Nothing But the Best When It Comes to Educating Autistic Students
“The best is the new worst,” writes Susan Jacoby in an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times. She cites the decline in —-prestige?—-of the notion of being “best” and “elite” in American public life over the past 40 years and, most recently, in the US presidential campaign:
Senator Hillary Clinton’s use of the phrase “elite opinion” to dismiss the near unanimous opposition of economists to her proposal for a gas tax holiday was a landmark in the use of elite to attack expertise supposedly beyond the comprehension of average Americans. One might as well say that there is no point in consulting musicians about music or ichthyologists about fish.
Noting that the Founding Fathers were not exactly envisioning a “democracy of dumbness,” Jacoby makes a call to stop downplaying the value of “elite knowledge and education”:
It is past time to retire the sliming of elite knowledge and education from public discourse. Do we want mediocre schools or the best education for our children? If we need an operation, do we want an ordinary surgeon or the best, most elite surgeon available?
It’s in reference to education in particular that Jacoby uses the word “best.” When I read her op-ed, my first thought was about education—-about how we’ve always sought nothing but “the best” when it comes to Charlie’s learning.
Under IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), Charlie is entitled to a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE). And “appropriate” does not always translate into “best” when a school district is looking at its budget. I’ve heard lots of arguments whose gist is “why provide a Lexus education for a child who is very likely not going to college, not going to earn the big bucks in a job, will need supports throughout his life?”
But (just to get on my soapbox for a moment) autistic students need the best education we can give them, just as every other student does. I know that’s an idealistic statement, but if we don’t push for the very best—for teachers with the best possible training and supports, sufficient numbers of aides, really good facilities and curricula—-people are going to go with the bottom line. And it makes a huge, huge difference: I’ve had my son in school districts where what was “appropriate” was provided and seen him sink; I not have him in a district that provides lots and he’s doing so well—-he’s happy, he loves school, he’s getting ready for the rest of a good life.
It’s the best I can do for him and I don’t think we can settle for anything less.
Ok, off the soapbox (soapvox….) and out for a walk with Charlie.
26 opinions for Nothing But the Best When It Comes to Educating Autistic Students
Regan
May 31, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I have a funny perspective on this Chevy v. Lexus thing.
Our oldest daughter went to a public and publicly funded alternative school heavily attended by the children of lawyers, doctors, local politicos, etc. I have actual handouts with statements on “excellents” and “the best that can be done in educating your children”, and what could not be accomplished completely through the public funding was brought to reality by neverending fundraising. If anyone had suggested that, sorry, all your kid is getting is a chevy education, tough, I suspect s/he would not have gotten out of the room alive.
So it was an eye-opener to enter the world of SPED where board meetings focus on how to cut the costs for SPED students (from our district’s lofty $12K/year), and those various discussions of fitting the square peg in to the round hole the district had available, not necessarily the square hole required.
Excellent training of SPED teachers is excellent training for everyone. I guarantee you that if some one is a gifted teacher of this population with good training s/he will be able to teach anyone. Many of the best practices for all students in instructional analysis and classroom management were learned from the LD and Severe learner populations.
Ms. Clark
May 31, 2008 at 6:37 pm
For some reason I thought about the “cultural revolution” in China where all the intellectuals needed to be killed or learn not to be act so smart.
My concern with the Lexus education thing is that there are people who are profiting from providing that expensive education and they promote their version of the “best” as the “best” because they can profit from selling that. If something that is not so expensive and not so profitable works better and the people selling “the best” are out there using their money to keep their ideas in the forefront through their professional groups, does the really best education get trodden under-foot? I think that is what is happening now.
As for how the reality has played out in California a huge portion of DDS funding has gone to fund the best of the best (which is garbage, in my opinion) for a group of basically elite people and a few of their neighbors in Southern California while there is absolutely zero, nothing at all, offered to less “elite” people in Northern California. The people getting the elite treatments in SoCal are having the gov’t pay for expensive garbage while the trash-people in NorCal get nothing.
I have a big problem with this, and a lot of the blame goes on the people who are profiting big time off of selling their intrinsically abusive and wasteful therapy (Lovaas Discrete Trials Training and permutations of that). And I’m not talking about the use of aversives, DTTs without things like slapping is abuse because it is abuse to it’s core. There is no consulting with the child as if the child has a mind, because the brain, education, intellect and feelings are inconsequential while molding behavior is everything. It’s barbaric, in my opinion. We can use Dov Shestack as an example of this SoCal Lovaas ABA barbarism that had him repeatedly trying to successfully do stupid pet tricks like “touch red” and all along the kid had taught himself to read English and Hebrew and no one knew it for years.
Andrea
May 31, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Hillary’s comments remind me of an episode of West Wing.
