May 30, 2008 8:19 AM
Alex Barton: the whys and hows of inclusion
Tim Daly commented:
It's unfortunate that this incident has fueled more debate on the sensation actions of the teacher, which we all agree are deplorable and unacceptable, rather than on the real issue of children with learning disabilities being integrated into the regular classroom.
First, lets keep in mind that this teacher has no certification in caring for an autistic child. This doesn't excuse her behavior, which is just a lack of basic common sense. But it does highlight that most teachers are not trained and not capable of handling mentally impaired children.
Second, we need to focus on how this child disrupted this classroom and impacted the learning of other children. Is it fair to those children that the teacher must focus all their energy on the impaired child and they be disserviced. The vote was 14-2, so lets be clear here, this was not an isolated incident and this child had an ongoing problem with the teacher and his classmates.
Finally, shame of Melissa Barton for the abuse she has placed on her own child by placing him in this situation. While I cannot begin to understand what it must be like to be in her shoes, I do know that if it was my child I would not refuse to acknowledge that my kid has an impairment and that he needs special help. Placing a child like this in an environment unprepared to handle him is just as abusive and inexcusable as the teachers actions in the classroom.
I agree that this specific incident has opened up a wider discussion - which has needed to take place for a long time, and which I'd already approached an editor or two about. I have an op-ed currently under consideration at a few newspapers, but if it isn't picked up by the print media, I will publish it here.
So I will just briefly open the discussion on Mr. Daly's points and then let others chime in.
• I'm glad we're in agreement that no matter the circumstances, the teacher's actions are absolutely indefensible.
• The issue of inclusion of children with different abilities is somewhat similar to the breaking down of racial divides in public schools some decades ago. Somewhere at the top, there was an understanding that breaking down the walls of prejudice meant starting early. I know there are lots of new readers here right now, but those who've been around for a while will understand this is a constant theme at MommyLife: that the early years are full of windows of opportunity for the child to be encouraged in potentials which will produce a healthier, happier child and a better society. As a Montessori teacher and mother of 12, I know this to be true.
• Just as children are not born racist, they are not born with prejudice against the disabled. Curious, yes. Prejudiced, no. Children look to the adults around them for cues to respond in different situations, so when they see a person in a wheelchair, for instance, they may be concerned or standoffish, but only as they are waiting for cues on how to respond to a new situation. Same thing at the playground or in the classroom.
• We live in an idealistic nation. It is our idealism which brought us out of hateful systems still practiced in other countries. It is our idealism which carries us forward.
Mr. Daly, I don't know how old you are, but if you over 50, you probably grew up without any contact with people with disabilities as they were put in institutions, where they were managed with drugs and usually largely neglected - let without toilet training, etc. If you are under 50, you may have had "Special Ed" kids at other schools in your district, or in trailers behind your school where you saw them only coming and going.
Because we live in a nation built on values of compassion and caring, this antiquated system is in the process of being rethought and restructured. But just as with desegregation, this is not always a graceful process. There are ugly moments - only a few of which make national headlines - like the Florida case. Others causing individual families much anguish go on all over the nation each day as the wheels turn toward fulfilling the law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - IDEA) as it has been handed down regarding the right of differently-abled kids to a free and appropriate public education like their peers.
• Which is why your comments about Melissa Barton are so wrong. Every parent with a differently-abled child in public school who has been through injustice and frustration with teachers and administrators not doing the job they are paid to do in providing this education (through an Individualized Education Plan) is grateful beyond words that an incident has finally captured media attention so that we may make some advances in public awareness.
We all understand the additional burden placed on Melissa and Alex and are grateful that they are willing to make the sacrifices - such as dealing with criticism and misunderstanding like yours - to help all of our children. With four kids with IEPs (since the birth of our son with Down syndrome 16 years ago, we have adopted three other boys with Down syndrome, one of whom has autism as well) I am grateful that by going public Melissa has helped put schools and teachers on notice that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Perhaps it might occur to you that a child who has been wronged can also have that damage reversed by seeing his mother crusading on his behalf?
