Mainstreaming children typically denies their unique needs. It realy is that simple. The most disturbing example of this trend on public education is evidenced by a shocking increase in the incidence of autistic children. It has created a public education nightmare.
While these children are young public schools are able to control their behavior without providing the services that will help them overcome their disability. As they become older and more unruly they can no longer be handled in a public school setting and eventually many become institutionalized.
My daughter and a few other sturdy souls are developing programs for these young children that allow them to become effectively mainstreamed as adolescents. Without intensive and appropriate training early on that is not possible.
Tragically public school systems are possessive of their budgets and are unwilling to place these young children in special settings where they will get the help they need. Not until it is too late to help and the child is irretrievably damaged will the public schools admit their failure and be forced to pay for institutional care.
We welcome Betsy DeVos with the prayer that the real needs of real children will be addressed without the bias of public institutions providing minimal services to keep their budgets fat.
MA has many schools geared to special needs kids——they are private schools but the public school department located in the community in which the child resides is the tuition payer.
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