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We want to hear from you: please tell us about your experience of the online community.

Does education need transforming for disabled young people?

Chloe_Alumni

Today (12th August) is International Youth Day. It’s an awareness day chosen by the United Nations, with the purpose to draw attention to cultural and legal issues surrounding youth.

This year, the theme is around transforming education. They are wanting to make education more widely and freely available to people around the world.

The United Nation said:

This year’s theme highlights efforts to make education more inclusive and accessible for all youth, including efforts by youth themselves.
Inclusive and accessible education is crucial to achieving sustainable development and can play a role in the prevention of conflict.

On the community, we are wanting to discuss the accessibility within education, and whether it is suitable for disabled people.

What was your educational experiences like? Would you improve access within the educational system? Let us know in the comments below!

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Comments

Ails

Despite missing a lot of school due to various operations, my experience of it on the whole was good. I did have to change primary schools at one point when I was due to go upstairs to the other classrooms and was told that I couldn't and would have to change schools as I would be "a fire hazard", this upset me as all my friends were at my school, but I made new friends at the other school. I then had to go onto a different secondary school from my other friends due to the local secondary schools having stairs also. Thankfully things have changed now and some schools are more accessible for people with mobility issues. I think that all access in every area of education should be improved and a requirement for every disabled young person. Everyone should have fair and safe access to education.

dolfrog

The UK education system is not inline with human brain development and brain maturation.
Formal education should begin from the age of brain maturation 7 - 8 years of age, as happens in the leading global education systems such as in Finland.
Our system of formal education starts at age 5 or even younger, such is the corrupt nature of those who run the UK education system.
Those who due to their genetic nature develop some neurological skills later than others before the age of 7 - 8 years of age are discriminated against by our current education system, and this also include those who may have some clinical disabilities which contribute to and some consider to be learning disabilities, especially those who may need to develop and use alternative compensating skills and abilities to work around their various information processing limitations.
Basically the education system needs to be built around the learning needs of children and not the limited skills of teachers.
And there also needs to be facilities for those who may have various mobility issues.

Chloe_Alumni

Thank you for that @Ails, I too think that it's so important to have access to education and I'm glad you were able to access education. I can certainly understand being annoyed that you were away from friends!

That's so interesting @dolfrog! I know there are certain improvements that could be made.

dolfrog

Hi @Chloe_Scope
you could have a look at my PubMed "Brain Development and Maturation" research paper collection, it took me quite a while to read some of those papers lol
The first paper I read in this collection took me months to read "The Basics of Brain Development" Which helps to explain why some disabilities can only be diagnosed at specific ages due to human development.

dolfrog

Elsey66 said:

My eldest child has autism and learning difficulties. He was given one to one support throughout primary and secondary but decided he'd like to go to college to pursue fashion. He's had no support and has subsequently failed his first year. He's taken it badly and now has to repeat a level 1 course in a different subject. The college were aware of his difficulties . He's been with Camhs from a young age but the older he gets, the less support is given. Its upsetting that he's not progressing in mainstream at this stage because he was so excited at the beginning. On the plus side he's learned to be more independent but unfortunately, academically he hasn't had enough help.

Our 3 sons all have a clinically diagnosed form of Auditory Processing Disorder, a listening disability, ot the brain having problems processing what the ears hear, which can also be an underlying cognitive cause of the dyslexia symptom. The eldest 2 got no support from their schools, and even less from their further education colleges which could be described as disability discrimination. Our youngest got no support in primary school only disability victimisation, however after the best clinical diagnosis from Great Ormond Street Hospital he gained some help from his secondary school, and some help from the local college. The next problem is finding a career option that best suites his talents and accommodates his limitations, which has been a real problem for his older brothers.

Those who work in the education system all need to be adequately trained to understand and support those who may have various types of information processing and learning issues

Tobias

Elsey66 said:

My eldest child has autism and learning difficulties. He was given one to one support throughout primary and secondary but decided he'd like to go to college to pursue fashion. He's had no support and has subsequently failed his first year. He's taken it badly and now has to repeat a level 1 course in a different subject. The college were aware of his difficulties . He's been with Camhs from a young age but the older he gets, the less support is given. Its upsetting that he's not progressing in mainstream at this stage because he was so excited at the beginning. On the plus side he's learned to be more independent but unfortunately, academically he hasn't had enough help.

I'm a 51yr old adult with zero support...My son is 18yrs old...Goes to college and receives minimal ,if any support..

Autism as an adult,as far as i can tell is pretty much non existent..via government channels...Im at the early stages of looking so you may find something i havent yet.

newborn

Elsey i have no idea of the circumstances, but it was once possible for a parent to accompany a child with particular needs, when the school could not reasonably have achieved a full time specialist one to one. In fact, for certain children, any non-family outsiders, specialist or not, are more than the child can manage.

It's all very well for the education authorities to assume that children are being home schooled, but there are certain situations where a child can benefit from being exposed to the classroom system, protected by having mother right there. Different solutions work for different children.

As you know, and as the general public is starting to realise, even the academic side may be well within the abilities of non-typical students.

(Or, they are in some cases able to surpass peers, if only they have an individualized boost to start, and adjustments as they continue. For example, even as adults, many people find noise and crowds difficult, so it needs a few tweaks in the school system to shield certain pupils from being required to rush out of a classroom at exactly the same time as his rowdiest classmates.

One teacher requested a volunteer to be appointed as her permanent assistant, with the job of helping her tidy up for a few minutes after lessons. Various hands went up, but she 'just happened to notice' the one she knew needed the 'job'. Later, if ever there were times that child looked a bit worried by the turmoil in the playground, the clever teachers would find a sudden need for him to take a note to the school office, or fetch a book or something. )

April2018mom

I’m a mom of a 2 year old disabled son. In September, I want him to start informal education part time. Every month I set him five goals to achieve. I honestly believe he will thrive if he does not go to school. We are a homeschooling family. He does not have any learning disabilities I am aware of. The schools in my area are hit and miss in terms of the quality of education and levels of homework. I checked out two and was not happy.

supermummy1990

there is know where near a enough support for children that need it my little girl cant read or right at learning time shes so distracted she wonders off she falls over every day on the play ground and easily loosing her temper as cant express emotion but what has been done to help her send me a senco report and said hurry with getting a diagnosis as cant do anything before that most of whats been happening other children told me and when school was asked they comfirmed it to be true

[Deleted User]

I see things haven't changed since my school days then.. And probably never will, smh @ a government that hates and will not support disabled people.