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Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Rather than an empty proclamation which leads to little or no meaningful change, we need year-long support and advocacy for all students.
Our current process requires students (usually their parents) to "prove" they are disabled enough to require supports. This process is usually done by non-disabled, neurotypical bureaucrats who don't (and can't) understand the lived experience of the student they are reading about in a document or application form.
Instead, students should be given what they need to succeed and thrive, regardless of what paperwork they may have (or not have) to quality for accommodations and supports.
In order for this to happen, a lot needs to change. Firstly, we need to understand that disabilities are dynamic: a person's ability to learn and succeed varies each day, hour, even minute. We can't evaluate or determine what supports someone needs and which ones are effective based on small snapshots of their day.
As always, a significant part of this comes from the need for increased funding and resources. We need completely different funding and training models for our public education system, better education for staff, and a lot more money for our schools.
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.
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.
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.
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