| MAINSTREAM SCHOOL OR SPECIAL SCHOOL EDUCATION??? |
| We have had so many different views over the years and our ideas have changed as we have gone along. Mainly because of the changes in the children�s abilities and also their feelings about what they want. In the beginning it was our main aim to have the children go to mainstream and live as �normal� a life as possible. Jay managed to do that for 6 years at different schools, and I know she enjoyed her experiences there. She is an easygoing child and adapts to most situations, it wasn�t easy for her and maybe some children would not have enjoyed it. She could have stayed in mainstream and managed, going through the motions everyday but not really accomplishing much, because when you are placed in the bottom classes at high school you will be with the disruptive children who don�t want to work. The reason she was in the bottom classes is the amount of work she couldn�t get through compared with the others, she didn�t want anyone to write for her and so she fell behind. There was other sides of school life that she wasn�t able to take a full part in P.E. was mainly doing something on her own with a personal assistant. School disco�s she didn�t enjoy because all her friends were dancing and she wasn�t. School trips were sometimes unsuitable for example; Warwick castle is not accessible for wheelchairs, so Jay stayed in the grounds with some of her friends who didn�t mind not going in. She was unable to go on the day trip to France, I got a phone call from school to say would I mind if she didn�t go, because of the long journey they didn�t know how they would manage. What could I say I wanted her to go, but on the other hand I didn�t want her to go with people who don�t know what she needs and don�t seem willing to go that extra mile for her. I might have been able to go on the trip (maybe) but Jay didn�t want her mum on the day out. She had a lot of good friends who really helped her at school and at times she wouldn�t have been able to do without them. At special school she also has good friends, but she doesn�t need any help from them, because whatever she does is accessible for her as a wheelchair user. Every activity is done with their disabilities in mind. Studying is done at various levels but all in the same classes. They are able to use computers much more and so now her keyboards skills are much more useful to her. Day trips are in wheelchair accessible vehicles, school holidays are numerous giving them independence and we know that the staff is experienced and capable of looking after our children. There is a youth club on a Friday night and also a after school club all of these extra facilities make the difference between just going to school and really making the most of your time there. They have new experiences under the care of people who understand that you can do almost anything given a little extra time and equipment to do it. In Daryl�s case we were in a dilemma, on one hand we wanted him to go to mainstream primary school, but on the other hand he was struggling to keep walking and he needed more physiotherapy everyday. Of course we went for the chance of keeping him walking and I think we did the only thing we could at that time. Daryl was changing physically in his ability and we didn�t know what would happen. The expertise was on hand at the school with the advice and the equipment. We did however keep trying to get Daryl some day release type of experiences of mainstream schools so that he could make friends with local children and also get experiences of �normal� school life. He tried it a few times at 2 different primary schools but didn�t really like it that much. Maybe it was that it hi-lighted the things he couldn�t do compared with the other children instead of him concentrating on the things he could do. He is at high school now (special) and he is really coming into his own. He has lots of friends, does his homework every night, loves his football, they have a football club at lunchtime and he plays in goal. I couldn�t see him doing that in mainstream he wouldn�t be quick enough for the others. He has already had a girlfriend, who asked him out when he first started, which boosted his confidence no end. They�re both changing as they get into their teens, more about that on another page. |