Decision

[deafdyke]

i was warehoused in a mainstream school.

Inmate.....GOOD POINT!!!!
Kids with disabilties are generally warehoused in mainstream schools. We can debate this back and fourth until we're blue in the fact, but it boils down to the fact that most mainstream/neighborhood schools merely have Resource Room style accomondations for special ed offerings. Some kids who just need minimal accomondations will do AWESOME in that setting. We should NOT get rid of that as an option........but we need to somehow make sure that kids who are more high need then a resource room, are getting the accomodnations they need.
Mainstream is TOO one size fits all!

 

[Reba]

... Mainstream is TOO one size fits all!

That's a fact.

 

[inmate23]

i was warehoused in a mainstream school.

Inmate.....GOOD POINT!!!!!

My mother has now admitted to using my middle school as a babysitting service nothing more nothing less

But my "support" worker(at least he taught that people could be happy when with parents and he was was a former paralypic so he had plenty of chances to make his only choices that weren't his parents)

So even my mother wasn't expecting my schools to educate me

 

[Speedy Hawk]

i was warehoused in a mainstream school.

I am not quite sure what you mean by that? Do you mean loads of disabled kids grouped together even though they are very different or you mean something else?

 

[inmate23]

I am not quite sure what you mean by that? Do you mean loads of disabled kids grouped together even though they are very different or you mean something else?

I mean no body wanted the school to give me an education and that it was by parents as a babysitting service

 

[Speedy Hawk]

I mean no body wanted the school to give me an education and that it was by parents as a babysitting service

Ah right I understand what you mean now. Thanks.

 

[deafdyke]

mean no body wanted the school to give me an education and that it was by parents as a babysitting service

And that's also another good point, We are entitled to an education, BUT the fact of the matter is that they are legally bound to only give us a minimal education. The parents of the CID, Clarke and St. Josephs and other oral school students think that their kids will get a really good education simply b/c they are mainstreamed. Mainstreaming sucks....We need to stop idealizing it as THE perfect placement for ALL dhh or otherwise disabled kids.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

And that's also another good point, We are entitled to an education, BUT the fact of the matter is that they are legally bound to only give us a minimal education. The parents of the CID, Clarke and St. Josephs and other oral school students think that their kids will get a really good education simply b/c they are mainstreamed. Mainstreaming sucks....We need to stop idealizing it as THE perfect placement for ALL dhh or otherwise disabled kids.

Actually, no. They are required to provide accomodations for our education. Those accomodations are what is the required minimum.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I've been batting around whether to continue commenting about education of disabled kids. It's obvious that things have changed since I was in school, but, I take issue with the comments regarding mainstreaming being a warehouse for kids. I don't see that. Yes, mainstreaming is the goal for a lot of us, and, it's NOT always the best placement for every kid. And, as mentioned the accodations could be a LOT better. However, to use the term "warehouse" and to imply that an education wasn't achieved is stretching a bit. If one didn't get an education, then that makes me wonder where the parents were in the situation? They are the ones who must sign off on the kids' IEP. If something isn't right, they are the ones responsible for ensuring that the placement for the kid correct. If someone is just merely there and not learning, then the parents are to blame. When a kid can't advocate for themselves, its up to the parent to advocate FOR THEM.

 

[inmate23]

They are the ones who must sign off on the kids' IEP. If something isn't right, they are the ones responsible for ensuring that the placement for the kid correct. If someone is just merely there and not learning, then the parents are to blame. When a kid can't advocate for themselves, its up to the parent to advocate FOR THEM.

I live in nz and parents dont sign off ieps i had one where it was just me and the coordination

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I live in nz and parents dont sign off ieps i had one where it was just me and the coordination

Here in the U.S., we do. So, there really should be no excuse for a child being warehoused. As I said, I take issue with that as it characterized here in the U.S. The IEP has specific goals that a kid is supposed to be working on in a given time period. After that time has elapsed, then another meeting is scheduled and progress is reviewed and the IEP is revised. That is how it works (or is supposed to work) here in the United States.

I feel regret that you had a much different experience. You shouldn't have been left to languish like that.

 

[deafdyke]

They are required to provide accomodations for our education. Those accomodations are what is the required minimum.

Whoops, guess I wasn't clear on that. They ARE required to give us accomondations....but they can get away with very minimal accomondations, instead of GOOD accomondations that would REALLY help us.

t

ake issue with the comments regarding mainstreaming being a warehouse for kids. I don't see that. Yes, mainstreaming is the goal for a lot of us, and, it's NOT always the best placement for every kid. And, as mentioned the accodations could be a LOT better. However, to use the term "warehouse" and to imply that an education wasn't achieved is stretching a bit. If one didn't get an education, then that makes me wonder where the parents were in the situation? They are the ones who must sign off on the kids' IEP. If something isn't right, they are the ones responsible for ensuring that the placement for the kid correct. If someone is just merely there and not learning, then the parents are to blame. When a kid can't advocate for themselves, its up to the parent to advocate FOR THEM.

