Anyone need a speaker?
A few months ago there was some concern about the Colorado school board banning psychotropic drugs for children in public schools. The article is still on this site. I wrote the founder of "The Colorado Advisory Network", a grass roots organization formed to help children with disabilites navigate the system. I asked their founder, Mary Anne Fleury, MA., to write me a response, which is also on this site.
She and I became friends. She told me that she was going to have a conference and she was looking to put things together. I offered to come speak at her conference. I did not truely have any idea what I was letting myself in for, and I was totally candid with her - that it would be the first time I had ever done this. I don't know if I can express how great this experience was, but I will try.
On April 15, 2000, a snowy saturday in Arvada, a suburb in Denver Colorado, I spoke at a gathering of parents of special ed. kids. I told my story, and how I cope with being a teacher with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disablities. I had this picture in my mind of everything going off without a hitch. SO we had a hard time finding the hotel, we found it and now I could probobly find that place with my eyes closed.
My husband and I flew out on thursday night. We got into Denver really late (weirdest airport I've ever been in) and proceeded to the rental car place. I think I had lined up some kind of mid-size car. When we got there, there were no mid-size cars. We got a new Jeep Cherokee for the same price, so that was pretty nice. Denver is, however, undergoing a lot of construction on their freeway system, so if you ever go there, allow plenty of time to GET LOST.
Friday we drove up to Estes park and into the mountains. It was nice in a 4-wheel drive jeep. There is something very sooothing about the mountains in Colorado. My favorite are the side of the mountains where all you see are bare jagged rocks. Kind of a rustic, rugged sort of beauty.
That night my husband and I went to dinner with the people involved with the conference. They were all very nice people, and the restaurtant that Mary Anne chose was great. I was on my best behavior, but there were times when I thought my ADHD would get the better of me.
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