Bit of a gripe about something I saw
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| Fri, 04-07-2006 - 2:51am |
I took Nathan to the playground today, because this was the first day in about 150 days that we didn't have nasty cold RAIN. From this playground, you can easily watch the kids in the nearby elementary school having their recess. Watching the general ed kids, I'm always kind of horrified at the lack of supervision. There are lots of boys who play really rough, grabbing other kids by the jacket hood, and swinging them around, and that kind of thing.
Then they go inside, and the "special kids come out". There are five or six boys, who all appear to be pretty severely autistic, from where I stand. They were all about 10-12 years old. (probably from all over the district, I imagine, because David's school only has K-2 special day class.) A few of them swing, one hides in a little tube, and one climbs up real high and makes squealing sounds. I find myself intrigued; I kind of have a warm fuzzy spot in my heart for autistic kids for some reason. I kind of envy them, because they get that whole playground to themselves.
Well, this one kid was sitting on a bench, and this woman (who I assume was some kind of untrained aide) started snapping at him. He giggled and giggled, and she got madder and madder. She took him by the hand, and yelled at him. He giggled some more. Okay, I have NO idea who these kids are or what their individual profiles are, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck. Or a kid with autism. This woman clearly had no clue, because getting all flustered and yelling at an autistic child is not the most productive way to spend your time.
There seemed to be an adult for each child, and every time a child did ANYTHING, the adult was right there. The swinging kids didn't get bothered much; but the two who were climbing had no peace at all. Every twenty seconds it was, "Ethan, come down the slide!" "Terrance, WALK!" "Ethan, don't sit there!" "Terrance, what are you doing??"
I just wanted to go over there and say, "Gee, when do these kids get a break, because it sure as heck isn't during recess!"
Of course, none of this is my business, and I'm SURE these adults know what is appropriate for each child ; but having a kid with his own set of special needs, and his own form of autism, it just felt so wrong. I see this all the time when we go there, and it kind of drives me crazy. Then, I snap out of it and realize I've been staring at, and judging, these total strangers, rather than playing with my own child, which makes me feel kind of sad and angry with myself.
Ah, once again, I've stayed up until midnight, even though I'm severely sleep deprived. When will I learn?
Evelyn

You know, Evelyn, this really hit home to me. I don't think you are griping at all. My son goes to a school kind of like this. He's in a public school Prek-ESE and I have not problem with what happens in the classroom. His teacher is excellent, as is the para. But the aide, though well-meaning, is new. She's a nice, grandmotherly type. She's just learning "autism" and although she does not yell loudlyor anything, she is patient, she does fall into what I'd call mild scolding.
I've seen her do this at the end of the day when she brings the kids out for us to pick up. It's kind of , "now Johnny, don't flap your hands," "Now Tommy, you have to hold my hand even though you don't want to." It isn't exactly harsh, I do the same thing at times,we are all human. But kind of constant. I often wonder if this happens on the play ground too. Or at other times of the day, although when the teacher is there I know he is very much in control. Also, their schedule in class is so structured and keeps them moving every minute.
But at Eric's school playground, it's the same situation you saw. The two SPED pre-k classes get a short, thirty min. play ground period together, without the NT kids. There are 4 kids in Eric's classs and 3 adults, but I think the teacher eats lunch at this time and lets the para and aide watch. He is great and very skilled with ASD kids, but of course the man needs to eat! The other class is a mixed disability one, about the same size and adult ratio.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know I understand how you feel. Makes me uncomfortable too.
Katherine