Incompetent Organizations --GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

I got an e-mail late last week from my daughter's case manager urging me to attend a focus group today or tomorrow. Our above-the-ground-little-pool has had green water and I'm scrambling to remedy that situation so the kids can swim again soon. I am short staffed, have a sick child, have a "change engine oil" notice lighting up in my car, and am prepping to leave for a short trip in the not-so-distant future. (A short trip takes DAYS to prepare for when you have a child on a gluten-free-casein (milk)-free-soy-free-etc-etc-etc diet. )

The flyer included with the e-mail was missing an important piece of information, a focus group location, and I had to go about getting that information myself.

That was a tip off. Incompetent non-profit organization. I should have known better.

I called to RSVP. I rearranged my schedule, created some extra drama here that we didn't need or have to have, but out of the goodness of my heart, and the responsibility to be a voice for my daughter and for families like mine, I did the work in order to be able to go to a location that is a full half-hour from my house, one way.

And, the meeting was cancelled. Why? Because I was the only one to RSVP. And they didn't call me to let me know. Why? They blamed me. I didn't leave them my phone number. They didn't ask for my phone number. INCOMPETENT. And they, apparently, are unable to reach the case managers to find my phone number and save me a whole lot of effort that I didn't need to spend.

Arg.

I hate hate hate hate hate it when organizations that are supposed to help families of kids w/ disabilities like autism are incompetent. We have a lot of responsibility at home and showing up for your meeting requires a lot of juggling. You obviously do not understand the very families you are trying to serve. Get your act together, please. This is the third "episode" I've had in the last few months with different organizations. It's frustrating.