SEN mum here. My dd is 11 and attends a special setting school. She is due to start secondary school in sept which will also be within a special setting.
Posting on here as I have tried to keep everything to myself but I'm finding it increasingly difficult. As a sen mum, I don't think I've ever felt as alone as I do right now. By now, a typical 11 yr old would have a group of friends, be socializing all the time, invited out etc but because of her situation, it never happens. There are only 2 other girls in her class, one is a friend who can be a bit hit and miss (autistic girls usually are) and the other my dd has really built a good friendship with but she's going to a different school in sept so that's gone before it's even had time to develop. Said friend is also sen but is going to an academy. That also makes me feel crap as dd is still struggling to read and write and I feel like she's never going to get there. We've hired a private tutor to help her along. Dd did attend a mainstream school before we were told to move her out and find somewhere else. The one friend she had at that school seems so grown up now and is doing all the things normal 11-year-olds do, sleepovers, days out with friends etc. My dd has never experienced this and it breaks my heart. I just feel like she's constantly left behind. Socially, dd is not where she should be for her age. It looked like she had made friends with the girl a few doors down from us, but that seems to have fizzled out. Dd gets upset as this girl seems to always have a friend over and dd can't understand why she may not want to talk to her and why she never has friends over. This is not the life I wanted for her. In some ways she is a typical 11 yr old girl, temper tantrums, hormonal all the time, having a go at her brother and us which I get, it's her hormones, but she's on another level as she can't regulate herself properly. I'm the main target usually. School runs are especially awful as she's just having a go at me and her brother which in turn causes them to argue and then we're all shouting. I look at the other parents walking to school and it all looks so calm and their kids are walking nicely and chatting away and mine are arguing and I just look so stressed. No wonder the other mums don't want to talk to me. Any other SEN mums know what I'm talking about? That constant feeling of loneliness, watching everyone else move on and you're just stuck in the same cycle wondering if it'll ever get better and if your child will have a "normal" life. Just feeling down. Any virtual hugs welcome! P.s apologies it's a bit of a rambling post. Had to condense everything down so it's all a bit all over the place.