Recently there was an article about students and alternatives for special education costs. Two things struck me: One person noted: well they have been struggling with school consolidation so they decided to start with special education and secondly the kids that are really needing to be in the most restrictive and behavioral programs (residential)that cost the most would they fit this model? Not to mention that we will use a vacant "wing" to support them!
Then I thought of school busing. then I thought why our group of kids? Then I felt sad because it is a slippery slope. They make it sound good...the children will be closer to home but what is the criteria and whose kids will go and then what are we building??? I look for your thoughts and ask that we share this with parents if possible because I wonder about their thoughts. I believe the fight for the rights of children with special education is at our door step.
It is at our doorstep. As the mother of a special needs child (young adult now) I have experienced many scenarios where a child with mental in-capacities and low cognitive skills is often "put" somewhere with teachers who aren't trained to educate them. Even as young children, this population is grouped together somewhere which leads to the grouping of mentally retarded people as adults. Community inclusion is such a huge issue for adults now because schools do not foster this idea no where near as fully as they should. And kids like Daniel, who had such extreme behavioral and complicated mental/psychological diagnosis, and the school system at odds about how to "deal" with him, well....we never got an answer there. Daniel ended up in Acadia hospital at the age of 5 for 8 months of his life, partly because of the sensory overload he received at schools that didn't have a clue what to do with him. I know one thing. Schools have never wanted to pay for the cost of adapting programs to fit a child like Daniel, or in teaching teachers appropriate skills needed to work with a child like him. There are lots of kids like him out there. It may be better now, but we still have a long way to go. I may hove gotten a little of track with Deb's comments, but special education as a whole has miles and miles to go....
ReplyDeleteKathy you are so correct....I have often wanted to start a school in general that serves children (all children) where citizenship and community matter, where they learn about the world and the New York Times and the Atlantic Magazine are in everyroom...where experience is as important as sitting at a desk. I would love to have a fully integrated REAL alternative.
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