• Mr. Daly, I do so wish that you could come to my school district and see how inclusion works. With four kids with IEPS - all of whom have different ranges of abilities - I have four different situations in four different schools from kindergarten to high school. These have not happened easily. I have fought like hell for a couple of them. But what you need to know, Mr. Daly, is that where the schools have done what they are legally required to do - to set up an Individualized Education Plan and to provide proper classroom support - the results for EVERYONE in the classroom are beautiful in a way which those without that experrience will never understand. This is a far more important part of the human curriculum than any education frameworks or standards of learning could provide.
If you interviewed the general ed teachers of all four of my sons, you would hear them say - most likely with tears in their eyes - that having a differently-abled child in the class has been a blessing rather than a burden.
First of all, if a student brings an assistant into the classroom (proper support), that means an extra pair of hands to help the teacher as ideally the assistant is not stuck like velcro to the child but present to assist or modify curriculum when needed.
Second of all, a classroom of 22 actually holds 21 teachers. This is a Montessori way of looking at things, but I think anyone who works with children can see that part of our education as human beings involves helping others and teaching what we know. If we took better advantage of this we wouldn't need artificial elf-esteem programs as children who reach out to and teach others have a strong sense of self-worth.
One example: although my ninth-grade son Jonny cannot really read (but he sure can type in stuff like Egypt and Pyramids to google for images, print them and produce a report), he is in a general ed history class. At a recent meeting preparing his program at our local high school (10-12 grade), when there was blaking about his being in a general ed class there, the history teacher became a fierce advocate as she shared that not only was Jonny growing educationally and his imagination soaring, but he was an unmatched asset in the class. Her pairing of him with a kid with an attitude problem had changed that student's direction, giving him a chance to see himself differently.
• Full inclusion is not for every student. One of my children needs a smaller, more protected environment. That's why the IEP process is important. And parents need to be sensitive to the fact that we shouldn't push for full inclusion for political reasons when it's not truly best for our children.
On the other hand, school systems have in many cases responded to the IDEA by hiring more and more administrators who seem to interpret their main responsibility to be denying appropriate training, support and services so that parents end up dragging through months of the evaluation/IEP process, showing up to meetings where they hear about their kid's limits rather than his potentials. In my 11-year history with 4 boys in two state school systems, I have had a lot of experience, but it was only in the last couple of years after having a truly neglectful teacher that I educated myself as to our rights. Only then was I able to advocate effectively for each of my children.
But it wasn't easy. And it should be. The laws regarding the education of differently-abled children are wonderful (and I recommend Wrightslaw training for every parent of a child with a disability) - but unfortunately, many educators are ignorant of the law themselves or they are operating on their own prejudices about the limits of the disabled population.
They still tend to see kids with disabilities as burdens. After all, they – like you, Mr. Daly – often grew up without contact in their classrooms with the differently-abled. They have no personal experience. They are close-minded and set in their ways.
• It is up to parents to educate themselves and educate their school systems. I know this is difficult as parents of kids with special needs are already doing more than most parents can even imagine. It seems unfair: with one giant responsibility comes more.
Not everyone is up to that task. So we all thank Melissa Barton for representing all of us. And Mr. Daly, I don’t know if you have children or grandchildren, but I would remind you that anything can happen. You may have a “perfect” child who someday becomes disabled. Or you may someday have a differently-abled grandchild. You may feel differently then about the people who have worked hard in the face of misunderstanding and opposition to secure the rights those dear to you will be ale to enjoy.
