Reply to Why do special ed teachers.therapists seem to condescend to the students, parents?

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[quote=Anonymous]DCPS was very stingy giving us speech language services and when my DS finally was given services in ES, he was in a group.  The SLP commented to us (who had sent him for private services in the meantime) that he knew all the drills and did them well.  He was even showing the the other kids.  Which begs the question:  then what were you doing for my kid to meet HIS needs?

Going back to the original poster, in DCPS teachers, including special ed teachers have a bias about SN kids.  In most cases, the kids they meet are intellectually challenged, physically disabled or on the spectrum.  So combine that with a pretty low bar for students in the system, expectations are really low.

DS's auditory processing disorder is a form of dyslexia.  But he is GTLD.  GTLD?  "Must be on the spectrum".  My kid is not and never has been.  And everyone is surprised that he is social and has friends. And then the bias comes in.  "Not on the spectrum?  Then he only needs accommodations.  He can't be disabled."

But DS has a very common disability.  It is thought that 1 in 5 people have dyslexia.  He can read.  He is the poster boy for interventions that work.  But it is slow and writing is a problem.  One hour to write 10 sentences.  Because it is about organizing language in the brain. And it will ALWAYS be this way. Richard Branson has managed to build the entire Virgin empire by getting others to help him deal with things that involve reading and writing language. But he is the first to admit that in school he was a failure.

The newish DCPS Special Education program guide only has pictures of the most severely disabled kids.  I think this reinforces bias.  Why would any teacher believe a student needs special ed if you don't "look" different?  Wouldn't it have been great if they had a picture of kid working with the Wilson Reading Program? 
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http://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/Family%20Programs%20and%20Resources%20Guide%2016-17.pdf

DS was put into a class of much slower kids in MS and was pulling As.  I asked the teacher whether this was performance grades or participation grades.  She was honest and said participation grades.  He was then mainstreamed with co-teachers and it went much better. But the amount of reading and written work was swamping him.

Supposedly 1 in 5 people have dyslexia and can learn to read/write with correct interventions. But it is a disability and it does affect academic performance.  So often we heard, "DS is so smart.  Can't he keep up?" We kept saying "Can't you make reasonable requests so he can achieve progress, but not be forced to perform under his ability or pushed to meet an academic load that ensures failure?"

People in public education have no clue.  At our last public high school, the SPED teacher told my son to his face that he was lazy.  He was supposed to be teaching writing and building his confidence. We have been driven out of the system.  (Yes, we had a lawyer and he suggested to spend our money on private school instead of battling it out.)

I applaud those educators who are willing to learn more about their students' needs and try to overcome their assumptions and biases. I have even more respect for special educators who teach other teachers what they need to do. [/quote]

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