Kids with disabilities in standard classrooms

[i-need-a-martini]

This has been in the news this week thanks to the school in Canberra that felt the need to 'gaol' an autistic kid in a cage whenever he became hard to handle or violent.

Obviously an extreme case and I am not condoning it.

But I can;t help but wonder if teachers feel they have little choice? Can they really spend a significant amount of time tackling children with disabilities which neglects other kids in their care? Is it really fair that they have to spend the day monitoring a child with a disability to ensure that nothing triggers an episode? And is it reasonable that they should have to grapple with kids who lash out or are violent?

Whilst I get that any parent who has a chikd that is different would prefer they went to a mainstream school instead of a ' special' school (not that there are many of those around), personally I think it is asking a lot of teachers and schools.

And before I get criticised, I have a daughter with an intellectual disability who goes to a mainstream school. But there is no way I expect her teachers to spend the amount of time they would need to in order to help her through each day, each year. Fortunately for me I can afford to send her to a private school that can provide extra assistance to her classroom teacher. But if she was at the local public, it just wouldn't be possible for them to provide her with the extra care she needs. 

[gleee58]

I wondered why the child was not sent to the Yarralumla school centre instead.  They have an autism unit which takes kids from other schools into their specialist program as required.

[azureline**]

I have not seen the specifics re the child fenced in so no comment on that but..
It's about inclusion where possible.
In Qld most schools have a teacher aide in classes and a special ed and support unit
If there is a need for a child to be behind a fence they should be removed to the special ed unit.

[purple_haize]

Here in Melbourne where my grandson goes to school, they have aides in the classes...........we live in the hills and most of the schools in the hills have aides.

Not sure about down in the suburbs.

[cherry*135]

But I can;t help but wonder if teachers feel they have little choice?

I wonder that too. The teacher has to ensure the safety of the other children in the classroom too. If a student becomes violent the teacher can't just let them ramage through the classroom possibly injuring/hurting other students. A cage doesn't sound appropriate though... if it is an ongoing problem then should be addressed by school as to best place/safest place for time out.

I used to work in the office of a Special Needs school (NZ), they had a time out space/room . When a  student is put in there they couldn't get out.  It had a window so teacher could keep an eye on student. It wasn't used very much and mostly for the one student (who called it her office!) as she got violent and would hit out and anyone near, try and break the classroom windows (safety glass installed to prevent that).  Most of the time she was fine, but every now and then she just went off, for no apparent reason.

[i-need-a-martini]

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@azureline** wrote:
I have not seen the specifics re the child fenced in so no comment on that but..
It's about inclusion where possible.
In Qld most schools have a teacher aide in classes and a special ed and support unit
If there is a need for a child to be behind a fence they should be removed to the special ed unit.

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I agree re" inclusion where possible. But there are limits aren't there? Defining those limits is where it gets tricky.

Queensland is also unique in that they encourage funding for non-teaching staff in classrooms plus their average class sizes are small thanks to the policy of keeping small, rural schools open. But even in Qld the ratio is 1 teachers aide for every 2 class sizes. And not all the teachers aides are specialists - most are non teaching classroom administrative positions.

But generally there is no way that public schools can afford to put funding towards a teachers aide specialising in disabilities in a classroom full time.

[sandypas]

My daughter works at an autistic school in Melbourne and they had a violent student who would lash out without warning.  He wasn't caged but did have a partition to avoid other students being hurt which gave the teacher time to distract him.  He accidently broke my daughter's nose but you know .... she had a lot of time for him and frowned against those teachers who didn't try and just put him into time out.  There were only 4 students with 2 teachers in this class due to the severe autism of the students.

I would guess this student in Canberra must have been quite violent and the only way to include him /her in the class without putting other students at risk may have been to enclose him.  Schools/teachers do have a duty of care to keep all students safe.

[rabbitearbandicoot]

Our son attended a special Ed unit in the local school. When classes were considered suitable, he was sent to the ordinary class for his 'inclusion' but then returned to Special Ed once that class was over.

[azureline**]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

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@azureline** wrote:
I have not seen the specifics re the child fenced in so no comment on that but..
It's about inclusion where possible.
In Qld most schools have a teacher aide in classes and a special ed and support unit
If there is a need for a child to be behind a fence they should be removed to the special ed unit.

---

I agree re" inclusion where possible. But there are limits aren't there? Defining those limits is where it gets tricky.

Queensland is also unique in that they encourage funding for non-teaching staff in classrooms plus their average class sizes are small thanks to the policy of keeping small, rural schools open. But even in Qld the ratio is 1 teachers aide for every 2 class sizes. And not all the teachers aides are specialists - most are non teaching classroom administrative positions.

But generally there is no way that public schools can afford to put funding towards a teachers aide specialising in disabilities in a classroom full time.

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I don't know the numbers but I can get them later in the week.

I have 3 grandies with an autism Dx.

None of them are violent and all 3 are very different. One attends a small Catholic school and the school is very amenable to her inclusion, her teachers do not have a teacher aide but do use admin staff and parent helpers in class for specific tasks.

She first attended an ECDP (2 weeks) where she was subjected to less than acceptable practices and was withdrawn. Her Prep teacher refused the offer of a parent paid aide and was wonderful with her and the entire class. The school was also willing to provide one if wanted.

Her cousin attended a different school, Catholic but even though there was a full time teacher aide in class, it was impossible as the teacher disagreed with his Dx, because he didn't fit her idea of autism.

He was moved to a state school with a great program and a special ed unit with great support and removal to the unit on varying schedule. Now in Grade 3, he is full time in the classroom.

It depends on the number of students who require the support, on day 8 of the school year, as to the funding available.

[k0llectable5]

Whilst I get that any parent who has a child that is different would prefer they went to a mainstream school instead of a ' special' school (not that there are many of those around), personally I think it is asking a lot of teachers and schools.

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Totally agree Martini. And with the growing amout of autism and neurological brain disorders among children these days why are there less special schools now? Not that I believe these kids should be seperated, but how is it fair on the other kids in the class when their learning is continually disrupted by kids who need extra attention all the time.  If they (the govt) cant fund special schools anymore there should be extra staff assigned to any classroom that has special needs kids. If there are extra staff in the classroom assigned to deal with disruptions etc I have no problem with it. 

I do have a problem though (sorry if this sounds in anyway elitist or whatever) if it lowers the standard of education to suit the kids with disabilities.