• Finally, I want to return to the idea that those of different abilities who are entitled to and share public classrooms with a couple of items I’ve written before. Though they are specific to Down syndrome, we can generalize from them:
The first is about my son Jonny:
His preschool teacher named him Ambassador of Goodwill. His public school kindergarten teacher, after 30plus years of teaching, said she'd never seen children as loving and caring as Jonny's classmates. The secret, she said, was Jonny. When he graduated from her class, she wrote us: "As the Bible says, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Jonny certainly taught the children and me to look at the heart; for he has a very big heart!"Both confirmed what I'd seen all along. Jonny has a way of breaking the ice before others can think too long about their response to a child who is - well, just a little different. Then he brings out the best in them.
In fact, I bet some people would rather spend a day with Jonathan than with the experts who comment on his right to exist. There's Princeton professor/ bioethicist Peter Singer, urging the right (or duty) of parents to terminate the life of a disabled child - up to 28 days after birth. Or Bob Edwards, world-renowned embryologist, predicting it will soon be a "sin" (his term) for parents to give birth to children with disabilities.
This would seem a giant step back for our enlightened society, which a generation ago ceased banishing children with Down syndrome to institutions, making it possible for them to grow into productive members of society. In a culture working overtime to root out prejudice and prosecute hate, these "expert" voices sound suspiciously Supremacist.
But maybe it's just that they suffer from their own undiagnosed disabilities - blinded by a caste system of individuals based on I.Q., educability, and earning potential. Paralyzed within their "perfect" paradigms.
Having a child with Down syndrome has helped me see there's infinitely more to life than intelligence, beauty and "perfection." It's also taught me that not everything can be measured in dollars and cents - the benefits of full-inclusion extend beyond a child with Down syndrome to his classmates, teachers, family and friends.
Before Jonny's birth, I'd prepared announcements with a line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame." I sent them proudly, adding a note about his extra chromosome and our great love for him. (One friend's comment: "Well, Barbara, he'll never be president, but isn't that just as well?" And this was 1992!)
He's been a gift I never would have thought to ask for, bringing lessons I never knew I needed to learn. The greatest surprise is this: Our life together has been less about my helping him reach his potential than about him helping me reach mine.
Sometimes when we're in a museum or a mall, in the middle of a good laugh, I catch someone off-guard, looking uncomfortable and standoffish. I know that as long as we live some will see Jonny as having a little less. I've learned he has a little more. And so does our world because he's here.
The second was from my thoughts on prenatal testing as a eugenics tool:
in our lifetimes there has been so much enlightenment concerning Down syndrome - so that instead of locking these children away in institutions, we now raise them at home to love and be loved by their families, their neighbors and their communities. They are included in classrooms with their peers. They hold jobs in the community - and study after study reveals that where they are on the job, employee morale is given a big boost.They are even homecoming kings and queens:
My favorite: Homecoming king crowns twin brother.How could these people who our society so fears that it spends vast amounts of money researching and testing to eliminate end up being number one in the hearts of their classmates?
My simple answer is this: because that's what they're all about. God is in the business of changing hearts, and a sprinkling of people with Down syndrome among us is one way he uses. If you have a family member or classmate or friend with Down syndrome, then God's been doubly good to you. But you probably already know that!
My eight "normal" kids are no angels (as anyone who knows us would tell you!), but people consistently remark on their kindness. Certainly, I can't take all the credit. Mostly, they are kind because they were part of the family team that's been raising four brothers with Down syndrome (one by birth, three by adoption). Each of us is different because of their presence in our lives.
What would happen in a world where Down syndrome was eliminated - so that parents could have "perfect" children who may grow up to be the furthest thing from perfect after all? The world would surely be a little less risky, a little more controlled. And a little less bright.
I guess this didn't turn out to be as brief as I planned :) But I hope it will start a discussion.
Posted in Alex Barton, Disabilities, Down syndrome, Public schools, Special education | Permalink
Comments
Barbara,
I am 34 years old, married to a former school teacher, and have a child that is in Kindergarten. Not only am I the targeted parent affected by this situation, my wife used to work in the field professionally and quit due to parents like Melissa Barton who felt the teacher was responsible for parenting her child. In my opinion, my views carry a little more weight than than that of parents of autistic children because I've seen how the other two stakeholders have fared.
