Anger towards twice exceptional kids getting benefits?

[Anonymous]

The word "retard" is offensive because it's often used in a derogatory slang way to make fun of people. So to use it now to legitimately describe a person with cognitive delays is beneath contempt. If it never became a derogatory slang term used for insulting people or making fun of people, then maybe use of that word might be okay. But it is used in that way so it's not appropriate to use it anymore.

21:10, I didn't say special education spending doesn't take MONEY away from normal kids. What I meant is that even if that money were diverted away from special education to be spent on normal children only, it likely would not boost a normal child's IQ or make a significant difference in their academic success. And besides, inclusion and special education funding to support inclusion is universally beneficial - all children benefit from it in the end.

[Anonymous]

all children do not benefit from inclusion. maybe the special needs kids do... but the others don't. my child is forced to sit there while the kids act strange and have all these extra aides repeating things, taking them in and out of the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, this thread is unbelieveable. First the criticism of usage of terms that are constantly used right here on DCUM (albeit on the Special Needs board). You would think parents would appreciate learning new terminology that might help them better understand children who are different than theirs.

Now, look.

This isn't the Special Needs board, is it? If the posters to the Special Need board feel the need to wallow in clinical language to assuage their feelings, that's fine. But for the life of me I find the need to create a whole label to describe normal children and demand that everyone else accept and use that "terminology? to be just absurd.

I don't look at my child and think "I love my neuro-typical child", although I will look at yours and think, "that kid's behavior isn't normal, I wonder what's wrong with him."

Of course, you want to banish the thought process of "what's wrong with him" from my mind, but you can't. It's not intolerant, either. When you observe something that's out of the norm, you immediately ask yourself the question. Then you figure out the answer quickly: Oh, that child has aspergers's or has some other special need.

I realize that parents of SN kids live with it every day. They get very accustomed to their own language, etc. There's probably a herd mentality that goes along with it. But you also have to understand that most of us do not, in fact, live with it every day, and to expect or demand that we use your language is off-putting. I appreciate how hard you have to advocate for your child, but you don't get to tell me how or what to think, or what words to use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree. We should use plain, easily understood language to describe people.

You're an asshole.

+1

[Anonymous]

I realize that parents of SN kids live with it every day. They get very accustomed to their own language, etc. There's probably a herd mentality that goes along with it. But you also have to understand that most of us do not, in fact, live with it every day, and to expect or demand that we use your language is off-putting. I appreciate how hard you have to advocate for your child, but you don't get to tell me how or what to think, or what words to use.

I'm sorry you're unable to learn and use new multisyllabic words but your annoyance is misplaced. Neurotypical, as explained before, is the correct term for kids who do not have neurological disorders. It has nothing to do with being 'normal'. I have a kid with hypotonia (low muscle tone for those who can't learn new words) which means he is NOT neurotypical but to the casual observer, he looks and behaves just like any other 'normal' kid. But, he has a neurological condition that makes him different than others even though you can't see it. It has nothing to do with 'herd mentality'. It's not even our 'own language'. It's about using correct terminology. Just because you have this challenges doesn't mean others have to operate with your same vocabulary limitations.

[Anonymous]

I wish Jeff would shut this thread down. Nothing constructive is coming from it at this point, only brewing division and conflict.

The reality is that mainstreaming is here; we all have to live with it. Trust me, some parents with kids who have IEPs fight to not have their kid in a mainstream classroom. But the school districts legally have to provide an education in the least restrictive setting which for most kids is a mainstream classroom. The legal battle for it has been fought and won, just like the legal battle for other educational inequalities.

It would be much more constructive for parents to argue with administration for smaller class sizes and greater supports to be in place so that true differentiation can occur.

[Anonymous]

I can assure you, as a parent with a child with special needs, I do not go around using terminology with my friends who do not have children with special needs. I never got the impression that any Special Needs parent posting on this thread was demanding the use of such terms. This whole thread title was about children with Special Needs getting services or AAP. The OP used the terms, and someone asked what it meant. There have been many threads on various boards where I was not familiar with the terminology, and when I asked "what does x mean" people responded in a short concise way, never have I seen such criticism of the use of terminology before. People have made it very clear that they do not want children with Special Needs with their "normal" children, so I guess OP got her/his answer. I will say, I do not know anyone who uses the term "retard" anymore, the use of that on this thread was very surprising. There are plenty of insensitive and derogatory terms that have been pushed out of our general vocabularies, for good reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Next, the parents who are sure that all ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline (I wish it was that simple, but good to know you are a developmental pediatrician or psychiatrist), Stay away from AAP if you like, it will make the class size smaller.

Maybe you have special needs with comprehension. I never said ALL ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline. I said I think a lot of kids (not ALL) diagnosed with ADHD have just a normal kids that have a hyper, wild, all over the place personality. It seems like if the kids are perfect little quiet angels in class they have some disorder that needs special attention or accommodations. My kids won't stay away from AAP as they deserve to be there.

Anonymous wrote: In the meantime, my ds earned his spot just like anyone else, though perhaps not, since I did not have to pay for a WISC to get him in. His teachers (and test scores) recognized his potential, in spite of his neurological issues.

