tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post2165303894111819559..comments2024-01-30T05:25:56.085-07:00Comments on A Teacher's View: Do Special Needs Need Vouchersmmazenkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-5270676287379747332011-08-18T06:20:24.633-06:002011-08-18T06:20:24.633-06:00At my public high school we have numerous students...At my public high school we have numerous students who are on the neediest end of the spectrum like your one. That has been true at both of the middle class high schools where I teach. The curriculum is a basic life skills curriculum. The schools need to provide education to all special needs - it's mandated by law. If the needs are so extreme that schools can't provide it, they must pay for the student to receive it elsewhere. That's been the law for as forty years. Thus, I would again question the need for vouchers in this area - especially the women in the Douglas County.mmazenkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602797515366983639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-40638893726163501452011-08-17T22:10:53.502-06:002011-08-17T22:10:53.502-06:00Another side issue, though... I should rather have...Another side issue, though... I should rather have a delivery model for disabilities that matches what is given in the 0-3 range. They do not assume that the classroom is the least restrictive environment, and with an IFSP, the therapists come to YOUR HOUSE.<br /><br />Anyway. Just saying it doesn't HAVE to be a school issue/ us vs. them thing if the funding and administration were entirely separate.Happy Elf Mom (Christine)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15047347624037697311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1550222691875074441.post-90265363884587319522011-08-17T22:08:50.830-06:002011-08-17T22:08:50.830-06:00Well, some relatively minor disabilites discussed ...Well, some relatively minor disabilites discussed here. Sorry, Aspies and people with ADHD and all that are hardly disabled at all. Try having a kid who is 10 or 12 and doesn't use the bathroom, but MIGHT learn if you get him to just the right autism school. Seriously. <br /><br />I have four children on the spectrum and most of them don't need $pecial $pecial stuff. (Maybe a resource class here and there, no biggie.) But one DOES.<br /><br />And here's the thing: that child went from speaking three words - THREE WORDS! - to now putting three words together *at a time.* In a year and a half, with the school and I working very closely together, we were able to accomplish this. Maybe on paper that doesn't sound like a big deal, but means the difference between being able to say "tummy hurt" and just screaming for hours/ no one figuring out what is wrong... <br /><br />Our district *happens* to have a special communication (code word for "autism") classroom. But what if it didn't? Would you consign these kids to never speaking or using the bathroom? Shouldn't they contract that more specialized work out?<br /><br />Sometimes the schools really DO NOT have what they need and in those cases I think it's reasonable to look at whatever is going to work (vouchers or not/I could care less).<br /><br />Aspies? Bah. A little extra help that likely costs little to nothing. I get annoyed by stuff like this because it turns people like you who might otherwise be tenderhearted advocates for the disabled against the very idea that just sometimes we have to be unfair to give someone a fair chance. :)Happy Elf Mom (Christine)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15047347624037697311noreply@blogger.com