There is no debate that this child in Florida acted out inappropriately at risk to the other children and there is no debate that this teacher is a moron whose certification should be stripped. Furthermore, 80% of teachers are completely ineffective and unqualifed to even been teaching the coursework they are required to teach. To think that underpaid, under-qualified personnel can attend to an autistic child is mortifying.
However, let me start by saying that comparing autism to race is despicable and you need to offer up an apology. There is no comparison that can be made to a child's skin color to the risk of an autistic child injuring other children in the classroom when they do not have an aide, which is the exact situation here. Shame on you for even venturing down that path.
I went to school with an autistic child, my mother is 90% deaf, and my best friend's brother had down sydrome while I went to school. I've lived it, you speak it. I understand discrimination and prejudice like you never will and that prejudice was developed by activists like yourself with pigheaded views that espouse hate as part of their activism.
A 5 year old without autism already has enough challenge adapting to the classroom in kindergarten than to have an impaired child thrown into the mix without a specialized aide. This is not to mention the lack of quality teachers, which is even more challenging to find on the kindergarten level.
I am not against integration, it is about how to effectively integrate and when. I do not believe 5 years old is a proper time to integrate. Before integration, the autistic child should need to pass a behavioral skills test before be granted access to the room with other children, signed off by a certified behavioral specialist. Once that occurs, I am all for it. After integration, if the child is unable to cope or effectively adapt, they need to be removed until they can do so.
It is a disservice to the autistic child as well as the other children in the room. Effective activism is developed through respect for all stakeholders, not just yourself. Melissa Barton owes the parents of the 16 children in that classroom an apology before she gets one in return. She should be required to give a personal, face-to-face apology to each of the 14 children that voted her kid out. The feelings of those 14 kids should matter. Her actions precipitated this situation by refusing to accept her child had special needs, and those needs would negatively impact others.
Needless to say, if shoe was on the other foot and it was my child, there is no chance this would have occurred because I would have been responsible enough to understand my role as a parent and the cards that I was dealt. Melissa Barton is just as much at fault her as the teacher, so do not give her a blank check.
Posted by: Gift Baskets | May 30, 2008 10:35 AM
Speechless.
I'm speechless, Barbara.
I can't join in the conversation because I am speechless.
Which is good, I guess.
Because I couldn't respond to Mr. Daly's comments with even a smidgen of grace at the moment.
But I had to comment to say to Alex's mom, if you're reading...
No! No shame!
Thank you for sticking up for your son as you are.
Did you know that Thomas Edison was referred to as "addled" by a schoolteacher? She made it quite public that she knew his brains were scrambled because of his broad forehead and his large head.
His mother would have none of it.
She believed in him.
And of her, Edison would later say:
"My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint."
May the same be true for Alex. May he not remember this time for the ill caused by a shortsighted teacher, but for you being his champion.
~Kari
(And if I can find a way to speak with grace to Mr. Daly's shortsightedness, I will come back, Barbara. Once I have simmered down a bit.)
Posted by: Kari | May 30, 2008 10:39 AM
I've lived it, you speak it. I understand discrimination and prejudice like you never will and that prejudice was developed by activists like yourself with pigheaded views that espouse hate as part of their activism.
Wow, Mr. Daly -
warm sentiments indeed!
Maybe you didn't read thoroughly. I am living it - I have eight "normal" kids and four with disabilities (3 through adoption) - I don't know how much more living it I could be :)
And obviously you're a little emotionally unsettled through personal involvement. There was absolutely nothing offensive about my comparing this issue to integration.
Not sure why all roads end up with someone owing you an apology.
Posted by: barbara | May 30, 2008 11:11 AM
Well said Barbara!
