When I was working at the school, I had the awesome opportunity to work in a preschool handicapped class. One of the students we had in class had Spina Bifida. This student was in a wheelchair, and had no obvious neurological impairment, only physical. The teacher I worked with and I both knew that this student did not belong in a class/school like ours. The child needed to be mainstreamed in a regular classroom. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done this, but I pulled the parent aside and told her that her child did not belong in our school, I don't know this for sure, but the teacher probably did the same thing. This child was in our school mainly because the school district said they didn't have the ability to accommodate their needs. Soon after the teacher and I talked to the child's mother, she began to fight to get her child back in regular school. This took several months, but the school district finally relented and allowed him to attend the regular school in his district.
This particular incident bothered me because aside from being in a wheelchair, this student was me. As I said in a previous post, I was welcomed to me local school district no questions asked. I was very surprised that they denied this child access to attendance in his home district. Most of these new ADA laws went into effect after this incident and definitely LONG AFTER I was in school. I hope that things have changed in schools now, so that those who are capable of functioning in a regular classroom are permitted and accepted.
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