How do you go about figuring out what the best school for your child is? It is a decision that many parents can struggle with. Parents of kids who have special needs have additional criteria to use when choosing a school for their child.
NPR released an episode of “Tell Me More” on August 21, 2012. The episode is titled “Choosing The Right School for Special Needs”. In this episode, Guest host Viviana Hurtado talks with three moms, each of whom have children with special needs. They talk about the challenges they faced while helping their kids do well in school.
Debby Torres has a son who is in the first grade, and who has autism. Her son, Peter, was diagnosed with autism before he turned 2 years old, so he has had early intervention treatment (speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy), his whole life. She discusses her feelings about when her son was in a self-contained classroom for kids who have autism, and about when he moved to an inclusive pre-K classroom.
Eliana Tardio is a mom of two children who have Down Syndrome. She talks about her difficulties dealing with the school system as someone who was a migrant, and unaware that her kids should be included in general education classrooms.
Her story may resonate with parents who were very confused about the IEP meetings, and the rights that parents have in regards to making sure that their children get what they need from their school. Parents new to the system may feel as though they have little voice in the process, at first.
Daphne Felton-Green has a 13 year old son who has dysgraphia (which is a form of dyslexia). She started him in a private school for pre-K and junior K. Later, she switched him to a public school where he could be in a smaller classroom. She gives more details about her decision making process when choosing a school for her child.
Does your child go to a public school, or does he or she attend a private school? Have you decided that the best choice for your child is for you to homeschool him or her? Was the decision making process something that you found easy, or was it filled with angst and second-guessing?
Every parent goes through this journey. Everyone’s path is different. That is part of what makes it so hard to choose the best school for your child. No one else can decide it for you, and there rarely are situations that perfectly match yours that you can use as a basis for your decisions.
Image by Avolore on Flickr