It’s interesting to me that this attitude of eliteness being a negative thing is pretty pervasive. In high school, being too smart is often the kiss of death. We see movies and television being ‘dumbed down’ supposedly to appeal to the masses, as if the masses can’t handle complexity. And in education, kids have been taught less and less how to think and more how to answer multiple choice questions on standardized tests (although I like to think that is starting to shift as people realize it’s not effective).
When you talk about funding being cut for special needs programs, it makes me wonder: if the special ed. population isn’t getting the lion’s share of funding for the ‘best’ a district can provide, and it’s fairly evident that the mainstream population isn’t getting (in many, many cases) an ‘elite’ education, where the heck is this money going?
jonathan
May 31, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Kristina, I posted this to you once before, I will post it to you again. In the Rowley decision, the supreme court determined that “appropriate” does not mean “best” This is where the lexus versus chevy metaphor comes from. I think you should just accept it and move on. Even if the lexus/ferrari model were spent on Charlie, I think he would still not function at the level you would like. I was a special ed student for 8 years pre-IDEA. I think the problems have gotten worse since my childhood in the 1960s. In my view, IEP should stand for idiotic expectations program
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 31, 2008 at 9:00 pm
@jonathan, I remember your earlier comment on this very topic and I am very happy with the “level” that Charlie is functioning at. We’ve indeed moved on—-we left the “chevy” town and moved elsewhere.
@Andrea,
In the district where in (the town we moved to), there’s plenty of funding for special ed—-I need to look up figures but special ed funding has increased throughout NJ. And there are definitely efforts to provide “the best” for special ed kids in districts of varying economic levels in NJ.
Personally, I’m a little wary of the “Lexus/Cadillac” vs.Chevy analogy (being from a family who owned some of the latter, never the former). But I have seen my son change dramatically with the right kind of educational setting and, especially, when he is taught by teachers who have training and regularly support.
Kristina Chew, PhD
May 31, 2008 at 9:18 pm
@Ms. Clark,
There are the same divisions between who gets what (”the best” vs. something else) here in NJ and everywhere for sure—–but there’s more consistency in what people get, too. Some very “middle class” towns have really strong programs and because NJ is a lot smaller than California—though with a very big population relative to its size—-it is possible (1) to move not terribly far to get into a different district and (2) there is some “osmosis” of resources and training among different districts.
I think parents have to be careful about evaluating the claims of different ABA professionals and therapists. Any good teaching program isn’t about ideology and a teaching philosophy; it’s about what happens one on one in a classroom between a teacher interacting with a student.
Every teacher of Charlie’s has said they know he knows far more than might appear to the casual observer, that’s for sure.
@Regan,
My own teaching has gotten better thanks to my efforts to teach Charlie. Those stories were eye-openers! I’ll keep working the square pegs…..
C. S. Wyatt
May 31, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I am stuck pondering what is or is not elite. I recall the disdain and condescension with which my parents were treated because I was literally a “trailer park / free lunch” student. Most definitely, elite can mean ignorant snobbery.
At the same time, I do value learning (not necessarily formal education) and want a well-read and well-informed leadership.
I watch the conflicts between parents of autistic children and the “experts” — experts who often mistakenly adopt confrontational, superior attitudes. This helps no one.
As for my home state (and all states), there are regions that have power because of money, history, employers, or other factors. Those of us from Central California felt SF and LA were too powerful, while the two big areas argued over which of metro was too powerful. That’s the nature of every state — St. Paul (Summit) has more state funding per capita than Minneapolis. Guess which is home to media personalities?
You learn that there is always a “favorite child” in a geopolitical system. I think we call it New Hampshire every four years.
Bonnie Sayers
May 31, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I am in Southern CA and in the heart of Los Angeles, also an IHSS worker where the hourly pay is $3-4 higher in Nothern CA versus Southern CA.
The Great Autism Rip-off?
May 31, 2008 at 11:55 pm
[…] post. We thought we saw effects of an often immediate type but none were lasting and it was truly education that has made the difference for […]
tsquared
Jun 1, 2008 at 12:37 am
What chaps me is the automatic assumption by a disturbing number of people that all autistic kids do is run in the corner, stare at their hands, line up cars, soak up tax dollars, and never amount to much. It’s often the same people who say “I’m sorry” if they find out my son is autistic. I respond with, “Why? I’m not.”
The thing is no one has any freakin’ idea what they will be doing as they get older or when they move into the ‘adult world’ (which even I haven’t done at 35…) One need only to look at the brilliant autie and aspie bloggers out there to know that there are some dang smart people out there who are changing society through their keyboards who were also I would imagine largely outcasts in their school days.
