I came across this interview with Pegi Young put together by kids from The Bridge School which is known for teaching specialized communication for children who are experiencing global or developmental delays in speech. Here's another interview with their famous supporter, Rock-n-roll legend Neil Young. Looky here!
The interview is a reminder that however we as a society either perceive or define as "loss" or "disability" will be our kid's only handicap in life. It is also a reminder that survival is a gift. A blessing. And that as parents we have a direct responsibility to teach our children all the survival skills they need for their future regardless how they come into this world.
Since no one can prepare us for this journey, it is even more important for parents to educate themselves about different teaching aides, methodologies, and technologies that will help children access their right to a special education according to their ability.
How parents go about accessing these resources will vary depending on each child's ability or special diagnosis. Generally, it's best to find the advocacy organization in town once a medical diagnosis is identified by a medical professional. Just google in the name of the "diagnosis" and "Cincinnati" and "advocacy" and start there.
Every community should have a Bridge School. But we don't. I think the closest thing we have in Cincinnati is the Perlman Center. The therapists at Perlman provide evaluations that will determine the best technologies for child's ability.
If your child is not following a typical pattern of cognition development, MR/dd schools are geared for non-curriculum track. Also try the Springer School which is a private school on the eastside of Cincinnati focusing on learning disabilities.
We must also pay attention to what our politicians are doing. Schools that are having difficulty passing tax levies in communities already paying high property taxes are schools that are in need of strong advocacy. So it is very important that we sound the bell educating our representatives at the local, state, and federal levels of government to make sure our children are not lost in the financially drained mainstream schools. We need to hold these politicians accountable. We need to hold the schools accountable.
Make sure you know who these people are.
