at me as though I am crazy. They don't see it. They think I am overreacting. She is just a kid. All kids do that. Especially since her delays are not visible.

So today at our new dentist, I spoke with the hygienist about Hannah's teeth issues (any others of you out there with black spots on kids teeth?), I chose not to breach the issue other than Hannah has some delays and left them to see how it would go.

So I went to sit down and a few moments later I hear her trying to instruct Hannah for a panoramic x-ray. She is using words like: behind, in the front and lower. Hannah has lots of trouble with the prepositional words, she just doesn't get it, at least not regularly. So I walk back there and try to help the lady to understand that with her delays she has to show or touch her to help her do what she is asking. Then gave her a little more detail to help them get along better. I think they did OK, though I am thinking she let Hannah get away with more in the chair than I would have!

Then we go back a few hours later to get sealants on the back molars. She is going back with the dentist and his assistant this time and I had spoken with him some on Hannah's delays earlier and left it at that.

I check half way through and she was doing OK. Then they come out and I can tell Hannah is trying to be brave and all it took was a smile from me and the tears started!! The assistant said that Hannah did not tell them that they were hurting her and they did not know till they saw the silent tears!!

Again, I failed to tell them, because I did not think about sealants hurting or being uncomfortable, that due to past trauma, my dear daughter does not tell people when she is in pain, she does not cry out loud, and that she can deal with a very high amount of pain.

Oh I can not tell you how bad I felt for not advocating for my little one. My blessing who is just learning to use her voice, still needs me to be a voice for her.

Praying Lord for wisdom in advocating for my little one. For compassion for her needs that she cannot voice. For little regard to what others think as I speak for her.