Your DS didn't earn his position in that class the same way my kids did if they have special accommodations. That's life and I hope your teaching him that the rest of the real world won't be so accommodating.

[Anonymous]

I'll admit I get a little confused about "twice exceptional" kids in AAP. If a child is capable of above-level work only while receiving accomodations, are they really "gifted?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Next, the parents who are sure that all ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline (I wish it was that simple, but good to know you are a developmental pediatrician or psychiatrist), Stay away from AAP if you like, it will make the class size smaller.

Maybe you have special needs with comprehension. I never said ALL ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline. I said I think a lot of kids (not ALL) diagnosed with ADHD have just a normal kids that have a hyper, wild, all over the place personality. It seems like if the kids are perfect little quiet angels in class they have some disorder that needs special attention or accommodations. My kids won't stay away from AAP as they deserve to be there.

Anonymous wrote: In the meantime, my ds earned his spot just like anyone else, though perhaps not, since I did not have to pay for a WISC to get him in. His teachers (and test scores) recognized his potential, in spite of his neurological issues.

Your DS didn't earn his position in that class the same way my kids did if they have special accommodations. That's life and I hope your teaching him that the rest of the real world won't be so accommodating.

This was my earlier post you were commenting on. Not that I have to defend myself to you, but alas, I will. My son had NO accomodations when he was found eligible, he had not even been diagnosed. He also had no accomodations in 3rd grade AAP, and yet, still received all O's in academics. And still, in 4th grade AAP, began the year with no accomodations, and still was receiving all "A's" in academics. Not all children with ADHD have academic hardships. In fact, at his 504 meeting, I volunteered "If you think the AAP curriculum is causing some of his anxiety, impulsivity, attention, organization issues, I will gladly pull my child from AAP". The committee of experts (his current teacher included) said that 100% he is where he should be academically. I am teaching my child that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and what we are doing is helping him learn strategies to manage his difficulties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Next, the parents who are sure that all ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline (I wish it was that simple, but good to know you are a developmental pediatrician or psychiatrist), Stay away from AAP if you like, it will make the class size smaller.

Maybe you have special needs with comprehension. I never said ALL ADHD issues are due to parents being neglectful of discipline. I said I think a lot of kids (not ALL) diagnosed with ADHD have just a normal kids that have a hyper, wild, all over the place personality. It seems like if the kids are perfect little quiet angels in class they have some disorder that needs special attention or accommodations. My kids won't stay away from AAP as they deserve to be there.

Anonymous wrote: In the meantime, my ds earned his spot just like anyone else, though perhaps not, since I did not have to pay for a WISC to get him in. His teachers (and test scores) recognized his potential, in spite of his neurological issues.

Your DS didn't earn his position in that class the same way my kids did if they have special accommodations. That's life and I hope your teaching him that the rest of the real world won't be so accommodating.

This was my earlier post you were commenting on. Not that I have to defend myself to you, but alas, I will. My son had NO accomodations when he was found eligible, he had not even been diagnosed. He also had no accomodations in 3rd grade AAP, and yet, still received all O's in academics. And still, in 4th grade AAP, began the year with no accomodations, and still was receiving all "A's" in academics. Not all children with ADHD have academic hardships. In fact, at his 504 meeting, I volunteered "If you think the AAP curriculum is causing some of his anxiety, impulsivity, attention, organization issues, I will gladly pull my child from AAP". The committee of experts (his current teacher included) said that 100% he is where he should be academically. I am teaching my child that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and what we are doing is helping him learn strategies to manage his difficulties.

If your child does not have "academic hardship" why are accomodations necessary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll admit I get a little confused about "twice exceptional" kids in AAP. If a child is capable of above-level work only while receiving accomodations, are they really "gifted?"

Yes they still are gifted. Because giftedness measures potential ability, not proven ability. I think the public school system feels that by providing some support some children can go on to accomplish a lot and they think it could be a disservice to society to not enable these children to contribute more. I think everybody knows by now that Einstein, Edison, etc...had significant problems who may have needed IEP's today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think you would be in AAP though if you had been able to cope better? I'm afraid of AAP now after hearing about all the twice exceptional children there.

There's always private school then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:all children do not benefit from inclusion. maybe the special needs kids do... but the others don't. my child is forced to sit there while the kids act strange and have all these extra aides repeating things, taking them in and out of the classroom.

Sure they do. The typical knee jerk reaction is to assume normal kids will be negatively affected by disabled kids in the classroom. But if you do a bit of research you'll find that this just isn't true. Read the link below. So you have to dig deep into your conscience to see if what you're thinking and feeling is just frustration borne out of discrimination and intolerance for different children.

http://bsnpta.org/geeklog/public_html//article.php?story=Inclusion_and_Nondisabled_Students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll admit I get a little confused about "twice exceptional" kids in AAP. If a child is capable of above-level work only while receiving accomodations, are they really "gifted?"

Yes they still are gifted. Because giftedness measures potential ability, not proven ability. I think the public school system feels that by providing some support some children can go on to accomplish a lot and they think it could be a disservice to society to not enable these children to contribute more. I think everybody knows by now that Einstein, Edison, etc...had significant problems who may have needed IEP's today.

Yes, because we all know that gifted kids grow up to be wild-haired inventors, and that wouldn't be possible without AAP