Right here in Nebraska we have some wonderful stories of families who have advocated for their children to be included and to receive access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). We hope you will take a minute to read some of these stories.
This is the story of a student who is now a 1oth grader,
In our metro area school, 6th grade students are to take a keyboarding class. We were told special education students had been unsuccessful with the keyboarding curriculum so it would not be a class our daughter could take. We asked if they could modify the curriculum for what she could do and focus on that and made our case by reminding them one of her IEP goals was written communication, our world uses technology to communicate, and a person has to be able to type to use the technology for communication. They had to agree with our thinking. Instead of modifying the curriculum, they did some research and purchased Keyboarding Without Tears for her (made by same people who do Handwriting Without Tears). They were astounded with how well she learned to type and offered it to 5 other special education students who would've otherwise been excluded from learning to type. Our daughter started with the beginning level of KWT and is now finishing the 5th and final level. And yes, she can now type. KWT uses great educational reading content for typing passages and is reasonably priced to do on your own, if need be.
Our daughter enjoys cooking and took a Culinary 1 class earlier this year at her high school. We met with the teacher early in the semester to talk about our daughters needs and learning style. The teacher worked with us and her para on modifying assignments if needed (like the knives/cutting unit). Her classmates were very supportive. The class cooked a lot. Our daughter had a great experience, developed confidence in the kitchen, wants to take another Culinary class, and has identified working in the food industry as a possible career interest. The teacher was great and this was how inclusion was designed to work.
This is the story of an 8th grader from a rural district
Our son was about to start Junior High which is in a different town than our Elementary. My son has not only Down syndrome but also Autism and has quite a bit of difficulty with communication. At the transition IEP the school announced that speech services would decrease to 1 time per week, since the speech teacher only goes to the JH/HS one day per week. Since my son had not met his speech goals, has one of the highest speech in the district and was going to a building where no one could understand him, we pushed back. IEP services need to be based on student need, not on what has been done before, or what is the habit now. So between 6th and 7th grade my son when from 20 minutes 3 days per week, to 20 minutes 4 days per week. Be sure to check to make sure all goals are met before services like OT, PT and Speech are reduced or stopped.
Inclusion is also something we have asked for since my son started his school career. My mindset has always been that there is no special grocery stores, movie theaters, or churches, so my son needs to learn how to get along with everyone with his school work modified to his level. While my son's IEP always said he was being included 60% or more during the day, we were not always sure it was happing, but we continued to advocate for inclusion. That included Band. When my son was in 6th grade school had a fundraiser concert and my son was the only percussion player to show up. There was no support person, no one to help him count and no one to tell him which instrument to play. So instead of the wood block, he chose the base drum. It is easy for a short guy to hide behind a base drum. My husband and I chuckled, knowing full well that he had never been allowed to play the base drum before, and that it should be entertaining. What we were not prepared for, was him knowing the beat of the song, and that he had learned what he needed to do because he had watched his peers. That is what inclusion does for kids with Down syndrome, it gives them role models to learn from. What is even better is that those same peers learn from our kids as well. Some times it takes proving that they are capable for doors to open for our kids. My son got to play more percussion instruments after that concert. Please don't make them prove it. Give them the opportunity to try. Please presume competence. Kids with Down syndrome can do hard things.
This is the story of a student who is now a 1oth grader,
In our metro area school, 6th grade students are to take a keyboarding class. We were told special education students had been unsuccessful with the keyboarding curriculum so it would not be a class our daughter could take. We asked if they could modify the curriculum for what she could do and focus on that and made our case by reminding them one of her IEP goals was written communication, our world uses technology to communicate, and a person has to be able to type to use the technology for communication. They had to agree with our thinking. Instead of modifying the curriculum, they did some research and purchased Keyboarding Without Tears for her (made by same people who do Handwriting Without Tears). They were astounded with how well she learned to type and offered it to 5 other special education students who would've otherwise been excluded from learning to type. Our daughter started with the beginning level of KWT and is now finishing the 5th and final level. And yes, she can now type. KWT uses great educational reading content for typing passages and is reasonably priced to do on your own, if need be.
Our daughter enjoys cooking and took a Culinary 1 class earlier this year at her high school. We met with the teacher early in the semester to talk about our daughters needs and learning style. The teacher worked with us and her para on modifying assignments if needed (like the knives/cutting unit). Her classmates were very supportive. The class cooked a lot. Our daughter had a great experience, developed confidence in the kitchen, wants to take another Culinary class, and has identified working in the food industry as a possible career interest. The teacher was great and this was how inclusion was designed to work.
This is the story of an 8th grader from a rural district
Our son was about to start Junior High which is in a different town than our Elementary. My son has not only Down syndrome but also Autism and has quite a bit of difficulty with communication. At the transition IEP the school announced that speech services would decrease to 1 time per week, since the speech teacher only goes to the JH/HS one day per week. Since my son had not met his speech goals, has one of the highest speech in the district and was going to a building where no one could understand him, we pushed back. IEP services need to be based on student need, not on what has been done before, or what is the habit now. So between 6th and 7th grade my son when from 20 minutes 3 days per week, to 20 minutes 4 days per week. Be sure to check to make sure all goals are met before services like OT, PT and Speech are reduced or stopped.
Inclusion is also something we have asked for since my son started his school career. My mindset has always been that there is no special grocery stores, movie theaters, or churches, so my son needs to learn how to get along with everyone with his school work modified to his level. While my son's IEP always said he was being included 60% or more during the day, we were not always sure it was happing, but we continued to advocate for inclusion. That included Band. When my son was in 6th grade school had a fundraiser concert and my son was the only percussion player to show up. There was no support person, no one to help him count and no one to tell him which instrument to play. So instead of the wood block, he chose the base drum. It is easy for a short guy to hide behind a base drum. My husband and I chuckled, knowing full well that he had never been allowed to play the base drum before, and that it should be entertaining. What we were not prepared for, was him knowing the beat of the song, and that he had learned what he needed to do because he had watched his peers. That is what inclusion does for kids with Down syndrome, it gives them role models to learn from. What is even better is that those same peers learn from our kids as well. Some times it takes proving that they are capable for doors to open for our kids. My son got to play more percussion instruments after that concert. Please don't make them prove it. Give them the opportunity to try. Please presume competence. Kids with Down syndrome can do hard things.