by Roxan Finnell

Created on: April 23, 2008

As the mother of a special needs child I would hope that the teachers are trained to deal with the specifics of her disability. Sadly, many aren't. Except for a few instances I have been lucky to have those who either knew about my daughter's disability or were willing to learn more about it.

Many times the effects of the disability make it difficult for the child to control themselves and while bad behavior should never be tolerated, the educators involved should be able to distinguish between what is caused by the child's disability or not

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I spent several years dealing with educators who were clueless about my daughter's autism. Time and time again I had to go to the school because they did something that would cause her to go into a meltdown. Most of the time it was simply because they changed the routine she was used to without warning even when they had been told not to.

We were lucky to move to the school district where there were programs that dealt with her specific issues and the educators were trained properly. She went from being in special education classes to being successfully mainstreamed and went on to graduate with her class.
I treat my daughter as if there is nothing wrong with her and I expect her to act accordingly. I know that her disability has an effect on how she acts, but by treating her normally she has done better than many of her peers.

What is needed is not disciplining a child for displaying their disability, but educators who are trained to prevent the actions in the first place.
A well structured IEP can give these children the ability to excel beyond their disability. It is the parent's duty to see that the IEP is followed and efforts are being made to help the child to do the best they can. The IEP should never be signed by the parent until they are satisfied with it and how it deals with not only your child's education but also how that child's disability impacts their every day life.

While actions should be dealt with, the reason behind the discipline should be understood by the student. Bad behavior should not be tolerated, but educators who do not take a student's special needs into consideration is not be tolerated either.

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