Jan 23, 2019, Disability Scoop: School Day Shortened For Hundreds With Disabilities, Suit Claims https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2019/01/23/school-day-shortened/25929/ The parents of children with autism and other developmental disabilities are suing the state of Oregon over claims that the children are being deprived of an education through shortened school days. The plaintiffs, parents of four children, represent hundreds of students in Oregon who are removed from classrooms and schools because of their disability-related behaviors, according to Joel Greenberg, lead attorney for Disability Rights Oregon, one of four advocacy groups that filed the federal class action lawsuit Tuesday. Greenberg said the problem is common across the U.S., particularly in rural or smaller school districts, and that this is believed to be the first lawsuit to focus on shortened class time. “Local school districts continue to violate the law by not providing a free and appropriate education and most importantly, the behavioral supports the students need,” Greenberg said. “The fix requires an understanding of their disabilities, their behavioral triggers and interventions adults should learn.” Some children as young as 5 years old receive just one or two hours of instruction a day from public school districts in Oregon, either in a separate classroom at school or tutoring in their homes, Greenberg said. … At least 50 percent of the children receiving shortened instruction time have autism and most are boys, Greenberg said. Their classroom behaviors have included an inability to sit in chairs for extended periods or refusing to do certain tasks. Others disrupt classes by yelling or making noises. Some of the older children have displayed physical aggression in the classroom. “The answer is not to keep a child out of school but to come up with the proper support and techniques they need,” Greenberg said. The lawsuit describes the cases of several children with autism: … Some of the children are nearly illiterate or unable to complete simple math problems by the seventh or eighth grade. Others are academically talented but unable to make friends or maintain friendships, Greenberg said. … The shortened educational time violates the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevent exclusion and discrimination of students in schools, according to the lawsuit. …
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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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