In the October 24 edition of the Community Free Press there was a front page story about Dawson Burlison and his mother’s struggle with the Springfield R-12 School District refusing to give accommodations to her son. (The link is to a photo of the front page…for some reason the archive section of the Community Free Press website isn’t working.) When I read the story my blood boiled because of the apparent disregard that some members of the Springfield School District had for this child with a legitimate, medically verified disorder. It’s as if the district was saying “it’s your problem, not ours. If the kid can’t cut it in our classes then tough.”
Technically, I guess we can say they have the right to not accommodate a child with special needs. Oh..no…wait. Isn’t there a little thing called the Americans With Disabilities act?
I was disappointed that none of our local television stations, radio talk show hosts or the News-Leader really picked up this story and demanded answers from the Springfield R-12 School District. (If they did, I missed the stories and apologize in advance.) I had hoped this was an isolated incident and the coverage in the CFP would result in actions being taken to help this child.
Then today, I found out that another child with Asperger’s Syndrome has been expelled from his elementary school because he said he was going to “beat up the teacher.” (EDIT Nov. 15: I confirmed late last night he was suspended pending a hearing before the principal today.) Apparently he’s been put in suspension twice for fighting with other children. (Aggression can be a part of Asperger’s Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders especially when a child is provoked.) What this says to me is that instead of taking steps to help this child with Asperger’s they instead just threw him into a suspension as if he was a child without a disorder and then ran him off when he reacted to a teacher forcing him to take some action. Obviously, this teacher did not know how to handle a child with an autism spectrum disorder if they seriously thought a seven year old child was planning to beat them up and could actually do it.
I don’t have all the facts yet and I’m sure we’ll have something from the school to try and explain away why they took the action with the child today but it doesn’t change the fact we seem to have a pattern here. Twice in two months we see children with Asperger’s Syndrome who are being dealt with harshly by the Springfield R-12 School District. What are the district’s policies regarding dealing with children who have an autism spectrum disorder? Are their teachers trained to recognize the signs of Asperger’s or PDD or other autism spectrum disorders to know how to handle a student when their disorder causes them to react in an unexpected way? Do they even really care about these children and the struggles their families go through to try and give them an education and a shot at a mostly normal life?
My son attends a different district than Springfield and they have been OUTSTANDING in their treatment of him. They have provided therapy for him and the teachers in his regular classes either have training to deal with children like my son or have easy access to someone on the staff with experience that can come in and help them. The school district didn’t cast him aside, didn’t throw him into some “special education” class segregated from the other students and they didn’t just throw him into a day’s suspension because he pinched a teacher’s arm when she pulled him away from some toys. I find it hard to believe the Springfield R-12 School District can’t do the same things for children on the autism spectrum.
I don’t know if we’ll have any of our local media outlets approach this story and at least get an answer to this disturbing pattern. If someone at the school district sees this and wishes to respond I will be happy to post your response without editing it in any way. I will not say that I might not comment to what you have posted but I will not change a word of your statement. I just see something fishy going on and it’s time for an explanation.
Jason,
Springfield has had a history of not working with children who have special needs, especially Austism Spectrum Disorders. The history goes back 10 years at least.
Unfortunately, most regular classroom teachers are not specifically trained in dealing with Autism and so they cannot exactly be blamed for not understanding that traditional discipline escalates the situation.
Some schools have been more progressive, but many have not. Many of our outlying school districts are much better at providing services to children who have disabilities than Springfield Public Schools. It comes down to money.
Keep us posted.
Thanks for your comments. Its so nice to have someone understand your plight!
Sadly, regular classroom teachers know virtually nothing about any of the problems associated with Developmentally Delayed Disorders or Mental Health problems in children. Unfortunately, many Special Education teachers do not either. My son was diagnosed 5 years ago with ADHD, Bipolar, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He has been in treatment for 5 years. It took 2 years just to get him and Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Even though he has been in treatment for years, we have not seen much of a change. He does no work while at school, and hasn’t for several years. Now, at age 14, it appears as though the real problem all along has been Asperger’s Syndrome, with a co-morbid disorder(s) of ADHD and Bipolar.
School has been a nightmare since 3rd grade. The teachers are always asking me for answers on how to motivate him at school, and how to get him to do his work. Since I do not have a degree in teaching, I have no clue.
Because of the bullying and teasing he has been and is subjected to at school, he totally hates school. (And, sadly, yes, the bullying and teasing continues.)
Even during the IEP Meetings, the staff constantly keeps trying to put the responsibility for my child’s difficulties off on our family and the treatment providers instead of looking at what would truly benefit my child.
Personally, I think there needs to be a complete reform of the entire Special Education system. This idea of having school district personnel decide who gets an IEP is absurb. Of course they (the school district) will do everything possible to avoid having to put a child in Special Education because it costs considerably more money to educate that child than in a regular ed classroom.
I believe that whether or not a child qualifies for an IEP should be determined by a core group comprised of education personnel, medical personnel (both physcial and mental health providers), and parents/grandparents; not just school district personnel. They key to addressing many problems in educating special needs children is EARLY INTERVENTION; which is something that sadly our school district never does!!!
In my child’s case, his elementary education was wasted trying to get him an IEP, while he did nothing in class. As a result, he is now way behind in everything, with no chance to ever catch up or get on track again.
I, personally, am very, very disappointed with the Springfield School District. I feel that they have short-changed my son’s education; and I believe it may already be too late to undo the damage done.
FYI: Do you know that just because a child has a documented medical disability does not mean that it is an “educational disability”; i.e. just because your child has been diagnosed with autism does not mean that he meets the criteria for “educational autism”? I didn’t know that either until just last year. I don’t understand why there needs to be a distinction between the two.
Thanks for letting me vent and ramble; and Good Luck to Mellony Burlison and her son. I will pray for them and for your son, Eli.