I took her on but found that teaching a seriously hearing impaired person is one of the hardest things I have ever attempted. I encouraged the family to organise to seek more specialised help. We just did not have the skills nor the resources to do justice to this child.
This week I read a report from the NSW government about schools taking into their mainstream classes students with various forms of learning difficulties and in particular autistic children. I understand why the parents want these children in the mainstream and agree with this practice if the school has the staff trained to manage such situations and still give all the other children their best shot at a comprehensive education. The report tabled practices to manage these children that it described as totally inappropriate and in some cases abusive to the individual student.
Some of the criticised practices smacked of desperate teachers trying to manage without having the full array of skills to do so. My concern is that schools may feel pressured to mainstream say fairly severe autistic students in sympathy with what is deemed standard practice the days. Nobody is a winner in such situations, especially not the students and their parents.
I will probably be labelled politically and ethically incorrect for showing sympathy for the sincere teachers who just could not manage to provide a full education for these children. Human and other resources must be at their optimum if a school is to take on such students in the mainstream. Principals should have the discretion to resist mainstreaming such students if they do not have the resources. Principals need to to be brave in this for the good of the students and should not be subject to unwarranted criticism by the resource providers who have not come to the party. Hopefully the affected parents would agree.
May the Force be with you!
GD
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