Recently a friend and I had a conversation about educational options for children with autism in Florida. The conversation centered on options in the public school system. She didn't understand why another friend didn't place her child in an autism room.
It has become clear to me that parents who don't deal with a child who has autism, doesn't know about the options available to these students. That's completely understandable because these parents have no reason to dive into these classrooms and what is presented to the public seems perfectly acceptable. Even teachers have spoken highly of these classrooms. I've asked these teachers if they have taken time to visit self-contained rooms and none of them done a tour.
What I witnessed while visiting these classrooms isn't even a shadow of what parents are told exists. We are told that the students are taken into the classrooms for subjects that they can handle in the general classroom. They interact with their peers throughout the day. The classroom size is small with three teachers, two of them are paraprofessionals, allowing for a lot of small group and one-on-one time. The students receive breaks throughout the day and have a highly individualized education plan that can be followed due to the small class size and informed, educated, and professional teachers. The kids are with other kids just like them.
It sounds pretty great, doesn't it!
Wow! My child will get the best of all worlds! He won't have to worry about being teased for struggling in a subject or for acting odd socially. He won't have the anxiety of a large, busy classroom for the entire day. He will be with his typical peers throughout the day so he will still have a peer model.
If my child needs to go to another school because our community school doesn't have self-contained classrooms, a bus comes right to our door to pick him up. All these special, expensive services are available just for my special needs son with autism.
With excitement and some reservation, Andrew and I have visited these self-contained classrooms. We go because our fight with the teachers and the general education classroom is continuous. It is stressful. I want to throw up every time the school phone number shows on my phone. If that is stressful for us, I can only imagine what our 9 year old son feels like every day. We question our choice of placement weekly and wonder if we are doing him a disservice. Maybe he really can't handle the general classroom and that is something we have to continue to discuss.
Then we go into the rooms. The first school was a 45 minute drive from our home, in our car. I don't know how long it would take on a bus that has multiple stops and drop offs.
There were three teachers, two of them aides and nine children. The children were K-5 grade students, ranging in severity on the autistic spectrum. One aide stood in the corner with an older, larger child who was screaming and flapping. She was keeping him safe and possibly keeping the other students safe. The other aide was keeping another smaller student safe in a second section of the classroom. There were eight students left for the main teacher. Four of these students sat at computers, working on programs unsupervised. Two students sat at a table with the teacher until I was able to speak to her. The eighth student was in therapy.
I asked if this was their typical day and she told me that it was typical. She seemed concerned that she would get another child who would put her over her numbers. I asked when my son would go into the general classroom and she snickered. There was no one available to take him to the general classroom. So while that is the general concept and what is supposed to happen, children do not leave the self-contained autism room. There would be no way to escort the student to their room and back. These twelve people spend the day together, in this small room.
We visited another self-contained classroom after the second school told us that the self-contained rooms are much better on this side of the county. I was hopeful. We were given the opportunity to talk to the teacher and the principal. We also toured the classroom.
The students were grades 1-5 and they all varied on the autistic spectrum. One student was left on a mat and slept all day because his medication made him tired. One student played with Little Ponies on the floor while three students played Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the computers. Two girls sat at desks scribbling but I think they were supposed to write in a journal. The other students sat at a table with the a teacher, working on reading.
It was at this point that I realized that the students worked on a different curriculum than the general classrooms. The teacher explained that the students don't work toward a diploma. These students are on a completely different track but she said that they could also switch over to the diploma track. I asked if she had ever seen it happen and her response was "no, it doesn't really happen."
The students only spend time with their NT (neurotypical) peers in the cafeteria. Then I think about that a little more. The kids who need to learn appropriate social skills from their peers spend time with their peers only in the lunch room, where the kids are loud, the smells are strong, and the room is bustling and confusing. They sit at a separate table together. It doesn't sound like quality time with peers to me.
My son would travel to a school 20 minutes away from our home, away from the children he sees in our small community, and away from the people he is used to interacting with here.
These are the reasons why we continue to fight to keep our son with autism in the general education classroom. We don't know if he will be able to continue there or if he will succeed in this situation. We hope the answer is yes. We know it makes people uncomfortable to have him in a classroom with their children but he deserves a fighting chance and it my job to make sure he is given it.
