|
 Boy,
Have They Missed the Point!
by Shari Krishnan, Our Children Left Behind, January 8,
2004
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
Last night, I
had a lot of thank you notes to write. Thank you notes to all of
the school people who made my son Nicholas’ winter choir concert
a success.
You may recall from yesterday’s homepage Sandy Alperstein’s
brief introduction of Nicholas in the context of her son
Daniel’s interaction with him. So, as you are now able to guess,
Nicholas is one of those kids where his behavior issues related
to his disability (autism) have the potential to impede his
learning. Thoughtful and common sense planning are essential to
his continued school successes.
I started watching the concert, sitting very stiffly on the edge
of my auditorium seat. After the first song, I could sit back,
slouch in my seat and enjoy the whole concert. Nicholas stood
straight and proud on the risers for the full set of songs and
required absolutely no adult intervention whatsoever.
The sheets of music were carefully laminated, placed in order,
and all attached by an “o” ring. One of the pages included his
behavior expectations, and he practiced what they meant for
several days prior to the choir concert. Because he belongs to
music club, he was familiar with all of the music and had some
additional time to practice. At the beginning of the school
year, Nicholas’ intuitive choir teacher felt that there were a
few songs that my son found very sensitive to his ears (due to
sensory issues), and without saying a word to me or anyone else,
simply chose to replace them with different songs. A caring
classmate who usually sits on the bus with Nicholas in the
mornings volunteered to stand next to him to help flip his
music, keep him on task, and point to the behavior expectations,
as needed. Nicholas sang with his friends. He bowed with
everyone else during the applause. My eyes welled with tears of
gratitude.
After the concert, a circle of celebration ensued in the front
of the auditorium. Nicholas’ music teacher, special education
teacher, para pro, counselor, principal, friends, and the other
parents all understood that this was a special night. They made
the work behind an incredible outcome all look so easy. It was a
night that we could all watch, enjoy, rejoice, appreciate,
praise, and we could do it together, as a team with our young
performer, Nicholas.
Because I have IDEA reauthorization on my mind all of the time
these days, as I was driving away from the auditorium, all that
I could think was, “Boy, have our legislators missed the point!”
Because of IDEA ’97, Nicholas’ kind school staff now just
naturally understands why we work toward placement in the least
restrictive environment with age appropriate peers, give access
to the curriculum, and implement Positive Behavior Support
concepts on a daily basis. And, most importantly, Nicholas was
able to have a successful outcome that everyone could feel good
about. It has been a win for Nicholas, the school staff that
supports him, and our family. The school has been the leader in
building Nicholas’ community.
I want to continue having more nights like last night and having
the honor of writing thank you notes to everyone, since it
reminds me of all of the incredible decisions that are made each
and every day to help my son look like he is “just standing
there.” I'm energized.
If you are ever at a loss for subjects to discuss with your
legislators, think about all of the times that your child was
successful, and describe to your legislators and their staff
what it takes for your son or daughter to have and enjoy those
successes. Explain what it took from the staff and how the
outcomes for your child were positive as a result of it. Our
job, as parents, is to help humanize IDEA, put faces and attach
lives to it, and to help our legislators stop missing the point
of what IDEA is all about. What we bring to the table can help
clarify what the differences are between our sons and daughters
just “being there” physically at school and participating and
progressing in so many more ways.
We'd love to hear how IDEA has helped you, so please share your
stories with us too!
Thanks for everything that you do. It is a nice feeling to march
in battle for IDEA with all of you.
Have a nice day.
Warmly,
Shari Krishnan, today’s
parentvolunteer@ourchildrenleftbehind.com
Our Children Left Behind [OCLB] was created and is
owned/operated by parent volunteers (Sandy Alperstein, Tricia &
Calvin Luker, Shari Krishnan, and Debi Lewis). Permission to
forward, copy, and/or post this article is granted provided that
it is attributed to the author(s) and
www.ourchildrenleftbehind.com. For more about OCLB or
to share information, please contact
parentvolunteer@ourchildrenleftbehind.com.
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