My feelings on Mainstreaming--recent entry
This is not our world. This world is one that can't deal with reality of others being 'different'. This world is judgmental and unwilling to ask questions instead of forming an uneducated opinion.
Kids are still as damn cruel as they were when I was a child. The only difference is, parents are more lenient with them and don't knock them on their ass any more for being rude.
I believe in mainstreaming--to a certain extent. I don't believe in full mainstreaming for all subjects, and certainly not for all disabilities.
If a child only has physical issues, or slight learning difficulties, mainstreaming is probably appropriate. In many cases, they may only need the help of a classroom aide and side therapy, like physical, occupational or speech issues.
Full mainstreaming was not appropriate for my oldest twin boy, Sean. Although he has a high-functioning comprehension skills, processing and displaying those abilities is difficult for him. He has Elongated Brain Stem, which causes the fluid from the brain to be obstructed. His thought process is delayed. He has severe speech problems and sometimes misunderstood. He was mainstreamed because they thought it was 'appropriate'. My concerns for his social development and signs of dyslexia were dismissed. His displaying of mild dyslexia was labeled as ‘age appropriate', and I didn’t know enough of my parental rights to fight their decision for mainstreaming. Sean struggled for 3 years in classrooms he couldn't keep up with, and I spent 3 years fighting the ‘educational team’ in order to get him the help that he needed.
Sean is now in a Learning Disabled (LD) classroom, after my fighting for those 3 years. Since then, Sean has become a straight A student. The only difference between his education and his twin brothers is in the way it is taught. It is more detailed on a personal level, with only 3-7 children in a classroom instead of 28.
Because of educational administrative bureaucracy however, Sean lost 3 good years of education and social development as well.
I am now dealing with the school system and my youngest twins autism spectrum issues. Colin is diagnosed with PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which is high-functioning autism (but not as high functioning as Asperger’s Syndrome, which is close to genius level intellectually in many cases). Colin’s twin sister, Taylor has autism in the severe spectrum. She is low functioning and has severe cognitive and physical issues. The twins turned 5 this past July, causing them to fall into the 'you are 5 before September 1, so you must enroll in Kindergarten' bureaucratic situation. However, they are not 5 years old, intellectually.
Taylor is socially dysfunctional in a normal setting. When overwhelmed in a crowd of more than 5 people, she will become enveloped in, what I call her own world. She twirls her hands in front of her for stimulation, paces in circles or rocks back and forth. She can't deal with loud, sudden noises--ranging from a vacuum to a sudden shriek from an excited child. I refer to this issue as her ‘banshee screams’. When this is triggered, she screams hysterically anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. She then needs to be taken to a quiet room and calmed with one-on-one calming stimulation.
Taylor also has severe comprehension issues. Although she does understand, it takes repetition for her to acknowledge that perception. Taylor must use hand-over-hand prompting for occupational skills, like writing, coloring, or gluing. Someone must hold her hand and assist her with these tasks.
Taylor has no communication skills. She makes sounds that resemble that of a 4-month-old baby babbling and cooing. Her eye contact is limited, and requires close observation for someone to acknowledge her attention in a given situation.
Taylor is distracted easily. In a room of more than 2 high-functioning children, just a simple movement or sound would break her attention span. She would lose the recognition of any presentations going on around her at that time. She also makes constant, inconsistent sounds, using children with Tourette Syndrome as an example for understanding reasons only. This would be distracting to the other children in the classroom as well, for the noises come erratically and have no known meaning.
Taylor's has sensory deficit. Her senses do not function as yours and mine. An example would be that, she wouldn’t know enough to put clothing on, appropriate for cold weather. She would walk naked outside in below zero temperatures and only succumb to the cold without the comprehension on why. She cannot differentiate between safe and dangerous. She would walk directly in front of an oncoming car without noticing the car being there. She would be knocked down by a running child that was playing, for she wouldn’t know enough to move out of the way.
She is very vulnerable towards molestation and child rape. This is a sick world that we live in, and she would be the perfect target. Taylor has no fear of strangers ever since she was put in a social surrounding at school. Taylor also favors men over women. She displays this often in public. Taylor has no understanding of staying away from strangers, since everyone outside of her own world appears the same to her.
Taylor knows no fear in this area. I wish I could say the same thing.
