If Special Education is a Service to assist children with disabilities and special needs to achieve academically along side non-disabled peers then why did we have to take a stand and revoke permission for our son with Autism to receive those special education services so that he could maintain a general education placement?
Harrison is a wonderful little boy, who will be 7 years old this winter. He has Autism, however that never has defined who he is or what he will accomplish in the future. Harrison participated in the publically funded Preschool program from the age of 3 through our local school district. Harrison participated in a specially designed kindergarten classroom last year that would provide the teacher and Harrison with the supports necessary to be successful in kindergarten. As my husband and I look back we should have done what our “gut” told us back then which was to place Harrison in a general education kindergarten classroom and wait and see. But, because Harrison was not toilet trained and needed assistance we agreed to a program that could accommodate those needs. Harrison had learned to do many things in the preschool program such as write his name independently with a visual prompt (we worked on these skills in private therapy and at home too) which is where our story of discontent with the school district and special education services starts.
Last fall Harrison stopped writing his name. When I approached the school staff I was told that Harrison was in the pre-stages of writing and that I should not worry as it was only the 20th day of school and the teacher was still getting to know him. When the writing issue became worse in October I met with the teacher, occupational therapist, and the principal and said that Harrison was regressing and all I was seeing coming home was scribbling- again I was told that this was ok because this was prewriting and it was only day 30 of school and we are still getting to know him. At our first parent teacher conference I was floored to see the work that was considered acceptable from my son when I told the staff he could do better. It appeared that Harrison started scribbling on any written work on day 3 of school and that it was never corrected.
I called an IEP Meeting specifically so that I could request extra support in writing for Harrison. I was told that in order to determine what extra support was needed a full assessment needed to be done- I was so naïve to think that the people were interested in assisting Harrison! The reports that came back basically said that Harrison was pretty much unreachable in the general education classroom and unable to understand simple directions and needed more intense one-to-one instruction in a special education classroom (special education is a service not a place). My husband and I listened to the assessment, allowed the team to set goals, and then we challenged why those goals could not be done in the general education classroom. Our school district determined placement based on what they had to offer not what was most appropriate for our son which was a Designed Instruction (DI) Special Education Disabled Peer Only Classroom. We Strongly opposed this placement option because the expectations were not the same as for disabled/special needs kids as the general education kids nor was the curriculum being used the same in order to assist the kids in a Designed Instruction (DI) Special Education Classroom to fully integrate back into the general education classroom with non-disabled peers for academic instruction. So we filed a Due Process Lawsuit through OSPI and enacted a stay-put for Harrison for the remainder of the school year while we hashed out what would happen next year. The school distinct was unwilling to allow a general education placement with pull out services so that a general education teacher was required to program plan for inclusion. Harrison would get to visit the “regular kids” while eating lunch in the lunch room but not with a general education class only his DI peers, and that he would have recess with them, and that he would attend regular PE along with Adaptive PE (which he did not qualify-yep 4 PE classes a week compared to 2 of his typical developing peers).
After 3 months of trying to make the district see our vision of what was most appropriate for the education of our son we finally went to mediation where we were told by the Department Chair that the DI placement is all Harrison would have access to or he got nothing. So in talking to our attorney and working with PAVE, and Families Together for People with Disabilities my husband and I had a very hard and scary decision to make…Do we allow a judge to decide and spend $10,000+ on autism experts? Do we give in and do what the district wants? or Do we take a stand for what we truly believe is most appropriate for our son Harrison?
So on June 1st, 2009 we took a stand…We chose to exercise our rights to revoke special education services on behalf of our son! As much as we had hoped to work with our school district to make a plan that was best for Harrison it was now about who was going to win…the School District or us Harrisons Parents and we had always said that when the focus was no longer on Harrison and his needs to be able to succeed then we would stop.
So we made the best choice we felt for Harrison. So we are finally in our neighborhood school, repeating Kindergarten and having the best time. The feel of general education is so different that that of special education. I am welcome in the classroom, needed as a volunteer and finally seen as the EXPERT on my child. The teacher has been accommodating of Harrisons needs. She sees and shares with us Harrisons strengths. She is willing to try different things to help him be successful without changing her teaching method or room. She is willing to ask for my help and sees me as a partner! She is the type of teacher I knew my son needed!
Looking back the heartache, pain and hours of tears that were shed last spring laid the foundation for the joy we now feel at taking a stand and believing in the abilities of Harrison! So with that we leave you with this thought to ponder:
“When your gut is screaming this is not right, not what is best, and it’s not going to work…listen and make the others listen too…you are the EXPERT on your Child!”
Autisum Fundraiser/Artist Polly Powel
