Nov 7, 2018, Otago Daily Times: Some answers on special needs https://www.odt.co.nz/news/school-news/some-answers-special-needs Over the next four years, the Government will invest $217million in a new workforce of educational professionals, who will work alongside teachers, parents and other professionals, to ensure children with diverse learning needs get the support they need to learn. However, principals have raised concerns about whether the new LSC roles will be purely administrative or include classroom work with special needs pupils, whether they will be fulltime or part-time positions, if the roles will be filled by trained teachers or teacher aides, and if placement of the 600 co-ordinators will be decided using a roll-based or needs-based system. Ms Martin said it was still early, but was able to confirm LSCs would not be sitting in the classroom helping children with their learning, on a day-to-day basis. Rather, they would deliver a series of screening tools for dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and those children on the very mild end of the autism spectrum. They would also support and provide advice to teachers and teacher aides on how to work with particular children in the classroom…. She said the positions would not be implemented until the start of 2020, by which time it was hoped the teacher shortage would be rectified…. ''We should be looking at schools where 30% or more of their roll have complex or moderate learning needs….
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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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