When the education system and the people around it begin by making assumptions about what a child may or may not contribute later in life and base their investment in that child upon that, we are completely screwed. Based on statistics, we’d be sacrificing everyone except preppy kids with a doctor and a lawyer for parents with a name like Thurston Howell.
I went to school with some very well off kids who made sloths look energetic and some kids with severe learning disabilities who had areas of such brilliance that I am still amazed when I think about them, along with every kind and permutation of person in between. Thinking about some of the ones who really struggled but never quit gives me a lift on those days I’m feeling down about the progress we’re making with our son.
Of course, then there are the days he up and does something astonishing like identifying some letters on a computer keyboard when we are still working on ‘ball’ and instructions like ‘come here’. Every day is a surprise around here, and the rest of the world doesn’t seem to be aware of what gifts all this can bring too.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jun 1, 2008 at 2:07 am
Every day is definitely a surprise here too, thank you for writing that—-I had a student in a university I used to teach at. The doctors said he would always need special ed (not that that’s a bad thing in itself)—and also that he could not be able to live on his own, etc.; that he was a lost cause. And there he was in my freshman composition class. I noted he kept to himself (as it seemed) and that he sometimes walked out of the room rather abruptly—-I mentioned Charlie once and he wrote me an email about how autism was one diagnosis he’d had and how he felt very comfortable in my class. He was a great student and was pre-med—wanting to be a neurologist. He wrote a fabulous final essay and mentioned in it that he’d been considered a “lost cause”—talk about wrong.
Andrea
Jun 1, 2008 at 5:18 am
In thinking more about this question of best and appropriate, it occurs to me that the word best is also highly subjective. Who determines ‘best?’ Is it the number of diplomas and plaques and journal publications? That person may be the best, but not necessarily the best for a particular job.
I remember during my yoga teacher training that there was a teacher who was fawned over by pretty much everyone in the studio. She was a wonderfully creative teacher with an incredible practice. So I took her class. And she did an adjustment and hurt me. If she was the best teacher we had, she wasn’t the best for me.
Similar situation with my son the first time we took him to a neurologist just before he turned five. This was supposedly the top neurologist in Westchester. After waiting over an hour in a jam-packed room (nightmare for my son’s sensory challenges) an associate spent some time talking with me, glancing at him a couple of times, never really attempting to engage him. The actual doctor came in for two minutes, told me nothing and then left. I was told by the assistant to wait until the school district (we were moving to a new and presumably ‘better’ district) placed him before they could give a diagnosis. I may be crazy, but I define the best doctor as one who has an ounce of human compassion these days, not the most talked about practice.
So to get to the point, I think that yes, our kids should get ‘the best’ but that we need to be very cautious about what that really means. The best school district has turned out to be no better, and in some ways worse, than the one we left. Even in terms of regular education and class sizes, it’s not as impressive as what I once believed.
Jen
Jun 1, 2008 at 7:00 am
I think that completely aside from the “our children DO deserve the best education” argument (which I think is completely valid), I think that you could also make an economic case for society spending money on early intervention and appropriate schooling, in order to save money later on. I would love to see a study tracking the costs of education with the later costs of adulthood- I know how expensive it is to keep my son in a group home, compared to the financial costs of having my other two girls at home.
The more independent and self-sufficient we can help our children to be, the more they will be able to do for themselves when they are older. We’re lucky in our area to have all sorts of options for adult care- my kids are 12 now, so we’re just starting to look into them. But there is a huge financial difference to society between my daughter living in an apartment complex with occasional supervision and help, and my son’s need for 24/7 care. Not all of that can be attributed to schooling, of course, but I’ve certainly seen the difference in “outcomes” over the years between children who have been given an appropriate education, and those who were not. That is going to turn into dollars and cents for society at some point, and my guess is that putting the money into education will actually save money for society in the long run.
Autismville
Jun 1, 2008 at 9:28 am
Having relocated to a state with far better services, I can tell you that Jack is better. He’s happier and communicating more effectively. Problem behaviors are dealt with quickly.
The highly trained staff who are working with him make a huge difference. Every kid like Jack should have the opportunity to receive this crucial support.
Sometimes Moving Is All You Can Do
Jun 1, 2008 at 11:01 am
[…] moved and moved in search of the right educational placement and services for Charlie. The biggest move was when we left St. Louis (where Charlie was born) to […]
Buy a Chevy! « Where’s the Sun?
Jun 1, 2008 at 1:44 pm
[…] 1, 2008 by AwayWeGo! I was reading a post over at Autism Vox and I really started thinking about the Chevy/Lexus analogy of special education. For anyone who is […]
William
Jun 1, 2008 at 7:02 pm
“..autistic students need the best education we can give them, just as every other student does.”
