New school year

It’s a new school year and I am sure all parents of children with special needs are in anticipation of a productive year that will reap benefits. My son started a new school this term and our expectations are high as this school is seen as a forerunner in special education. So far Amari loves this school so much that he doesn’t want to leave in the afternoons. We really hope that the new environment will offer an experience that will enable him to attain his full potential.

Critical to this is him being fitted with his own unique educational plan that will capture and monitor exactly where he is in each subject area. We were not able to attain this at his last school; such is the experience in most other schools. Children with special needs will not be able to attain their full potential if their unique learning styles are not clearly defined, crafted and monitored. The process of forcing a curriculum that is not tailored will only frustrate a child whose learning needs do not fit the typical classroom structure.

Amari is currently in a typical classroom supported by his shadow. In his previous school he was in a pull out special needs setting. It is believed that he will be able to manage being in a typical classroom with a shadow/teaching assistant to help guide and reinforce. With a change in school he will be repeating K-5 at his new school, a plan that I was not thrilled about initially but deferred to the decision in favour of what is best for him.

The decision was due more to the fact that his developmental age fits better with that age group as opposed to children in grade one. This manifests in the way he interacts and how well he can meet his own general needs. Grade one would have called for more maturity and less hand holding, such as copying work from the board and doing work independently.

In terms of the curriculum, however, he has covered and mastered most of the K-5 curriculum although his handwriting is still a struggle. It was agreed that he would redo this level to solidify the base, and introduce more challenging work, that is the grade one curriculum if he eventually shows the aptitude for it at some point in the school year.

To aid in his overall development, Amari also continues developmental therapy and we continue to see the benefits. While on break from developmental therapy in the summer he briefly did some speech therapy, but when his speech therapist migrated we decided not to continue as his language, although not fully where it should be, has improved tremendously. He is engaging in full conversations and is able to tell you everything he wants and is feeling. Additionally, although speech therapy would help, it is as expensive as developmental therapy and it would be more than a stretch to pay for both. The developmental therapy that he does has a language building component; it is hoped therefore that this will continue to aid in his language development.

Being at school with the other children is helping tremendously. His new shadow who we started with at the beginning of last term is working out very well, this after several tries for the “right” shadow. She understands exactly where he is and what he needs and challenges him to achieve more, all the while being patient and loving. I encourage parents having a shadow challenge to continue trying until you get the right fit as it not benefiting the child if the shadow is ineffective. Your child’s shadow is the most critical resource to his development, more than the school he goes or whether he does therapy. If the school is not very efficient then an effective shadow can make a world of difference.

So I talk about therapy and finding the right school and shadow, but what about the parents who can’t begin to afford any of these intervention strategies for their children with special needs? What will become of those children?

Believe me, it is not easy for my husband and I to afford these strategies for Amari but we really want to give him the best possible chance. It is very disheartening as a parent when I examine what is offered in Jamaica and the limited access people have to resources that will make a difference. The Ministry of Education says, “Every child can learn, every child must learn”, but I guess it means every child who learns typically, as special education is not even on the stove let alone the back burner. The statistics for children falling through the cracks must be startling.

When I see the impact intervention strategies have had on my child, I know firsthand that they make a difference. We are failing as a society if we are not able to take care of those most vulnerable. However, there are organisations that continue to help, and as usual I must give a very big thank you to the Digicel Foundation for always gallantly supporting special needs projects. I invite everyone to come out to the Digicel’s “Imagine” 5k run on Saturday October 10 where funds raised will go towards special needs programmes.

For parents like me trying to find your way, I want to encourage you this school year to continue doing your very best for your special one. I know finding the right solutions is hard, but don’t give up.

Sara, mom to six year old Amari, is an advocate for children with developmental delays. Amari was born three months early at one pound, and was hospitalised for three and a half months after birth. Check this space every few weeks as Sara tackles the issue of children with special needs. E-mail her at francis.m.sara@gmail.com.

Amari is ready for the year ahead.