My dad

It's good to have this blog to get things off my chest. I have a bit of venting to do about my Dad. Don't get me wrong, I totally love my Dad. But sometimes he is not open to other viewpoints. He just gets in his head that his opinion about a certain topic is the only correct one, and then he can't see that somebody else's opinion can also have merits. I have been having a bit of trouble with his response to all the stuff with Xavier's development. It is making me feel like crap to be honest. Basically he can't accept that Xavier is behind the other kids of his age group and that he might need extra help. In his eyes Xavier is perfect and can do no wrong and he doesn't need help with anything. He gets very defensive and angry when you even suggest anything of the sort. Don't get me wrong, I think Xavier is perfect too, but I also think I need to be realistic about what sort of level he is on. Dad acts like I am seeking help for him because I want him to be some sort of super kid or something. It's not about that - it's about him being able to function when he is older. I am trying to get him the help he needs now so that later down the track, he will be better equipped for his life. If I ignore his need for help now then later on he may really struggle. Every time I bring up any of Xavier's therapy appointments, Dad gets mad and goes into a rant about how I should leave the poor kid alone and let him do things at his own pace. As if I am trying to push him like a stage mother or something. I say to him "listen dad, the paediatrician has said Xavier needs to go to speech therapy (or whatever therapy we are talking about at the time) so I am taking him." and then he will go on about how the paediatrician is probably getting a commission and it's all a big set up etc. It is just exhausting! It makes me panic too because I wonder if down the road Xavier is actually diagnosed with a disability or condition that is causing all of this, how will my dad react? My mum has been great with it all. She actually works as a disability support worker so she understands that sometimes obviously people need help. The other day Mum asked me about our latest paed appt and she asked the question of whether or not the paed thought Xavier would be able to go to a regular school or would he need a special school. I said to her that I had asked the same question and the paed said we wouldn't know until he was a little older and we did some assessments in regards to his readiness for school. But I mentioned to her that I had done some research and found there is a really nice Special Development School right near us and that I would put that in the back of my mind and if it turned out later that he did need to go there I would look into it further. My dad overheard all this and really got annoyed with me "my grandson doesn't need a special school...etc etc" all that sort of stuff. Grrr what is his problem!!???