So somewhere in New England, she got a great education despite of her difficulties. And there lies the key- her location.
American School for the Deaf- the first, the best, and one of the only deaf schools in the country. Children outside of New England and a few other locales with special needs have miserable choices and their education and their lives suffer greatly.
Public schools for the most part, label the kid for the highest level of funding and provide minimal services. It’s a very sad joke of a system. Truly, a mind is a terrible thing to waste and it’s frustrating. Public schools can be very wasteful and they often lack the proper staff.
I encouraged a mom to allow her kid to be labeled ‘autistic’ although he was not, just to get the 3Xweek speech services he otherwise would never receive. He was entering kindergarten -mute, but not deaf, with high functioning asperger’s. However, his mom would volunteer at the school 3 days per week-gardening, to ensure he actually got his speech therapy (yes, like a spy). Speech Therapists are often over-burdened and we found the district was falsifying the log book to pretend that hundreds of hours of services were given that were never actually provided to the SE kids.
Another toddler was labeled deaf by the PS. Mom toured the program for those kids and literally threw-up. Parents flew him to Manhattan Eye & Ear Institute where it was discovered he had 30% deafness in one ear and about 15% in the other. But he had CAPD and was fitted with high tech hearing aids and given a microphone for his teacher. His mom and I went to six private schools until we could find one amiable to educating him wearing the microphone around teachers neck. It was Christ Church -a Methodist school. With speech therapy and extra tutoring he did well and progressed to Catholic High School. He is athletically gifted and was a state ranked wrestler. A great kid. Graduated college with a psychology degree.
While I understand how you recognize the beauty of special gifts, truly without the best parents, educational opportunities, and advocates, things often turn out real badly. Their lives can often be a huge burden and a personal struggle. Each case is different.
American School for the Deaf- the first, the best, and one of the only deaf schools in the country. Children outside of New England and a few other locales with special needs have miserable choices and their education and their lives suffer greatly.
You are so wrong. The American School for the Deaf is a terrible school. It is an oralism school. My wife didn't truly get a good education until she got to Gallaudet where she learned ASL.
At ASD she was abused emotionally and physically by the students and the teachers for her physical disabilities.
It was the unconditional love she received from her parents that made the difference in her life, not the schools she attended.