Guest guest Posted December 15, 2001 Report Share Posted December 15, 2001 We moved out of Broward due to we were told our son would have to be in a clusters. MY wife visited half of dozen cluster and was very unhappy with the setup. She felt it was just a baby sitter service. I hope things have improved since we moved away 3 years ago. We moved up to Melbourne, Fl and after a few month was able to do inclusion. We had a rough start with one school, but hit a gold mine with another school 2 additional miles away from our school area. Our home area school were "too high class" to have a "different" child. The first school started in a classroom but did not have support from the principal and he did not want him in his school. The teacher tried her best, but her hands were tied. Ricky started backtracking with all the work we put into him. Then his present school open the doors and "wanted" him. The principal went out of her way to help and welcome Ricky in the school. She sent teachers to training classes. Due to the other school, we had to put him in a VE class with classroom visits, but within 2 months he was able to be fully included and move out of the VE class. Our son has an aid and is fully included for the last 3 years. Last year he graduated with the highest award the school gives out: academic achievement award. He is doing great with the inclusion environment. The kids in his classroom have also learned from him. He is in the 3rd grade this year and even 5th & 6th graders while passing Ricky in the hall says "Hi Ricky". The children has learned that there are "different" kids out there but they are not so "different". We have had parents tell us that their child has learned so much being around Ricky. Ricky sometimes have his difficult days, but even the children knows what to do and say to help him out. Inclusion may not be for every child, but with hard work, the day may come. We believe the best environment is in a regular classroom. So when the time is right, the child should be given a chance. There will be lots of bumps along the way, but the rewards out weights anything else. Everyone that remembers Ricky ston, I want you to know he is doing great! He is still non-verbal. He does self-feed in the cafeteria with the other kids. He does regular class work with some modification to help him answer questions. He even surprise us by does things like a typical child. (Ex: He wants something so he walks up to me with a big sly smile and gives me a hug and then ask for something using his dynamyte) Proud parents of two children One challenge with autism, & Frances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.