In late June 2010, three stories came to light regarding three different special needs students. They had each been pulled from their schools due to the treatment they received at their school. All of these stories were in my province at the time.
I have included the links to the stories so you can at least get an understanding of the issue. However, as they are over 10 years old, the articles have all been removed from the site.
Autistic child pulled from school over the use of Isolation room
8 yr old with fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy and epilepsy pulled from school because no one would help her use the washroom
13 yr old with Aspergers and bipolar disorder pulled from school over the use of isolation room
Over the year these three students were pulled from classes due to their treatment at the hands of school staff. The case of the girl with Cerebral Palsy was very close to serious neglect. The other two show clear signs of abuse as well. The isolation rooms in question used in those schools are 3 walls bolted to the floor. Their door is held shut while the student is inside. What I find to be a major problem is the idea of holding the door closed from the outside. We can not allow that type of practice to continue.
Isolation rooms, in general, are not a bad thing as it does help an autistic child calm down. However, a major part of the issue involved in these cases is the size of the room. In my child’s school what is used as an isolation room is a small office-sized room. The EA and student sit together and wait for his issues to resolve themselves. The key to the isolation rooms is not the lack of another person. The real benefit is the lack of stimulus that would continue the negative behaviour.
The issue is that autistic children, due to a lack of social and communication skills, become upset due to their inability to communicate. This can result in disruptive and/or aggressive behaviour. The most important thing is that we need to choose an EA who is engaged. This allows them to pick up the signs of an impending issue. This allows them to remove the child before the issue can escalate. This particular issue was of incredible importance to our son. His EA at his first school did not do well at this because of the lack of a bond. He went to a new school for grade 2. His new EA bonded so well with him that she was able to anticipate and redirect most of his behaviours.
As I watched these discussions at the time, I noticed a significant trend. A large majority of vocal people would prefer to see all special needs students removed from mainstream classrooms. This is no more a solution than full and complete inclusion without exception. The majority of students that have special needs can manage well in a standard classroom as long as certain basic needs are met.
1./ There is no reason we should allow a person who needs help using the washroom to not have that help. We simply appoint an EA to help the student at prearranged times. We only need a paging system to have the EA come to assist the child with the washroom. The EA involved in helping the child intermittently could also be dealing with other low-risk special needs students at the same time.
2./ Under no circumstances should we ever allow a special needs student who is at risk of violent behaviour or eloping to be without an EA present. This EA would normally monitor the child for warning signs that they need a break and remove them from the classroom before an episode. This allows them to decompress without a violent episode. We can then use the time to help the student with individualized training outside the classroom. We should even have this training considered part of a special needs student’s special education plan.
3./ Where at all possible special needs students should be part of a regular class for at least a portion of each day. We do this under the supervision of an EA when required due to behavioural issues. The interesting thing is, from personal observations, this does not just benefit the special needs child. I have found that neurotypical children also tend to be far more accepting of those with disabilities when they grow up having special needs children included in school.
4./ Those students with intellectual difficulties would have a modified education plan that would focus on making them as independent as possible while allowing them the ability to learn as much as possible of normal school criteria.
5./ We simply have those students who can not handle a classroom situation (they do exist but are fewer than some would like us to believe) taught in an alternative location. And we do it to the best of the student’s capabilities in a different setting. The intent would be to keep as close an education level as possible with students in their own age group. This would also mean including them in things like art, gym, music and library with a standard class where the student is capable of handling this.
During the debates I have seen over this issue, I have monitored the discussions of those opposed to inclusion. I also watched the discussions of parents of special needs students who were dealing with specific issues. Between the two sides, I have put together a plan that best meets the needs of as many students as possible. That plan as I have outlined above includes integration when at all possible. We need to pay special attention to dealing with issues proactively instead of reactively and therefore avoiding violent outbursts and disturbances
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