Those who have been following this blog for a while may or may not know that I have a brother with autism. It affects him severely; he’s nonverbal, requires a lot of assistance, lives in a group home. He got a chance that many kids with autism don’t, though: he got to go to a school specifically for kids with autism. That’s a rare thing in this country, much more so than it should be. I’m grateful for the care and teaching that he received, and he’s much more independent now than he would be if he had not received it.
Not everyone is so lucky. Gwen is not. Gwen went to a school that did not respect her as a person, did not follow her IEP, used invasive restraint procedures, did not teach her. Her parents are now trying to get her into a school for kids with autism, one that’ll help her, but such things aren’t cheap. Tuition can be expensive as most of these schools are private schools. They work, though; I used to be a teacher at one of these schools and I’ve seen the results first-hand. They speak for themselves, as do many of the kids who came to the school without words.
Fight for Gwen. Help her achieve her potential. You’ll even get some sweet fiction out of the deal if you do, but that’s not why you should do it. Do it because it’s right.
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