Harrison Grows Up: April 2010

I presented this speech on April 14th, 2010. I feel great about my decision to speak on something that is so dear to my heart. Change must happen and it needs to begin somewhere-no better person that me!:

Good Evening,
My name is Gerriann Armstrong, a parent of a child at Whitman Elementary. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. I came this evening for 2 reasons. The first is the April is Autism Awareness Month. My son Harrison was diagnosised with Autism when he was 4 years old. We participated in the Preschool Program with the District and I would rate our experience as successful. The transition to Elementary School was not so much. Without getting into too much detail last year we fought a self contained placement in a Designed Instruction Classroom to the point of costing the district thousands of dollars in legal fees as well as our family. The end result is the most important…we choose not to take special education services from District 81 this past school year and trust what we knew to be true that my son could manage a general education classroom and learn. Whitman is our neighborhood school and they were thrust into the middle of this stand off and I want to recognize the Principal Bev Lund and the General Education Teacher Kari Hammond for the wonderful job of rebuilding a relationship with District 81 that was severely damaged last year. My son still receives no special education services however I have learned to trust the staff at Whitman and believe that they understand where the line of services is drawn. We have shared that we are not leaving the school and that whatever they are able to offer Harrison there is appreciated but that he will always have a seat (yes a desk) in a general education classroom- this way he knows and his classmates know that they all belong together!

Secondly, I am concerned about our districts test scores concerning No Child Left Behind or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act particularly the ones related to children with Special Education Services. According to the District AYP Message in the Annual Report Card 2009 that was sent home the week after spring break a justification was made that because smaller school districts have less students they were able to meet the requirements. Looking the Proficiency Goals for all the grades, the category of Special Education did not pass in a single category or grade level. I ask you why…if a smaller school district with less kids with less money, can do it why cant we? What is different in those districts? It is my belief and one that I think needs to be said is the difference between us and the small school districts that passed…they don’t have segregated self contained classrooms for their children with disabilities (DI classrooms) because they can’t afford them. I am saying we can’t afford them either at the level we are using them.

My son attended a special education Integrated Kindergarten last year…he learned how to do school however the belief was that my son had such low cognitive functioning that he was unable to learn in the general education classroom and that he would be a life skills kid- counting change and riding the bus. Life Skills are my job to teach as a parent I expect the school to provide the academic knowledge that he needs to be successful in employment or higher education. This year my son is working at grade level in many areas. Because of his disability we have areas of work that most other children do not…however we have private therapies that are helping in those areas. My son is learning in the same general education classroom that we were told he was too low in cognitive functioning to make progress there.

In a general education classroom my son is an active part of the class not just a “visitor” who comes to hanging out furthering the indoctrination of the stereotype that people with disabilities are different and therefore must be segregated from the “normal people.” My son needs a little more access to the teacher to understand the assignment but does not need an entirely different assignment or curriculum to learn. Teachers can teach from a cereal box if they need to and all kids can learn. Many parents do not have issues with the general education teachers- many of us have found that they are willing to try anything to make it work however the issues comes from the special education teachers or administrators who are saying without saying the words there is no money to provide the support your child needs and since we have the special education self-contained disabled only classroom down the hall or over at a neighboring school that is where we are sending you because its cheaper for us and you have unrealistic views of your child’s abilities. I am sure that none of you have been told that but there are many families who have been told that…too many who have children with Autism or Aspersers. I am calling for the development of best practices for educating children with Autism in our district. With 1 in 70 boys being affected we need to implement or replicate best practices in our state or if we cant find something that will work for us then we need to be the leaders that our children need and develop them. All our children will benefit!!!

On Friday April 16th, 2010 the first stages of the minor home repairs started. The concrete slab that was in very poor condition has been removed and a retaining wall has been installed to help with keeping the yard and its dirt in its spots off the concrete. Harrison came home from a birthday party after school on Friday and immediately asked: "Who took our concrete and why did they bring us dirt? " The next statment was "Lets get my monster trucks so that we can go mud truck racing! " It was a fun weekend of playing with the clean dirt. Dave and I loved seeing him play in the dirt and are looking forward to the vegetable garden raised beds so that Harrison can have a place to dig and play while growing salad veggies! THANK YOU!