Open House Night

Let's see...not sure how to quite say this one but the Office of Education is all about providing special needs kids with an education in the "least restrictive" environment.  The goal and the message is to mainstream them with the general population (aka: the normal kids).  Yet, it seems to me they go out of their way to do things that would make the "special" kid stand out and, perhaps, feel alienated by things like making them ride on short buses, sticking them out in trailers on the back side of the school away from the other classrooms and giving them different recess and lunch times away from the other Kindergartners.

How is this mainstreaming my child?  And whoever said I wanted my child mainstreamed?  The Office of Education was the one that gave me a hard time when I told them I wanted to put the Doodle into a private school for autistic children only.  I was told over and over what a bad idea that was because he would be missing out and not in "the least restrictive environment".  

My point is stop telling me that is what you are doing and then doing something completely different.

I arrived at the Doodle's new Special Education Kindergarten Class and the first thing I noticed was that they had a big sign on the door that said "SPECIAL EDUCATION".  This wasn't a handwritten sign just for open house night for the parents who might not otherwise have a hard time finding it--it is a permanent sign on the classroom alerting everyone that this is definitely the special ed classroom for the special kids.  Because we wouldn't want them getting mixed up for a minute and thinking they're in a real classroom for regular kids.  We need to label them and the classroom door. 

As if I didn't know before I entered the classroom that I have a special boy in a special class. Thank goodness for that special sign on the door.