Are our children really treated equally

[fiannafailure]

As the education system adjusts to our new economic reality, many classrom assistants and supports for children with disabilities have been withdrawn

My nephew has a form of Autism called Asperger Syndrome, Declan and his parents have had to fight almost everyday of his life for his right to an education particular to his needs and this is a reality of life for many children in Ireland,

I thought I would share with you a few of Declans thoughts, Declan has a little difficulty fitting into mainstream education and yet he undertook a project of his own that many children would be afraid to attempt, he recently took music in his Junior cert, a subject that his school did not have on the curriculum and so he studied it in his own time and added an honour in this subject to the other honours he received in the same exam, he did get help in his success, he had a classroom assistant, a feature that has just been withdrawn as a service across many of Irelands schools. That is of course in the schools that actually want to educate special needs children.

However let me present Declans feelings in his own words, the words of a song to which he is now writing the music.

Autism Anthem

You give me a glance
But not really a chance

I look just like you
But I'm different inside
I'm different to you
But we both have our pride

We both want to win
In that were the same
Cant we join hands
And both win the game

I saw yesterday how you gave
me a glance
You gave me a look but not really
a chance

I wanna be your be your friend
but I dont know how
I said will you show me
not right now.

Declan, whatever about the government, your family and I am proud of you.

[Congalltee]

Good for him.
I was going to rant about the phrase 'cherishing the children of the nation' not referring to infants, but the lyrics made such a point seem churlish.

[ManfredJudge]

Are our children really treated equally?

No. I recall a child having to go to Wales to get treatment for Autism as that was where the expertise was (Government policy) yet there was not method for the Irish government to pay for the treatment(Government Policy)

[gatsbygirl20]

As the education system adjusts to our new economic reality, many classrom assistants and supports for children with disabilities have been withdrawn

My nephew has a form of Autism called Asperger Syndrome, Declan and his parents have had to fight almost everyday of his life for his right to an education particular to his needs and this is a reality of life for many children in Ireland,

I thought I would share with you a few of Declans thoughts, Declan has a little difficulty fitting into mainstream education and yet he undertook a project of his own that many children would be afraid to attempt, he recently took music in his Junior cert, a subject that his school did not have on the curriculum and so he studied it in his own time and added an honour in this subject to the other honours he received in the same exam, he did get help in his success, he had a classroom assistant, a feature that has just been withdrawn as a service across many of Irelands schools. That is of course in the schools that actually want to educate special needs children.

However let me present Declans feelings in his own words, the words of a song to which he is now writing the music.

Autism Anthem

You give me a glance
But not really a chance

I look just like you
But I'm different inside
I'm different to you
But we both have our pride

We both want to win
In that were the same
Cant we join hands
And both win the game

I saw yesterday how you gave
me a glance
You gave me a look but not really
a chance

I wanna be your be your friend
but I dont know how
I said will you show me
not right now.

Declan, whatever about the government, your family and I am proud of you.

And so you should be....he sounds like a wonderful boy. I teach many children with AS. They benefit enormously from having classroom support in the form of an SNA (assistant) or from smaller class groupings. Beyond that, they are individuals, and while sharing some "typical" AS symptoms, they can be highly original and gifted.

All schools should "want to educate special needs children". Where a child is deemed suitable for mainstream schooling (and it is difficult for parents to accept that not all are) then, without question, their local school should accept them. It is a disgrace that some schools dodge their responsibility in this area, with the excuse of "no resources". The resources follow the child, not the other way round, as these schools well know.

But some schools have bought into the "Feeder School" / League Table" agenda to such an extent that they do not want any other distractions...They are rewarded for this by being called "Top Schools"

Other children in the school benefit from having special needs kids, as these kids bring their own gifts and original outlook. Other children learn about empathy and human diversity---good lessons in themselves. Teachers' skills are kept up. With training, teachers learn how best to educate and support these kids...

When you have a child---but especially a special needs child-- your whole world view changes. You no longer see life in such harshly Darwinian terms. The race may be to the swift, but you want your child at the starting block too...

