A school withdrew several children when an autistic boy joined their class. A private school posted a notice warning parents to keep their children home on Disability Day so they wouldn't be upset. The capital city reorganized its special-needs school transport system—badly. A preschooler with Down syndrome was left off a field trip, kept in the dark about it.
These are only snapshots. But there are others: schools cutting corners on budgets, support teachers admitting their job has become an act of volunteer labor, new national guidelines on special educational needs that sound good on paper but prove nearly impossible to carry out when classroom teachers haven't been trained. News stories, some national, some from our own families. They've reached us over recent weeks and months.
We won't solve this problem by looking away. School is part of our children's lives. It plays a fundamental role in their growth, their education, and their place in the world—whether they face handicap, special educational needs, or neither.
A young woman with disability, a mother, and a high school teacher share their experiences, their doubts, their ideas—not exhaustive, but meaningful. Each offers a different lens. We hope you will add yours.
Articles
My (Mis)Adventure by Arianna Floris
"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow…" by Letizia Conversi
The Problem of Grades by Chiara Di Serio