Many of our families cannot afford legal assistance to challenge the school districts on least restricted environment and implementation of our IEPS, for example, like this family did:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/education/27specialed.html?ex=1351224000&en=b83ce67e65e3eff9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
When the milestones, the charts, and the sequence in development are not there for our children, parents and caregivers like us set out on our own pathway. Elisabeth's story is about searching for the X factor. The X factor that was discovered only in hindsight beginning with an emotional bond and a fleeting but tangible smile to mean "yes" and a flinch in eyebrows to mean "no."