Posted by: Lisa G. | May 30, 2008 11:14 AM
Wow, empathy is not a quality that I use to describe Mr. Daly.
Barbara- I appreciate your even toned response to his remarks. I hope he reads your words with an open mind.
Posted by: Katie B. | May 30, 2008 12:19 PM
Wow Barbara, I'm not sure I would have been able to respond as civilly as you have.
I am a former first grade teacher, so I can sympathize SOMEWHAT with Alex's teacher. She may not have had the training, resources, or experience to effectively integrate Alex into the classroom. She may already have been overwhelmed with the demands of her job. This is likely the fault of administrators, however she still bears full responsibility for what happened in her classroom.
What were Alex's behaviors, by the way? I have not seen anything that said he was dangerous to other children. I've worked with many kids at various levels on the autistic spectrum, the vast majority were NOT dangerous, and those who had aggressive tendencies were in more specialized settings instead of regular classrooms. The LAW states that the default educational setting should be the regular classroom, with an aide if necessary, and that anything more restrictive than that (pullout, separate classroom, etc) needs to be justified in the IFSP.
The BEST time to begin inclusion is when kids are young! ALL kids in kindergarten (and really through elementary school) are learning how to get along with others and interact in the world. The younger kids are, the more accepting they will be of those who are different and who might require a bit of extra grace. The more kids are accustomed to their "special" classmates, the more they will be willing to give some extra grace in the classroom when they are older.
Posted by: Stacy | May 30, 2008 12:51 PM
Truly magnificent post! This means so much to me. More than you will ever know.
Posted by: Lis Garrett | May 30, 2008 1:01 PM
I came back after thinking on this a bit...
and read Mr. Daly's response...
and I am once again...speechless.
Said with the grace I wish I had, Barbara.
Posted by: Kari | May 30, 2008 4:16 PM
Seriously??? Are you kidding???
Mr. Daly,you represent the side of this society that I have no pride in being a part of!!! You may have 'lived it' but you definitely didn't learn from it!
I also share some of the traits of AS and ADHD, I am an adult living quite the 'normal' life.
When I went to school this was not a diagnosis it was just misbehaviour. Now, I am a parent of a wonderful young man,a college grad and a dedicated employee.My co-workers notice some of my 'odd' behaviour but choose to accept it as part of who I am.They will also tell you that I am a hard worker and someone they can count on in and outside the work environment.I will also be testing for promotion next month.
So,while Alex may have a need for individual attention and programs,he is also deserving of as much of a 'normal' childhood as possible (which should be determined by qualified professionals not YOU as to how much he can handle!)
Additionally,the other children in his class lost out on many valuable life-long lessons: patience,tolerance,thoughtfulness,friendship, helpfulness,individuality,kindness,acceptance etc due to the gross insensitivity of this 'teacher'.
I hope and pray that you thoughts/opinions represent a very small part of our society. I also hope that you open your mind and to become more educated in this area.
Posted by: Deb | May 30, 2008 8:25 PM
Isn't Alex IN THE PROCESS OF being diagnosed on the autism spectrum? That would mean that there has been no time to figure out what appropriate supports and strategies can be implemented, and that Mr. Daly's assessment of things is therefore way too early and extremely inappropriate.
Autism is not a "mental impairment," by the way.
Mr. Daly has no way of knowing this, apparently, but pursuing diagnosis of a high-functioning child when he is FIVE suggests a parent who is on top of things,working hard and being proactive.
