SamSpade
Well-Known Member
As some of you know, my son is special needs. If you don't spend much time with him, you might not notice - his special need, among other things, manifests as brain damage, but it can seem as though he is merely hyperactive and immature. He will NOT "grow out" of it, and there's no "cure". He will always be this way.
Spend a little MORE time with him, and you'll see he has very poor reasoning skills, terrible fine motor skills (still can't tie his shoes and he's a teenager) and typically acts about half his age, which is typical for his disability. On the other hand, he has above average memorization skills and learns well by rote if given enough time. He also has a natural skill for music and has perfect pitch.
His school puts him in a regular classroom about half the day, and tested on a subset of the material the other kids get, at least, most of the time. Half the time, he gets specialized instruction.
And see - here's the thing - when he leaves school, he will have to be able to function in the rest of the world. You can try and PUT him in a school with only special needs kids, but he won't be challenged and it won't reflect the world he still has to live in. And his diploma won't be the same.
We GET feedback from his teachers regarding his behavior - usually, not as often as I'd like, because if you think schools are tough on him, you've never seen ME in action. But I agree with him being in school with his peers, going to dances, singing in choir, playing sports and doing all the things the other kids do. Maybe it's because his disability doesn't show the way other ones do.
Spend a little MORE time with him, and you'll see he has very poor reasoning skills, terrible fine motor skills (still can't tie his shoes and he's a teenager) and typically acts about half his age, which is typical for his disability. On the other hand, he has above average memorization skills and learns well by rote if given enough time. He also has a natural skill for music and has perfect pitch.
His school puts him in a regular classroom about half the day, and tested on a subset of the material the other kids get, at least, most of the time. Half the time, he gets specialized instruction.
And see - here's the thing - when he leaves school, he will have to be able to function in the rest of the world. You can try and PUT him in a school with only special needs kids, but he won't be challenged and it won't reflect the world he still has to live in. And his diploma won't be the same.
We GET feedback from his teachers regarding his behavior - usually, not as often as I'd like, because if you think schools are tough on him, you've never seen ME in action. But I agree with him being in school with his peers, going to dances, singing in choir, playing sports and doing all the things the other kids do. Maybe it's because his disability doesn't show the way other ones do.
