Have your voice heard

I've created a letter template for any caregivers to access. Parents and concerned citizens are encouraged to copy and paste the letter, edit the contents to better reflect theirs and their children’s experiences, and send it to our Minister of Education.

Trying, once again, to be heard by the powers that be during inclusive education month. Last year I wrote an open letter to our Minister of Education, after trying in vain to get his attention through various means.

Even more resources for supporting neurodivergent students in school. Resources available for parents & caregivers, as well as for teachers & school staff. 

February is national inclusive education month in Canada! Want to know what we do here in Manitoba to mark the occasion? Our minister of education makes a declaration, posting a picture of the proclamation on social media. That's it.

If inclusive education month were like a genie in a lamp that could grant me three inclusion-related wishes, these would be the top three things I would change about our public education system.

Manitoba's government insists on wasting money which should be spent on bettering public education in our province. Our ministry of education just announced a campaign to enhance student presence and engagement.

It’s supposed to be national inclusive education month in Canada, but this is our worst inclusive education month ever. Apparently our politicians think inclusive education month is a great time to insult the intelligence of their constituents.

If you're angry at the children you support, you need to take a step back. When our anger gets misplaced. An EA was more worried about getting into trouble than about providing effective support for my son.

Yet again, Manitoba has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest child poverty rates of all provinces in the entire country. We are ranked second worst in Canada, after the territory of Nunavut.

No school should ever have the right to seclude or restrain children. The only time it is ever justifiable is during a serious emergency in which it is the only available option for protecting oneself or another person. 

A break down of a program called Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS), identifying some very concerning aspects about this "positive" approach to inclusion which has strong roots in behaviourism.

Accommodations and needs are not privileges which can be offered or withheld at the adult's whim. They should never be used as a tool to manipulate or force the student into complying. 

Making classroom spaces and lessons more accessible for all students. The best lesson plans and classroom management strategies will be rendered useless if students do not feel cared about and safe in school. 

Schools are bad enough for neurotypical folks, but can be hell for neurodivergent students. Loud bus rides, hallways, classrooms, announcements, recesses, gym classes, music classes, fire drills... all followed by yet another loud bus ride home.

Knowing when to push and when to back off is a difficult balance. We need to respect children's concerns and trust them to know the difference between something they can't do and something they don't want to do.

Behaviour plans are useless, unless the adults have developed - and continue to develop - secure relationships with the children in their care. If or when staff develop a behaviour plan, they must centre the child's needs so the plan is written to best support the child, not to make the adults' jobs easier.

Behaviour problems or failing academically shouldn't be the only reasons children receive appropriate supports at school. In our under-funded system, children whose parents complain the loudest or whose behaviour is most disruptive are first to get what they need while others go without. 

Change must start at the top, then work its way down. When policy-makers talk about funding models for public education, or about putting more money into education, they often talk about new “programs”.