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advice? working in a low quality Special Education program
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<blockquote data-quote="slsh" data-source="post: 707515" data-attributes="member: 8"><p>Piscesmom - In my experience with Boo (oldest son with spastic quad (severe cerebral palsy), zero functional movement, nonverbal, g-tube fed, vision impairment), the classroom you describe is not unusual. I would highly doubt administration gives a darn about it, and it's exceptionally difficult to educate parents as to what sped *should* be when this is all they've ever been given. It's warehousing, pure and simple. Looks like sped on paper, and that's really all admin cares about. Boo was in one class that consisted simply of diaper changing and tube feeding. Period. Fortunately, that was only right after we moved to IL and I was able to get him into a less horrific setting in pretty short order. It helped that the one sense that is highly tuned in my kid is his hearing - I distinctly remember an aide in that classroom commenting that it totally freaked them out when Boo was laughing over conversations they had. Boo doesn't miss a thing. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>I think you have 2 options - find another placement for you or stay and do your best for the kids. Don't expect to bring the other aides or teacher around to your thinking. Just my experience again, but once you run into someone with that mindset, the best thing to do is put them on mute. You will not change their mind. And don't expect them to be impressed that you're doing your job. (sigh) If you voice your concerns to parents and/or admin, your job will be in jeopardy. in my humble opinion. </p><p></p><p>If you stay, you *will* make a difference, but (trust me) I know how exhausting it can be to try to swim upstream. In an interesting bit of "ain't life funny", I worked as an aide in a private sped school 8 years before I had Boo.... it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I *loved* those kids. But being a private school, they had seriously invested teachers and admin. While I've run across a few of those kinds of folks in Boo's public education, I have to admit they were few and far between. </p><p></p><p>A glimmer of hope may be looming for your class (and all our sped kids) - SCOTUS heard arguments last month in a case re: Endrew F (not a typo) vs. a Colorado school district. IDEA states that a sped kid must receive "some" educational benefit from sped. Anyone with a severely involved kid knows that "some" educational benefit is virtually meaningless in real life. It's warehousing and teaching the kid (and parents) to be compliant consumers of cr@p services in the future (Boo's district failed miserably, LOL). Endrew has autism and his parents (God bless them) had the fortitude and finances to fight when Endrew consistently failed to meet IEP goals. They yanked him from public school, enrolled him in a private school where he is now making progress, and now they want public school to pay. Public school said no, that he was receiving "some" educational benefit in their program (despite not meeting IEP goals). Lower courts have backed up SD (not surprising). Who knows what SCOTUS will say, but at least someone has raised the flag that we are doing a *gross* disservice to our sped kids. Of course, in the unlikely chance that SCOTUS agrees with the parents (which I really hope for, but also doubt - I'm a skeptic, LOL), it will still fall on parents to advocate for their kids and really hold districts accountable for the appropriate services they *should* be providing to their sped kids.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="slsh, post: 707515, member: 8"] Piscesmom - In my experience with Boo (oldest son with spastic quad (severe cerebral palsy), zero functional movement, nonverbal, g-tube fed, vision impairment), the classroom you describe is not unusual. I would highly doubt administration gives a darn about it, and it's exceptionally difficult to educate parents as to what sped *should* be when this is all they've ever been given. It's warehousing, pure and simple. Looks like sped on paper, and that's really all admin cares about. Boo was in one class that consisted simply of diaper changing and tube feeding. Period. Fortunately, that was only right after we moved to IL and I was able to get him into a less horrific setting in pretty short order. It helped that the one sense that is highly tuned in my kid is his hearing - I distinctly remember an aide in that classroom commenting that it totally freaked them out when Boo was laughing over conversations they had. Boo doesn't miss a thing. ;) I think you have 2 options - find another placement for you or stay and do your best for the kids. Don't expect to bring the other aides or teacher around to your thinking. Just my experience again, but once you run into someone with that mindset, the best thing to do is put them on mute. You will not change their mind. And don't expect them to be impressed that you're doing your job. (sigh) If you voice your concerns to parents and/or admin, your job will be in jeopardy. in my humble opinion. If you stay, you *will* make a difference, but (trust me) I know how exhausting it can be to try to swim upstream. In an interesting bit of "ain't life funny", I worked as an aide in a private sped school 8 years before I had Boo.... it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I *loved* those kids. But being a private school, they had seriously invested teachers and admin. While I've run across a few of those kinds of folks in Boo's public education, I have to admit they were few and far between. A glimmer of hope may be looming for your class (and all our sped kids) - SCOTUS heard arguments last month in a case re: Endrew F (not a typo) vs. a Colorado school district. IDEA states that a sped kid must receive "some" educational benefit from sped. Anyone with a severely involved kid knows that "some" educational benefit is virtually meaningless in real life. It's warehousing and teaching the kid (and parents) to be compliant consumers of cr@p services in the future (Boo's district failed miserably, LOL). Endrew has autism and his parents (God bless them) had the fortitude and finances to fight when Endrew consistently failed to meet IEP goals. They yanked him from public school, enrolled him in a private school where he is now making progress, and now they want public school to pay. Public school said no, that he was receiving "some" educational benefit in their program (despite not meeting IEP goals). Lower courts have backed up SD (not surprising). Who knows what SCOTUS will say, but at least someone has raised the flag that we are doing a *gross* disservice to our sped kids. Of course, in the unlikely chance that SCOTUS agrees with the parents (which I really hope for, but also doubt - I'm a skeptic, LOL), it will still fall on parents to advocate for their kids and really hold districts accountable for the appropriate services they *should* be providing to their sped kids. [/QUOTE]
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