Special Education

Having three youngsters all with unique needs but vastly differing educational requirements, the ‘mainstream or unique school’ debate is one that I have had cause to take into account in depth.  Periodically, a politician will try and resolve this puzzle with a wide sweeping and generalised policy.  ‘Inclusion wherever possible’, ‘state of the art unique schools’,'special educationally trained teaching staff in all schools’.  The people behind these drastic and often opposing ideas, it appears, often draw on their personal experiences and attempt to implement these new changes with single minded commitment.

Expertise drawn from my own family circumstances, though, leaves me specific that there can never be a ‘one size fits all’ educational package for our kids.

My eldest child, Rose (who is eleven, has Asperger’s Syndrome and is socially and academically able) attends a extremely modern state high school.  Her very first few weeks as a pupil at this school had been rife with tears, tantrums, bullying accusations (you name it!).  1 term in, and she is thoroughly enjoying the richness of school life.  The school has an outstanding special requirements resource, quiet rooms where particular pupils can work if the classroom becomes to overwhelming, established bullying procedures and well-trained, caring staff.  With this ‘safety net’ ready to catch her if and when she falls, Rose has gained in confidence, and her educational future looks bright.

My middle child, Daisy, has severe learning difficulties as a result of a rare genetic syndrome.  At the time of writing she is nine years old, and to date she does not speak and shows no indication of recognising any word other than her own name.  And yet despite this considerable handicap, Daisy continues to appreciate mainstream experience.  She attends an excellent unique school for 3 days each week, where she receives speech therapy, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and close medical supervision.  For the remainder of the week she attends our local village primary school.  Granted, she is not able to follow the curriculum in any meaningful way but she has learned to be comfortable and relaxed in a busy school environment, and has made age-appropriate pals within her own community.

Daisy is the darling of our village! Teaching staff have typically commented on how the kids in her mainstream class have benefited from her involvement.  They have learned tolerance and understanding, and show emotional maturity beyond their years.  This is 1 angle of the inclusion debate that is usually overlooked.  The question ‘Would the inclusion of this pupil have a negative effect on her peers’ was raised, of course.  My husband and I turned the question on its head and asked it right back!  I have grown and matured as a person so much since having my kids.  These exact same advantages of expansion are also available to others with whom they, and other such kids, come into contact.

We were brave pioneers in our community.  The primary school had by no means before been asked to contemplate a child so severely affected by learning disability.  Many well-thought out letters and tense meetings later, Daisy’s dual placement has been a runaway success for all involved.  Would it not then follow that we really should insist on the identical kind of schooling for our youngest child, Lenny, who has classic autism?

Lenny’s understanding capacity is not nearly as severe as Daisy’s .  His socialisation, however, is fundamentally affected.  His sensory perception is impaired (or rather, more accurately, is super-normal, a state causing problems with out number in a mainstream environment).  Smells, sounds of particular pitches or sounds coming from far more than one source, clutter, direct eye-contact, all of these (and numerous more) issues can minimize my son to ‘meltdown phase’.

We did try Lenny in a mainstream nursery for a couple of terms, but it proved to be nearly painful for him and highly disruptive for the other pre-schoolers.  He spent the majority of his mornings hiding amid a heap of dressing up clothes with his hands over his ears.

A specialist autism resource with low stimulus classroom design, tiny studying groups and specially trained staff was the only real alternative.  Lenny now loves school (despite having to spend over two hours every day travelling).

3 youngsters, one family three various answers to the education question.  No two kids with special wants are the identical.  All have wants ‘outside the norm’ but ‘outside’ covers a whole lot of space, and there are inumerable directions to take!  I sincerely believe that discovering the right schooling environment for children with unique educational requirements can never be a political question.  The politicians will need to step back on this issue, and permit professionals, parents (the real specialists!) and the kids themselves the space to make their own decision in this matter.