[fiannafailure]

And so you should be....he sounds like a wonderful boy. I teach many children with AS. They benefit enormously from having classroom support in the form of an SNA (assistant) or from smaller class groupings. Beyond that, they are individuals, and while sharing some "typical" AS symptoms, they can be highly original and gifted.

All schools should "want to educate special needs children". Where a child is deemed suitable for mainstream schooling (and it is difficult for parents to accept that not all are) then, without question, their local school should accept them. It is a disgrace that some schools dodge their responsibility in this area, with the excuse of "no resources". The resources follow the child, not the other way round, as these schools well know.

But some schools have bought into the "Feeder School" / League Table" agenda to such an extent that they do not want any other distractions...They are rewarded for this by being called "Top Schools"

Other children in the school benefit from having special needs kids, as these kids bring their own gifts and original outlook. Other children learn about empathy and human diversity---good lessons in themselves. Teachers' skills are kept up. With training, teachers learn how best to educate and support these kids...

When you have a child---but especially a special needs child-- your whole world view changes. You no longer see life in such harshly Darwinian terms. The race may be to the swift, but you want your child at the starting block too...

gatsbygirl

Thank you for insight and I will keep this short, special needs children often bring out the best human instincts of their peers in mainstream schools, but it is vitally important for our society to bring these children to their individual educational potential, as Declan has illustrated, these young people often have insights on our society from which we can all benefit.

And when these young people have been educated we must find for them a place in our society from which they can contribute in their own special way.

Many outstanding and celebrated people in our history are now suspected of being autistic to some degree and in Declans case, Aspergers Syndrome, these include Albert Einstein, Issac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Beethoven and George Washington.

Our society needs the different thought processes only available to people who we have now come to term special needs, I suggest that we re-open our modern society to the special contributions of these people. How many Einstein's and Beethoven's are we allowing to slip through our politically correct fingers

[gatsbygirl20]

gatsbygirl

Thank you for insight and I will keep this short, special needs children often bring out the best human instincts of their peers in mainstream schools, but it is vitally important for our society to bring these children to their individual educational potential, as Declan has illustrated, these young people often have insights on our society from which we can all benefit.

And when these young people have been educated we must find for them a place in our society from which they can contribute in their own special way.

Many outstanding and celebrated people in our history are now suspected of being autistic to some degree and in Declans case, Aspergers Syndrome, these include Albert Einstein, Issac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Beethoven and George Washington.

Our society needs the different thought processes only available to people who we have now come to term special needs, I suggest that we re-open our modern society to the special contributions of these people. How many Einstein's and Beethoven's are we allowing to slip through our politically correct fingers

+1 Anyone who has taught children with Aspergers Syndrome will realize how gifted these children can be. Even inside the constraints of our much-criticised Irish examination system, they often do very well, provided they have had a good classroom experience. Many bring humour, irony and originality to the English class. Others have brilliant memory, or because of a single-issue focus, they are experts in some area. One of my AS students helps me organise my term timetable (when I will give/correct tests etc.) as he can compute dates with brilliant speed. He is amazed at how useless I am at this kind of accurate forward planning, as he watches me painstakingly consulting calenders and trying to figure out what day the Oral Irish exam falls on....He can do it in a second in his head...

[ManfredJudge]

Unstoppable Brilliance: Irish Geniuses and Asperger's Syndrome

Robert Emmet
Pádraig Pearse
Éamon de Valera
Robert Boyle
William Rowan Hamilton
Daisy Bates
W. B. Yeats
James Joyce
Samuel Beckett

are featured as people with Aspergers Syndrome and the contributions they made.

It is an excellent read.

ISBN-10: 1905483287
ISBN-13: 978-1905483280

[physicist]

There's a certain degree of skepticism about claiming Asperger's Syndrome traits in undiagnosed historical geniuses.

Even though people with Asperger's Syndrome do well in Education, the social perception of them can be quite harmful to their chances of gaining economic independence, even those who know about the condition are quick to stereotype.

Things could be worse, hopefully your son will live in a World without the fanaticism of Dr. Andrew Wakefield or the persecution of Gary McKinnon.