John, Josh, Outbursts, Screams and PROGRESS

 

     I remember being mesmerized in the third grade as I read Helen Keller and The Diary of Anne Frank.  These two books introduced me to a world that I had not experienced before.  I had never known nor seen anyone with a disability, probably because special education was not provided when I went to school or college. I had never struggled to learn in school. No one in my family had.  I had never been exposed to such hatred that would cause a family to flee and go into hiding to save their very lives. But I do recall wondering where a couple of school mates had gone in 5th grade when they just disappeared. After all, when someone moved away we always said our goodbyes and wished them well in their new school. Again, in 6th grade. Then several years later I started noticing these kids still around town, just not in school. As far as I can deduce, they just 'dropped out' of school. Looking back, I now realize all of these school mates had been in learning groups that were not progressing like the rest of the class.  Grouping kids by ability was the norm when I was in school. Everyone knew who the 'smart kids' were. Some kids got 'left behind' and likely dropped out or were expelled and not invited to return to school.  All of these childhood experiences probably set the stage for my career in special education.

 

     Fast forward to the mid 1970's, a turbulent time in our country for sure. A newly minted college graduate, certified teacher with her first job in a school that provided special education to students whose public schools 'couldn't provide for their needs'.  A new law, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, was unknown to me.  I was just thankful for my first job (which helped me pay off my student loans).  My first class of students were like all other elementary school students, except they had 'behavior problems and couldn't learn'.

 

     John had been expelled because he had explosive outbursts followed by giggles and finger flicking. Josh had never really been given a chance at his public school.  After his first day of school his teachers, principal, and parents didn't know why, but he screamed all day with his hands over his ears. When mom took him to school the next day, the screaming started right after breakfast when she said, "Let's get ready for school." Truth be told his mom said, he had these unexplained screaming episodes at home, too. It turns out John was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and epilepsy after a period of observation at my school and referral to a pediatric specialist. His hometown public school still said they 'were not equipped' to manage his behavior. After several weeks of screaming, we were able to get Josh to show us why he was screaming. He took us to one end of the hallway and pointed upwards toward the ceiling. And then someone flushed the toilet upstairs which sent Josh spiraling down the hallway, hands covering his ears, screaming, "No, No, No!"  After some very careful observations, we figured out that Josh was overly sensitive to and fearful of so many sounds!  A distant toilet flushing was just one sound he could hear when the rest of us just blocked the sound out.  A referral to a child psychologist for desensitization therapy made it possible for Josh to function in our school. But his hometown public school said after a trial visit that it would be impossible for them to control their school environment to the degree that Josh needed to calm his fears. Looking back, Josh likely fell somewhere on the autism spectrum.

 

     Both John and Josh progressed in their academics and behavior at our school after they were properly evaluated, diagnosed, and an individualized learning and behavior plan developed for them. However, efforts to return them to their own respective public schools took quite a bit of coaching, transition time, and effort.  The teachers and administrators required much professional development and 'attitudinal adjustment'. John and Josh and the other kids in my school made more progress than they did. John and Josh laughed, played and learned new academic and behavioral skills. They experienced success. We had a growing wait list for admission to our school, but a building that just was not large enough to accommodate the referrals coming our way.  At that time in history, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was still relatively new and just accomplishing placement in an educational program was still challenging, but achievable. Most public schools could find somewhere else, another school like the one in which I taught, to take care of the kids they couldn't or wouldn't educate. Placement in the least restrictive setting with a child's peers was still an ideal to strive for, but not always achieved.