QUESTION: I have a seven-year-old child with hearing impairment and he just started to go to a SpEd center in a public school since we can’t afford to enroll him in a private special school. Upon seeing the facilities and condition of the said SpEd center, I realized that this may not be the best decision I made for my child. They just have one teacher who specializes in hearing impairment and she teaches several classes. And the facilities, well, it’s a public school. Yes, he may learn a few things but I’m afraid that the school will not bring out the best in my child and his potentials. However, he likes the school a lot because he already met some friends that he can relate with, , he has always been a sociable child. Should I pull him out of this center or let him stay?

Teacher Genevieve says: Our options for schooling for children with special needs remain to be limited. Sadly, many of the schools that have up-to-date facilities, responsive curricula, and an adequate number of competent teachers in the field of special education charge relatively high tuition fees. These are mostly private schools that invest in teacher training, accessibility infrastructure and specialized equipment which come at a high price.

The Department of Education (DepEd) statistics show that less than five percent of children with special needs have access to appropriate education.

In some cases, it may be the result of a lack of awareness with regards to the potential of children with special needs. Families may opt to keep their children at home, wrongly believing that children with disabilities are not capable of being educated and eventually becoming productive members of our society. Therefore, they are better kept at home and nurtured by the family, instead of being given the chance to attend school like any other child. At times, this kind of misconception is shared by the community as it fails to recognize the value of persons with disabilities. However, it is the RIGHT of EVERY child to be EDUCCATED, regardless of whether he has a special need or not.

ARE SCHOOLS FOR SPECIAL LEARNERS ACCESSIBLE?

The reality is that at large, public schools are not accessible to majority of children with disabilities, especially in the provinces wherein children have to walk miles to get to the nearest school. That is if they could walk. What if they are wheelchair-bound or blind? Moreover, not all public schools would accept children with special needs, citing lack of facilities and trained teachers to handle special learners.

There are SpEd Centers shared by several public schools that are in proximity to each other. Citing budget constraints and lack of other resources, even the SpEd Centers may not be adequately accessible as you have observed a need to improve on facilities and teacher specialization. On the other hand, private schools are not accessible to many of our special learners simply because their families cannot afford to pay for the tuition fees charged by these schools.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT: FILLING THE GAPS

I believe this is where parent involvement is most needed and plays a significant role in the education of a child with special needs. There would always be constraints — the tuition fee is too high, the facilities are outdated, there are not enough teachers who are trained, so on and so forth. With special learners, finding the right fit between the child and the school can also be quite a challenge. Even with enough financial resources, it is not a guarantee that your child will receive the best education possible appropriate to his unique needs. The only guarantee you have is that YOU are committed to giving your child every opportunity to be his best in spite of the constraints.

I have seen the greatest progress and success in children with special needs whose families are most involved in their child’s education. Regardless of the severity of the child’s condition, the child reaches his optimum potential when his family is behind him all the way, setting high but realistic expectations!

It is wonderful that your child likes the school where he is in because he has already met some friends. The social environment he enjoys is not something you can create nor force upon him. He has made some friends on his own and this, in itself, is a milestone. In special education, we put a premium on discovering the child’s strengths and building on them. Knowing that he has great interpersonal skills, you should nurture this strength and find ways to use this strength to build on his other skills as it affects his development in the other domains — language, cognitive and adaptive areas of development.

To answer your question of whether or not you should pull him out, allow me to ask you — “What are your other options?”

Considering financial constraints and the way he has adjusted socially to his new school, I think the best option would be to stay and fill-in the gaps. The following suggestions may help:

•Learn sign language. The inability to communicate is the greatest barrier to learning and development for children who are hearing impaired. Learning to sign will strengthen the bond between you and your child and aid you in teaching him lessons he needs to learn.

• Teach him according to his abilities, even way beyond what he learns in school. Find a curriculum appropriate to his level of ability. If he is performing at the preparatory or grade 1 level, there are homeschool graded curricula available online or in bookstores, or graded series books in the basic subjects like Math, Reading & English. Do not be limited with what the school teaches, but progress at the pace of your child.

•Partner with your son’s teacher. Home-school collaboration is a “best practice” in the education of all children. Establishing a healthy partnership with your son’s teacher will help you address his needs together. Education is a shared responsibility between you and the school.

The author is the executive director of ALRES-PHILS. and the chairperson of the SPED Department of Miriam College. A pediatric physiotherapist and special educator, she is currently pursuing her doctorate studies majoring in Special Education at U.P. Diliman. She is a staunch advocate for children with special needs. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask our SPED specialists. Just send your queries to youth@mb.com.ph