Taylor needs to be a setting with a ratio of no more than 2-1. We only have this setting at a preschool level for autism. The closest school for autism after this grade is 40 minutes from our home. She would be bussed 2 hours each way (because of pick-ups in neighboring towns). The cost of transportation, as well as the cost of this schooling would be at the TAXPAYERS expense. The cost is astronomical for children of neighboring towns to attend this school as well.
If she is home schooled, the taxpayers also have to pay for private teachers to come into the home for autism assessment. This is 2 or 3 times more than what the average teacher is paid in the public school system. She would also need a speech, physical, and an occupational therapist to come into the home and work with her three times a week each. The cost of all of these, on top of the special educational help would be at THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE.
Taylor cannot be mainstreamed. Unfortunately, as you have read about her needs, you know why they are trying to do so anyway. Every special needs child in this country is a dollar sign. They are more expensive to the taxpayer, and because most politicians can financially afford private education in special needs areas, they tend to scoff at the amount of money being spent publicly. When there is a budget cut in a state, the first to be cut is special needs services. You can see the reason why--it is expensive all the way around.
Bilingual education is never cut, nor are the immigrants receiving free healthcare and/or financial benefits. What is wrong with this picture?
Colin is not low-functioning as his twin sister. However, he is developmentally below that of his peers. At the age of 5, Colin displays the cognitive skills of a child that is 2 1/2 to 3 years of age. He, too has communication skills, but not as severe as his sister. His, with speech therapy, will probably be understood at some point in time. However, he is not a typical 5 year old. He is also distracted easily. He cannot sit still, because his attention span doesn't last that long. (No, it is NOTHING like ADD/ADHD--that is a whole different type of attention deficit. There is no comparison).
If I were to put Colin in Kindergarten, testing would prove his lack of peer-skills and he would be put into an LD classroom. Teaching on a 7-1 ratio would prove senseless for him. Colin would need no more than 1 other child in his classroom to learn. He works well on a 2-1 ratio, but becomes lost in a larger setting.
Colin will probably do fine in an LD classroom at some point in time. He displays amazing learning skills. I have no doubt that he will easily be mainstreamed at some point in time. He is very bright and extremely curious. These are valuable assets for him in future years.
This is just not the time for him to be mainstreamed.
Mainstreaming is a nice dream of some clueless administrative official, believing that it can be done with little impact on the child. In some cases, it can. In many others, it just is not a reality. Some afflictions do not apply even closely to those that are easily adaptable. Autism is one of these afflictions. Autism is also extremely misunderstood, which causes even more confusion in the special needs educational system.
My children are not mentally deficient. As a matter of fact, they are probably much brighter than some other children of the same age. However, because both have these other issues, both cannot display this intelligence easily. It takes hard work for them to display this intelligence.
I believe mainstreaming should be kept on an individual basis, and there should be more professionals involved in their assessment than one team of school officials and a parent. If parents only knew their rights and had them explained to them, many would never have some of the issues that I have seen some face. Before a child is mainstreamed, parents have the right to have their child privately assessed by their own doctor and other professionals in that area of expertise. Unfortunately, most parents are not aware of this and take the suggestions of the team that is assembled through the school system. A team that is paid by state guidelines and budget restrictions made by their administrators.
More often than not, a child that is mainstreamed ends up being moved from classroom to classroom before they’re placed into the appropriate learning environment.
Not only is this a waste of valuable education and social skills for the child, but it is a terrible waste for the taxpayers as well.
This entry was not meant to be so long winded, but I couldn't lump all special needs children into the mainstreaming entry. Each special needs child is just that: SPECIAL. Each has a need that is unique. Each requires special assessment in order to determine exactly what will enhance their social and educational development. They should not be guinea pigs, shoved from class to class until the correct environment is found. This is wasteful for the child and the school system as well. Even more so, it is severely damaging for that child’s emotional well-being.
Before we mainstream special needs child, major change in the system needs to be done. We need politicians to understand that, the way it is now is harming everyone from the taxpayers, to the parents, and especially to the children. We need parents informed as well, so that they do not lose the rights that are legally theirs. We need specialized teachers that understand the unique afflictions and not having limited education in special needs situations. If a child is autistic, they should be educated by someone that is experienced in this area. If the child has a slight difficulty with a subject, they should not be lumped in with those that have major difficulties as well.
Mainstreaming is nice for that BRAVE NEW WORLD. However, the world that we live in is a difficult, unforgiving, and judgmental one as well. Do not our children have enough struggles in this life, without having school be another one for them as well?