I’ve been amazed at the recent jumps in my blog readership. Apparently many are struggling on behalf of their children with disabilities and they’re looking for information and help with the public education system. I wish I could be of help to those families whose daily lives are filled with struggle and who really don’t want or need to take on an entrenched school district to get an appropriate education for their kid. Our family and those like us don’t operate in a vacuum. We can’t drop everything to hire expensive attorneys and spend hours in meetings or court. We can’t just quit work and stay home because our kids are afraid to go to school. We can’t enjoy peace of mind during the holidays as we worry whether our children are being mistreated, let alone educated.
If you have children and they’ve never had a class with a child who has a disability, ask yourself why? Federal law explicitly states that children with disabilities have the right to be educated alongside their typical peers to the maximum extent possible. Robert’s school has provided him with zero hours among typically developing peers this year. Which means kids like Robert, contrary to civil rights rulings in the 1960s (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 was the beginning), are segregated from the general population in school. What does that mean? It means typically-developing peers don’t know how to interact with our kids. They learn to mock those with disabilities. Or fear them. Or worse – ignore them.
How can we as parents hope for a semi-independent or productive life for our son when our society is being groomed to disdain him? Who will care for him when we’re gone? One of the most touching and memorable things about Robert’s experience in full inclusion in Vancouver was the reaction of others in his class. I received several notes when we left from parents and kids who said they would miss Robert. This is part of a message from one of Robert’s teachers in 5th grade:
All of us miss Robert so much. The classroom just isn’t the same without him. And I certainly miss our daily celebrations over his progress. We think of him all the time and I often hear the kids talking about how much they miss him.
On a procedural note, we’ve decided to file a formal complaint with the Georgia Department of Education against Robert’s school and the district. We made this decision after a week went by with no response to the letter I sent the district or to a note I sent to the principal of the alternative placement school. We have no idea what will result from this process, but at the least a bright spotlight will be shone on the situation and I believe it will be extremely illuminating.
To illustrate how situations like these impact not only the student with a disability but the entire family, I share a piece written by my 15 year-old-son, Joe. He wrote it at school in response to a question in writing lab about whether he would break the law or risk his personal safety to rectify a situation he felt was wrong. I’ll let his words speak for themselves:
My brother Robert is affected significantly by autism, and he’s run into several academic issues growing up, but there has been a recent incident that has made me furious with his school, {name of school}. He’s spent about a year at {school} and he didn’t have that much trouble up until now. He would put up a fight going to school, and we suspected either aggression or abuse in the classroom. It turns out something is indeed going on, and we took him out of the school. The environment for the special needs children is already under-developed to the point that it’s just a daycare for kids disguised as a classroom without any support or challenge, and with the curriculum equivalent to that of a kindergarten’s class, where education isn’t a large part of it. That’s bad enough, but with cases of possible abuse is inexcusable.
I feel that my brother should get an actual education because he deserves it, not being segregated from the rest of the school. In order to achieve a goal like that, I would break the law, but not necessarily risk my safety, because doing that wouldn’t be quite worth it because it probably wouldn’t happen.
That he even has to think about this is tragic. And while I’m sure he absorbs much from his father and I, these are his feelings and his words.
No matter what the school district does or does not do, they can’t take away the hours of worry, stress or regret that have touched all our lives, along with extended family and close friends. I honestly don’t think they care.
Peace.
Filed under: Atlanta public schools, autism, autism education, public schools Tagged: | Atlanta Public Schools, autism, autism education
Wow, Angie, that paper by Joe, Jr. was so amazing. He has definitely inherited his parents bravery when it comes to standing up for his brother.
I wish there was something encouraging I could say as part of the ‘educational system in Georgia’, but until this state and this country realize that we have to educate all children regardless of their disability, be it physical, mental or socioeconomic, I don’t see a lot of hope in our future.