Jan 16, 2018, Marble Head, MA, Local Wicked: Calls for more inclusion come as school budget cuts deepen in Marblehead http://marblehead.wickedlocal.com/news/20190116/calls-for-more-inclusion-come-as-school-budget-cuts-deepen-in-marblehead Experts say goal should be 100 percent of students in gen ed classrooms Kate Bailey Roeser hopes more than anything that her 9-year-old son, who has autism, will be able to return to Marblehead schools in a few years. “Absolutely. We want him back in the district,” she said. “He really would benefit from being with his neurotypical peers. I hope the district can make strides towards inclusion.” Bailey Roeser had to move her son, whom she asked not to identify, out of the ACCESS special education program at the Glover School last May, when it became clear the class wasn’t meeting his needs. The boy, who is in second grade, now attends the Hopeful Journeys School in Beverly. Bailey Roeser was one of many parents, teachers, and community leaders who came to hear inclusion expert and consultant Dr. Maura Hart on Jan. 9 at Marblehead High School. Hart is a strong proponent of educating special needs kids in general education classrooms, saying it not only benefits all students but saves money, too. “Inclusion education is absolutely doable,” Hart said. “Thirty years of research shows we can include kids with the most significant disabilities. The goal should be to include 100 percent of children in gen ed classrooms.”… Out-of-district costs jumped more than $800,000 this year to $3,787,411. After deep budget cuts impacting everything from textbooks to staff, the School Committee reduced the deficit to $531,411 as of Jan. 10. More cuts are expected…. According to SEPAC’s interpretation of district data, 64 percent of IEP students in grades K-12 are in full inclusion. Forty-four students are being sent out of district. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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