intensive needs education
Special education and parent advocacy
One of the most challenging issues we face raising a child with both cognitive and physical disabilities is school. Quincy attends the same public school that her brother and sister go to. That was important to us and an issue that we had to fight for…the opportunity for her to attend her home school with her siblings and the neighborhood kids. This gets down to the essence of rights for special needs children…the right to the same education all other children enjoy. And that means not busing them to sites set up specifically for intensive needs kids, but instead establishing intensive needs programs within their home schools. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When you allow a child like Quincy to be in the care of other people for six hours a day you must have a great deal of trust and respect for those who are caring for her. Quincy cannot talk or tell me when she has been mistreated or scared or frustrated. So the people, the teachers, aides and therapists, who work with her daily must learn how to communicate with her and respond to her cues. This takes an incredible dedication of time and resources for training and education, and this is not something you find in public education. So, we have done a huge amount of work on our own, developing lasting relationships with the people who work with Quincy. We have developed an IEP team that is first loyal to Quincy’s needs and not so much the needs of the school district. This has been tremendous for Quincy, but isn’t always a smooth task. However, Quincy is the first student in our district to remain in elementary school until she is ready to transition directly to high school next year, in effect skipping middle school. The purpose of this was to allow her to remain with the same team as long as possible so she can have the maximum benefit of their expertise and to reduce the incredible stress that comes from transitioning to a new staff and building by simply eliminating the transition to middle school. This works for Quincy because her academic gains are measured in very small increments and most of her time at school is with adults and therapists. This should make the social transition from elementary school to high school fairly smooth. For children who function at a higher level, this may not be the best choice. There are social aspects of middle school that are important for adolescents to be exposed to and it may be awkward and inappropriate for most students to simply skip this important stage of life. The main point is that we were able to mold Quincy’s school experience to what is best for her, not what is easiest or most economical for the school district which is all to often the way decisions get made. Credit must be given to the leadership at our district for looking at new and innovative ways to educate and to be willing to listen and incorporate parent input into this process. Parents must always advocate for the rights of their children, however stressful and time-consuming it may be. No one is going to fight for Quincy except her Dad and I…that’s just another reality of this life we lead.
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National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)