The comment above that I could not even finish reading was from the person who suggested that such parents feel that the teacher is responsible for parenting their child. No, this person does not have a better perspective on this than the parent of a child with autism. **They obviously have no idea that the average parent of a child on the autism spectrum usually works many times harder at raising and parenting their child than any parent of a typical child!**
The hours and hours of reading, research, testing, shuttling to therapies, trying special diets,the long waiting lists for services, meetings, meetings, meetings, paperwork, paperwork,paperwork, rearranging their lives to accompany their child or arrange appropriate help for their child in situations for which other parents blithely drop their children off and go,the extra-thoughtful discipline, the supports or social stories for new experiences, the intensive discernment, wisdom, thought and emotion required to set up the very best for their child... all while being criticized in that very manner and called a bad parent. The dedication of every parent of a child with disabilities that I know would put to shame that of the average parent.("Another birthday party! Soccer practice!Scouts! Homework! Oh, we're so busy and parenting is so hard," they say. They have no idea.), Mr. "Gift Baskets" , if he were to walk a mile in these shoes, would be hanging his head in shame for that terribly wrong assessment.
If you wait just a little while -- maybe at least until Alex even has an official diagnosis!--perhaps you'll see that things are not quite as you see them.
As I see it now, here's a mom who is on the right track in assessing and beginning to address her child's needs at an early age, and is passionately defending the rights of her child against horrible abuse. That's ONE. GOOD. MOM.
Posted by: Marian | May 30, 2008 11:48 PM
Mr. Daly, IF (and a BIG if) you are actually a parent, who is your child and why do they NOT have your last name???? BTW the 2 parents who I have found, back me 110% and if I were you, I would watch my p's & q's.
What nationality is Portillo?
How many children does she have?
Name 3 kids in her class?
Is she married?
When was the last event in her class?
If you cannot answer these you are a fake.....OR you are as I think Portillo herself.
I will not even address your stupidity because I have learned most of these post are actually the teacher herself or her pal, therefore, I will leave the others here with a thought. There was never ever a mention of aggression from my son toward another child to me from the school EVER. I know my son would never hurt a child and never has I have 2 years of prior teachers to back this up. Is this Portillo's new allegation toward Alex? Is it because there will VERY soon be a nice big picture of our new friend on the cover of the paper in handcuffs? Child ABUSE. There is a witness that has come forward. GOOD LUCK.
Posted by: melissa barton | May 31, 2008 12:26 AM
Shame on Melissa Barton? Are you freaking kidding me?
Mr Daly, apparently you have never seriously dealt with the IEP process OR the process it takes for a doctor to diagnose a child with ADD/ADHD/Autism. This isn't something you just snap your fingers and poof you have a diagnosis and poof you have an IEP. I've lived through it and gone through the IEP process with not much help from the school's administration. To them it was a blemish on their "record" to deal with kids who had difficulties and they shipped them off to another school. It took THREE YEARS to get my son the assistance he needed and another THREE YEARS to get a solid ADD Diagnosis. I've also had to sit by and watch as my best friend went through a similar process with her children. It's called the 'hurry up and wait game'.
Have you actually had a child of yours be separated from the rest of their peers? Have you had to deal with them breaking down crying at night because the other kids were laughing at them because they were different? Have you watch their grades slip because they don't want to go to their mainstream classes because of the ridicule they would face? I would say not.
I've seen both sides of the coin. My son started separated completely and then they slowly started integrating him but still kept him isolated, he never really thrived. We moved to a different county and they have him completely integrated, and guess what? He's doing amazing. He went from just barely passing to honor roll. He's now in a school that makes sure EVERY kid feels special and loved. And if a teacher needs help. Guess what...they ASK FOR IT!
So no...not shame on Melissa Barton. Melissa Barton should be praised for how she is advocating for her son. She pushed through to start the IEP process in Kindergarten. Which by the way the teacher is supposed to be an integral part of that process and she would have been aware of the issues because of that process. She should be praised for brining this to light so that others could be made aware of it so that it wasn't just swept under the rug. And she should be praised for the strength and courage it takes to continue this fight and stand up for Alex and his rights when he is too young to do so on his own.
