Sounds like another of Wyatt’s sing-songy repertoire …”Fape, Fape, Fape!” F.A.P.E. stands for FREE appropriate PUBLIC EDUCATION. Something every child in this great country should RIGHTLY be entitled to.
Unfortunately…like all great systems they are not always implemented properly. Especially with the wonderful word “appropriate” inserted into the already muddy equation. I wonder how many legal battles that line in the sand…I mean “word” has drawn? SERIOUSLY, could they make it any tougher on a group of people in an already TOUGH situation? There is so much range in ability/disability within the SPECTRUM. The puzzle piece ICON says it all!
How do we deem what is appropriate for your child as compared to mine? In the world of autism, the word appropriate really doesn’t even apply. They love to call everything autistics say or do inappropriate! So the nerve of them to force-feed us “their A-word”! It really isn’t working for us. In the case of a disabled child… Why not use the word “specialized” ? It’s much less confrontation. Appropriate would be considered “fighting words” in most conversations. Someone telling you something isn’t appropriate is a direct assault on your ideas.
Furthermore, HOW are these teachers able to decipher the appropriate teaching methods for autistics? In my case they just were NOT . Wyatt is a more profoundly affected individual… that my school district had absolutely NO BUSINESS even trying to accommodate. They just did not have a program to meet his abilities. Which is so often the case. Grouping kids by age works for typical people. When you automatically use age to group our kids on the spectrum…no telling what you will get?! Some kids may have math and reading skills while others can’t speak. Keeping kids in classes that are like this is futile! The kids that can,wait for the others who can’t…and so on. Not efficient. I call this school district tunnel-vision. Oh well …this is the way it’s always been done. “YADA,YADA,YADA!” (Thanks Wyatt!)
What could work? To “Draft” autistic kids to different classrooms. Take a look at four or five surrounding cities and the autistic students in those cities. Within that group it will be much easier to place like individuals together. Thus helping the teachers by having their classrooms more manageable. I can only imagine the time that is wasted and lost because of this lack of organization. Each state really needs to consider what I am saying here. It may seem a daunting task…but,it will be less daunting then continuing with the wheel-spinning. Think long run people …The autism train is not slowing down. Unfortunately it seems to be picking up steam! Kids on the spectrum deserve respect…not to just be clumped together and hope for some progress.
Let’s do the best we can to teach them cohesively…in a specialized program. Makes a lot of common sense to me! Dare I say it…it seems …APPROPRIATE!
