I was talking to a colleague about the lack of work currently. The company will probably survive but it’s going to be many months before things start to slowly pick up. Is it just me but currently I‘m not missing it. Yes the bank balance is only going in one direction but as for work – not really in the mood for it.

Anyway this chap has a son on the spectrum. He’s a lovely, really bright boy. A couple of years older than Hawklad. It’s a depressingly familiar school story. Hardly any support. It’s all down to him to put his hand up in class and ask for help. Nothing proactive. The teaching is not suiting him. He’s going backwards. His potential grades are falling and it’s not ringing any alarm bells. It’s because he is Special Needs. The bar is set low so that there is no need to work on potential. Anything is seen as a bonus. What a waste.

Too many wonderful kids get let down like this. How can we have got education so badly wrong here. Something needs to change.

58 thoughts on “Something needs to change”

  1. It sounds so frustrating and sad. So much potential not being met as the educators aren’t thinking out of the box, and/or thinking about ALL of the different kinds of learners. I’m sorry. Thinking of you guys.

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  3. It’s really dumb for government to not put money into helping our different learners. They’re just going to have to pay later when the kids grow up and cant find work and need government assistance.
    Teachers are overwhelmed, students are learning, just parroting facts… it’s the same in America. Standardized testing… kids are learning how to take tests🤦🏼‍♀️
    ALL of our kids deserve better!💌💌💌

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  6. The UK needs a total overhaul. Especially when it comes to it’s children, which not many, if at all, seem to even care? I was horrified when I heard that, a FOOTBALLER had to donate money to get food to children. Good for him, but that was shocking to hear SO many in parliament voted against feeding children, in Winter, during a pandemic!

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  7. This is sad! This really makes me think if I really try my best to help my special needs students or if I give more attention to the rest of the group. It’s a through I have to keep in mind every day. Thanks!

    Love the photo!

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  8. working with special needs for 20 years in the nursing field, i can assert that this happens here almost 90% of the time( meaning the ones that can actually attend school). I sat in a classroom for a year with one kid who had very little in the way of ability- some serious medical/physical disabilities. Went to a few conferences to advocate for the mom who pushed for more therapy time and heard over & over again that he would never be able to learn or progress. Yet, in that short time i watched him when therapists worked with him and saw much evidence to the contrary. He just passed away this summer from Covid at age 11. i often wonder what he would have been able to accomplish had the school provided more. With other more capable special needs children ( meaning autistic on various levels), i saw a huge difference between the ones who’s parents pushed HARD for more , and the ones who gave up.And i mean HUGE. After over a decade of floating around between cases, 7 years ago i chose the case i have now. He was home from the hospital at 6 months( preemie) and we had no idea how he would progress. I made it a point to promote as much bonding and interaction as possible.I did not want to see him become what i saw with many others. Fortunately, he has a whole crew of loving nurses( which is pretty rare) and it still amazes me how far he has come. Unlike the autistic kids who frequently become detached and stay “in their own little world” this kid is loving , affectionate, and interactive. Keep the faith, my friend- you are a rock star! Your persistence will pay off, i promise!

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    1. Thank you so much x. I’ve notice my son really develop in some areas while he’s at home. That’s not down to me being a good teacher. Just we can be flexible. We can do what suits him. And I can give him the time he doesn’t get at school. Here Yeh get past the age of 12 and the health support starts to get withdrawn

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      1. i beleiev here, health support is on a case by case basis..many of our clients”age out” at 21 but can go on a waiver. This doesnt mean they all get the same care or quality of care- that all depends on their insurance which is through the state..its complicated and grossly disproportional, based on what “they ” think the kids potential is without ever having even seen them..I hope it gets better for you guys:)

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  12. After this sad episode in our history one might hope that maybe such things could be highlighted and given some priority. Unfortunately the people who are listened to are the ones who make the biggest noise. Maybe time for people like yourself and colleague and others to coordinate a movement DEMANDING priority for your children. I know, it’s easy for me to say…

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  13. I agree! Its all too common here as well. Time to stop making education a business, a commodity, instead of a basic right. Education is survival of the fittest and creates huge societal divides when approached this way. Better for the whole country/world when all succeed. Or at least given a fighting chance.

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  14. It is so sad to witness something like this. Hawklad is lucky for having such a supportive dad. But still, it hurts to see others not being supported in the way they need it or deserve it.

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  15. The system is letting the kids down. IMO they should be encouraging what they can do rather than berating them for what they can’t. I have no kids so shouldn’t really comment I suppose, but teachers today seem more intent on the internet than actually teaching their pupils.

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  16. It often takes a crisis, in this case a global pandemic, to discover the inefficiencies in our institutions and systems. When the situation returns to a whatever the new normal will be, you and other parents of “special needs” children will have to push for reform.

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  17. I fight and fight for the children on our caseload to receive some input for speech. There is barely any available in community and so prioritisation systems are put in place. Usually ones that state, if a child has learning difficulties then they won’t benefit from input some leave them to naturally mature and develop. What about finding out of that individual child actually does benefit? If you try and it doesn’t work, then ok but at least try. And ensure it’s an appropriate approach for their learning style and developmental level. Not enough Speech and Language aTherapist/pathologists so that isn’t feasible. 🤷‍♀️ so very frustrating though xxx

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