Shame on the administration of the school for not acting on the IEP process quicker. Shame on the teacher for not asking for assistance from someone on staff (EVERY county in the country has school social workers and psychologists who's JOB is to help with these things)> Shame on this teacher for ABUSING this beautiful child. Most of all right now...shame on you for even proposing that we "hide" children with special needs away from other children that age. All that teaches them is that if you are different they need to be kept "locked away" When in fact they should be taught that everyone is different and these differences should be cherished...not feared.
Do I think that something should be done about this teacher? Yes I do. Do I believe she should be "stoned" Metaphorically or otherwise? No. She made her choices and her Karma will undoubtedly get her in the end. I can only hope that the karma brought her way includes never being put into a position of authority again where she can do this to a child ever again.
Posted by: Jessi | June 2, 2008 12:18 AM
Mr Daly's ignorance is appalling. The very fact that he cannot recognize that prejudice against a differently abled child is the same as prejudice toward a differently coloured child proves this.
As far as Portillo is concerned, I hope & pray that she never has the opportunity to damage the life of another child. She has all ready done more than her share of damage.
Posted by: Lily | June 3, 2008 1:15 AM
I'm going to try and respond here in the middle. My son is low functioning on the spectrum. He is in the most restrictive environment for disabled children in our school, and, for him, it's appropriate. My son can't learn math. My son has a learning disorder so severe that mainstreaming him looks to us like a pipe dream. I can sympathize with both views on integration and separation in the classroom.
Here there is a bottom line: This child was in process of finding classroom support. That is usually a slow process which is shameful in itself. This child is obviously high functioning on the spectrum and capable of academic work, that also seems clear. It isn't the same as trying to mainstream my son who cannot be put into a regular classroom. This child has a chance to excel and deserves to go as far as he can, just like my son.
To berate a parent struggling with diagnosis and bad education is, frankly, low class. The Bartons are rising to the challenge better than most of the parents I deal with in our school system's support group, and they are doing it very early.
Alex may have behavior issues, but he is certainly not "bad". It is obvious that you [Mr. Daly] believe that to be so. Shame on you! Would you hold a person in a wheelchair responsible for not walking? Would you berate their parents for fighting for a ramp to the cafeteria? I certainly hope not. Alex appears to at least have an excuse for his behavior issues much as my son does. Adults behaving badly seem to be rampant in schools these days. Adults have no excuses.
Posted by: Janice | June 4, 2008 8:29 AM
I just have one thing to say - I am a mother of 4 special needs children like yourself Barbara - My daughter has PDD-NOS and my three sons have autism at different levels of functionality.
My daughter is in a mainstream Kindergarten class (well was will be better as of tomorrow since school lets out) and nobody knew the difference! She is a well liked and loved child who is seen as an asset to the classrrom. We were just able to complete her IEP yesterday due to the dragging of administrators to complete her school evaluations and give her the eligibility that she needed so I know all about the struggles you speak about and that Melissa has faced. I unfortunately had to result to an attorney because IDEA was not being followed.
That said, even though my daughter did not have a formal diagnosis and IEP through the school system, the teacher was aware of the problems my daughter had and in no time singled her out because she was different or made her feel that way at all. Yes she screamed when the bells and the fire bell rang and was scared to go to the restroom alone but never did the teacher use this against her.
My daughter is a smart, funny, imaginative little girl who has been able to touch the hearts of many and is learning to overcome her obstacles.
Mainstreaming is not a bad thing - it is a great thing!
In defense of Melissa - if the teacher felt that Alex did not belong in an inclusion based classroom, she could have said it while they developed his preliminary IEP but it seems that this was not the case, that she accepted the use of an aide 3 times a week and was satisfied with that.
Nobody but the parents that go through this on a daily basis will know the struggles we face and how our children are discriminated against wherever we go because they are "different".
I'm sorry Mr. Daly but our children can add so much to a classroom experience that you could never imagine possible. The important thing is that the resources be there to help the child and the teacher which in Alex's case, they were not there and he suffered.
Posted by: Krystal - momofautism | June 4, 2008 5:15 PM
