I have this ex-colleague/friend I’ve had since 2011. I used to teach 5th grade and English as a second language. She is a kindergartens teacher and we taught in the same school for years. When my son turned two in 2020 we noticed some behavioral and developmental delays and this year he was finally diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, and SPD. He did not do well with preschool, and was frequently emotionally drained and depressed. Due to start kindergarten, I was very worried, because he only just started OT and I knew it would be a lot on him.

We have the financial privilege for me to stay at home and not work right now. So, I decided I would homeschool my son this year, along with OT and other therapies, and the comfort of home, I think next year he will be able to integrate into a regular classroom.

My friend is highly against homeschool and has been making jabs at me ever since I told her our plans. It’s highly passive aggressive but sometimes downright mean and unnecessary. She is not a parent herself and I think sometimes she doesn’t understand what it’s like, especially if you have a child with special needs.

Today I just snapped about it after continuous texts from her about how she thinks I’m making a bad decision and doing my son a “disservice” as she called it. But now looking back, I think maybe I took it took far saying she simply doesn’t understand because she’s not a parent. This was the convo that conspired today. Keep in mind this isn’t all she has said, she has also said my son will always be behind socially because of this, and I’m babying him.