Tag Archive for 'special education'

Autism and the Failure of Special Education

Published
by
Wilson
on July 6, 2008
in Podcast
. 0 Comments

This is my second interview with Anna Bullard. In her first interview we discussed her efforts to organize an Autism Awareness group here in Toombs County. In this interview Anna provides insight into the difficulties that parents of autistic children encounter in dealing with Special Education programs of our public schools.

Anna estimates that almost 100 children in Toombs County and Vidalia public schools fall within the autistic spectrum. That’s a lot.

Anna emphasizes that behavior modification is the only effective program that deals with the core problems faced by autistic children. And yet, when her child was first evaluated by the school system, she was seen by individuals who had very little understanding of the needs of autistic children. The school system did not employ a behavior analyst.

Many county school systems don’t employ a behavior analyst. The one that serves her child comes from South Carolina. Instead, school systems send someone in special education to a program that lasts a few days and they consider them to be trained. Anna considers this inadequate. What is needed is a trained behavior analyst who knows what to do for autistic children. Chatham County has 5 behavior analyst who write programs for autistic children.

One of the biggest problems is getting the school systems to understand that early intervention is the key to success in providing an autistic child with the tools and training needed to participate in mainstream education. As we all understand, public organizations tend to ignore problems until they become bad enough that they have to be dealt with. Such is plight of autistic children.

Anna says that Georgia is about 10 years behind other states, like South Carolina. In South Carolina Medicaid pays for the early intervention needs of autistic children.

Anna’s advice to parents of autistic children: Learn your rights and make the public school provide what your child needs. It is hard work, but in the end it is worth it. The problem is that many parents don’t have the time, the money or the ability to fight this battle. As a result, many autistic children that could benefit from early intervention, don’t get it. They become misfits in society and in many instances dependent upon public support all their lives. The opportunity to make the difference early in their lives was lost.

Sad, but true. At least our taxes are low here in Georgia. Don’t it make you proud?

 
 Anna Bullard, Autism Awareness [28:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (422)

Autism Awareness: Coming to A Family Near You!

Published
by
Wilson
on March 25, 2008
in Podcast
. 1 Comment

Anna Bullard tells a story that only a mother could tell. For those of us who had children who were fortunate enough to have developed normally, it is hard to imagine a toddler wrapped in silence 24 hours a day. Anna’s reward for a mother’s perseverance was hearing her daughter’s first word: Mama! But it came years after it should have.

If it is hard to comprehend that your child is different and needs help, it is harder still to hear Anna describe her struggle with doctors just to get an accurate diagnosis of her daughter’s problem. You get the idea that a lot of doctors have never heard of autism. A lot of them apparently don’t know it when they see it.

Anna tells of other battles as well, particularly of a parent fighting to get their child the special attention they need for their special needs. But Anna is a fighter and her story is one of victory over that amorphous beast that is Public Education’s Special Education. Anna learned the law, learned the rules and regulations and was not bluffed by bureaucrats into abandoning her child’s rights. Anna made sure her child got everything that she was entitled to–and it made all the difference!

Anna testifies to the benefits of behavior modification in breaking through the barriers of autism to establish communication with her daughter. The key: early diagnosis and intervention. A child who is not fortunate to have a parent as determined as Anna stands a real risk of being ignored during the early years, reducing the likelihood of a normal, productive life. With intensive therapy many of these children can attend school with their non-autistic peers.

The sad thing is that our society and our educational system is not attempting to identify these children early and initiate effective therapy. In many ways, this failure dooms many of these children to a non-productive, disabled, low-functioning life living off a government check.

This is not the only example where our desire for tax cuts and low budgets is counter productive, but it is one of the most shameful. Listen to the interview. It is well worth the time.

 
 Anna Bullard, Autism Awareness [30:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (454)