61: How to Pick Your Battles | Lindsay Lapaquette

As the parent of a misfit, you’re on a the “frontlines” of advocating for your child. That can mean a lot of tough conversations. Lindsay Lapaquette, a mom of two kids with disabilities, shares how to pick our battles wisely and let go of the rest.

Quotes:

• “My specialty as a speech therapist had been working with kids with profiles like my kids. And so I thought I knew it, you know, I thought I knew what these families went through and then gosh, I just got shivers while I said that because I started to realize, oh my goodness, I had no idea how hard this is.” – Lindsay Lapaquette
• “I can see a big distinction between those who would try to understand what was going on before giving us their advice or suggestions, and those who didn’t really take that time.” – Lindsay Lapaquette
• “Trust your gut, and find people who will listen to you because once they’ve explored things, then it’s easier to feel at ease with their conclusion.” – Lindsay Lapaquette
• “Much better to dig and consider different options and come up with no issues than to not push for that process and regret it in fourth or fifth grade.” – Emily Melious
• “One of the things I’ve had to learn is who to spend my energy advocating with, because there may be a piece of education that will change their future practices. Whether that impacts our lives today or not, that is important. And where I have zero hope of opening that door and it’s time for me to walk away and preserve my energy and maybe pursue that in a different way or choose to not.” – Lindsay Lapaquette
• “For me it’s a lot about, is there any hope anything will change and if not, am I just spinning my wheels and my energy because I’m so frustrated at the lack of understanding of the reality of what we experience on a daily basis.” – Lindsay Lapaquette

Highlights:

• 1:02 – Lindsay’s family
• 2:22 – The challenge of raising a child with neurodevelopmental disabilities
• 6:05 – Trusting your gut
• 9:32 – Roadblocks to advocating for your child’s needs
• 14:32 – What to do when people won’t listen
• 19:41 – How to manage burn out
• 24:29 – Get in touch with Lindsay