I think that's more a comment on the Resource Room/mainstream special ed being a dumping ground. Legally they can give you minimal accomondations and that's a FAPE (Free and Appropreate Public Education)
Also a lot of parents may not know what to ask for, for accomodnations or that there's other placements out there. It's really hard to handle the system unless you've got a law degree.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Whoops, guess I wasn't clear on that. They ARE required to give us accomondations....but they can get away with very minimal accomondations, instead of GOOD accomondations that would REALLY help us.

t I think that's more a comment on the Resource Room/mainstream special ed being a dumping ground. Legally they can give you minimal accomondations and that's a FAPE (Free and Appropreate Public Education)
Also a lot of parents may not know what to ask for, for accomodnations or that there's other placements out there. It's really hard to handle the system unless you've got a law degree.

Then, please clarify. That wasn't my experience, and it's not the experience of everyone. Granted, I DO agree with you about the resource room being a dumping ground. It was, and, it sounds like it still is. But, to say that mainstreaming as a whole is a dumping ground is generalizing a bit. There are all kinds of kids in the mainstream, DD. Self contained classes ARE a mess, but, I was fully mainstreamed with able-bodied students with NO pull out services. All day; every day. That was from about the third grade on. I'm not saying it was a glorious experience for me. There were issues. I had an LD that was NOT being accomodated. It should have been. As a result of the neglect of the LD part of things, I suffered. But, I also got by. Do I wish it was different? Of course, but don't we all?

Anyway, giving the state of things NOW, there needs to be improvement. The sins of the past should NOT be repeated over and over again.

 

[faire_jour]

Wirelessly posted

this is surely one of the only places that advocates against early intervention and parents providing a language rich enviroment.

 

[posts from hell]

Wirelessly posted

this is surely one of the only places that advocates against early intervention and parents providing a language rich enviroment.

lol false again.

you just basically said that ASL is not a language rich environment...

 

[deafdyke]

That wasn't my experience, and it's not the experience of everyone.

That's true. There are kids who do amazingly well in the mainstream. I think we need to devise some sort of system to ensure that kids aren't just placed in the mainstream. I mean we still have specialized placements for LD kids or ADD kids (and those are very commonly seen in public sped)

There are all kinds of kids in the mainstream, DD. Self contained classes ARE a mess, but, I was fully mainstreamed with able-bodied students with NO pull out services. All day; every day. That was from about the third grade on.

Oh true, very true. Formal program mainstreamed kids count as mainstreamed even thou their experiance can be a lot different from a solotaire mainstreamer. When I say mainstream, I mean neighborhood school, typical grade level no real intense accomondations, beyond I dunno...preferential seating or whatever.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

lol false again.

you just basically said that ASL is not a language rich environment...

PFH; don't reply to her. At least, not in this thread, please. She wants a fight. Please, lets not give her one. We were doing really well until now. Lets not screw things up by turning this into a cat fight. I WILL have this thread closed if it gets nasty.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

That's true. There are kids who do amazingly well in the mainstream. I think we need to devise some sort of system to ensure that kids aren't just placed in the mainstream. I mean we still have specialized placements for LD kids or ADD kids (and those are very commonly seen in public sped)
Oh true, very true. Formal program mainstreamed kids count as mainstreamed even thou their experiance can be a lot different from a solotaire mainstreamer. When I say mainstream, I mean neighborhood school, typical grade level no real intense accomondations, beyond I dunno...preferential seating or whatever.

I wouldn't say I did "amazingly well". I did OK. But, I agree with you. I wish we could somehow blend the education one gets when they are included in the mainstream with a SPED curriculum. You may be surprised to know that the SPED curriculi isn't much better than that of some deaf schools. Many kids that graduated with me LEFT school with NO more than a 5th grade education while in SPED. How does that prepare a kid for the real world? It doesn't. They often "dumbed down" the curriculum thinking the kid couldn't grasp it. It's true that some may not have been able to. But, some of them could. You basically had two choices. Put your kid in SPED OR the mainstream. Neither option was ideal for kids like me or the deaf.

 

[faire_jour]

Wirelessly posted

Wirelessly posted

this is surely one of the only places that advocates against early intervention and parents providing a language rich enviroment.

lol false again.

you just basically said that ASL is not a language rich environment...

where did i say that? Not even close...

but the whole point of this thread is to disparage parents who are active, engaged and responsible. They are providing great language for their children and somehow that is bad...whatever.

 

[Banjo]

Some people just don't know when to shut up.