To Whom it May Concern at the NSW Wales Department of Education,
I had looked forward to reading the new New South Wales Department of Education “Disability Strategy” document, particularly because I knew that there had been consultations with advocacy groups that I know would have represented the needs and rights of disabled students well.
Content note: In this article I discuss ways that the state education system where I live hasn’t worked for my children, and why. I talk about chn=anges I’d like to se made, and how we can all help contribute to making those changes.
Content Note: this post contains the transcript of the speech I gave at the NSW Parliament House in August 2017, to address concerns about the loss of advocacy funding in our state.
Content note: this article discusses some challenges to accessibility for autistic people and challenges whether people want inclusion enough o seek out the information to make it happen in the right places.
Content note: In this article I explain why I don’t like or use the term “special needs” and why I don’t see the needs I have as a disabled persona s being “special”.
TW: some readers will find the content of this article distressing. It references stories of abuse of disabled children within educational settings.
Inclusion is a bit of a buzz word, I guess. It is thrown around to assure everyone that schools are supportive and understanding of students with extra support needs.
In conversation with an old high school friend I was asked about my thoughts on inclusion in the classroom. I responded that answering that would take me some time and I would get back to him. I had been thinking a lot about this, as during 2014 two of my autistic children left mainstream schooling, opting to do their learning at home.
