Re: re: Rick and the owners comment

[Guest guest]

> I feel pretty beat upon by those who think that I am posting

> " anti-inclusion segregationist rhetoric " . I am trying to point out that

> it is OK to choose other environments and to have some sensitivity for

> those parents who have a very difficult time and whose kids aren't the

> high flyers without problems that some claim to have.

>

> At this point, there are a number of parents of older kids who are

> simply afraid to speak out. I haven't joined them, yet, but I choose

> generally to respond to attacks with silence rather than counter-attack.

>

> Rick

First of all, thank you Rick for speaking out on your viewpoints.

There are many people who don't post because of what Rick mentioned above.

I have heard privately similiar comments during the past 9 years that I have

ran support groups for DS online. It breaks my heart that people are afraid

to post issues they face.

With that said, my feeling is that there are many people (I'm drawing from

experience of the last 9 years and not the list today) who have goals and

dreams for their children and are very encouraged by many of the self

advocates that speak out at meetings, write books, etc. Those of us with

older kids should not discourage the dreams or goals. Some of the kids will

grow up and achieve many things. Some won't. I have watched parents with

young toddlers report that their child is regressing (ASD), develope

seizures, diabetes, orthopedic problems, luekemia, etc. The hardest part of

being involved online is when a child dies. We never know what the future

holds for our children.

If anyone really looks at Jan's experiences of inclusion, you will see she

is a pioneer and her parents have done an awesome job in raising her.

Without a doubt, they made decisions at various times that met Jan's special

needs. Rick is saying that it's ok if your child needs a more restrictive

setting. Without saying it boldly, he is also saying that parents should

get their children involved in a wide variety of activities - some with

their peers and some with the NDA peers.

I'm such asking all of you to be sensitive to the many issues that pop up.

In dealing with , there are only a small handful of people who really

understand what we go through with his behaviors and seizure disorder.

And last but not least, Graduating is on HBO tomorrow night. I read

an article where his parents reported that once he started medication for

his ADHD and OCD, things got better for him in school. This gave me hope

that one day can move back towards LRE.

Tim and I are off to WV for the next few days.