Agreed 100%
There used to be a bumper-sticker that read;
“Wouldn’t it be a great day if the schools had all the money they needed and the Pentagon had to hold a bake sale to build a bomber?
mayfly
Jun 2, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I’m not sure why Northern California would be shafted in special education funds. If it’s true we need to throw out our assemblymen and state senators who are not doing their job, or at least not as well as those from the south. Kudos to them for winning funding for their districts.
My church several years ago started the “Hope Technology School” http://www.bacc.cc/BACC/CommunityLife/HTS/index.htm
We had a fund raiser for it last Sunday as they are trying to expand it to include a middle school.
I haven’t mentioned it before as they use facilitated communications of which I’m highly skeptical.
However the school is well-staffed and provides an excellent inclusive environment.
The school is in Palo Alto, and we, the church, are hoping within the next two years to buy a building some where in Contra Costa county in order to establish one in the East Bay.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jun 2, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Thanks—-always interested in learning about new schools. How did they decide to use FC?
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I just came across this article. Teacher provides structure:
http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/61779/
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Here is a teacher that does some good:
Teacher provides structure
http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/61779/
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 2, 2008 at 11:35 pm
My posts are not going through. The site keeps giving me errors for the past few days and now brings me back to the top of the article I am trying to post a comment on.
Last time was with a link to a story. Maybe a google search will bring it so my post goes thru
teacher provides structure
NWANEWS dot com
Bonnie Sayers
Jun 2, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Please let me know when this site will take a comment since it is giving me error after error for days now.
mayfly
Jun 3, 2008 at 1:14 am
@Kristina. I think they were moved by the movie about the woman from Whittier. I think Sue Rubin was her name, at least that’s the name that pops up in web searches.
It’s a great school. The kids do very well incompetitions with their peers. Many younger folks from the church volunteer at it, and quite a few have pursued careers in special education because of it. The staff has the credentials one would expect for a school which has special needs and NT children.
Not the Rule, It’s the Exception
Jun 11, 2008 at 6:14 pm
[…] that’s why I’m for putting resources and energy into education, so that autistic students have a truly “appropriate” education, without exception. […]
Melody
Jun 11, 2008 at 7:15 pm
The thing is no one has any freakin’ idea what they will be doing as they get older or when they move into the ‘adult world’
Exactly. If I’d been diagnosed at age 7, I easily could’ve been considered unable to function academically. I never finished anything, rarely responded to my name, didn’t speak much, didn’t understand or follow instructions, got sensory overload, spent much time staring at a wall rocking or wringing my hands, got lost on campus, etc. I guess no one mentioned autism because I was considered difficult, they speculated I had a hearing problem (though screening tests came back negatory), and I was quiet. Nevermind that I was far from quiet at home, with much screaming and self-injury, but at home I looked like a shy little girl with emotional sensitivities. I was also lucky in that my parents knew I understood complex things and had imaginary play (even if it didn’t look like it to most outside observers), so they didn’t try to get me evaluated for anything (which, while I could’ve used some more supports and understanding, I think it would’ve been very mixed in terms of effects).
Who would’ve guessed that now I’m going to go to college to study theoretical physics, and currently have about 30 college credits before graduating high school, and can follow MIT physics lectures without missing a beat? Not that the main point is that we’re all going to be “geniuses”, far from it, but the point is that, when it comes to the medical view of autism, many wrong assumptions and predictions are likely made.
For instance, I recently completed IQ testing, and my verbal range came out in the low normal (so I’m guessing 70-90), and my spatial part was about average to high average (though I have shown early and advanced proclivity for mathematics, such as figuring out how to find the sum of all numbers from 1 to 100 without adding them up individually at age 6 1/2). The verbal score was taking into the account that I was typing most of those responses that I could make rather than speaking them, so it would’ve come out much lower if I didn’t have access or ability to type. They didn’t find this out until I had spent four years in a creative writing program, with my work being read and critiqued by professional authors.
So while abilities range drastically, both within and across individuals, it is important to take any predictions with a grain of salt. Yes, if a person is significantly disabled there is a likelihood they’ll need assistance and accomodations throughout their life, but for any child, of any starting abilities, it’s important to not expect too low or too high for them, but to try to help them learn and grow as much as you can, and accept whatever place they’re at. That’s how my parents were with me and my NT sisters - they encouraged us to pursue academics and the arts, and supported us in whatever limited ways they could toward these ends with limited finances (fortunately school is free through high school, and there are scholarships and financial aid after that).
But if I weren’t going to college, if I find out that for whatever reason that I can’t handle college or need to take a break and live with them for awhile, that that’ll be perfectly okay. That’s the key - to have access to the resources to grow to your potential, regardless of whether society considers the end result to be on par with what they’d consider success, which too often has more to do with the car they’re driving than with the person they’re being.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: