Disabled learners are being pulled out of WA (West Australian) schools by their parents at an alarming rate. This has been instigated by their concerns that their children are not getting optimal classroom support.
Disability campaigners have asserted that inappropriate resourcing has been witnessed in WA schools. This has been detrimental because of the failure of many vulnerable learners.
WA schools make disabled students desperate
The lack of considerable resourcing for disabled students has instigated desperation among many of them.
For instance, William Antony, an autistic student, was pulled out of Broome Senior High School by his parents at the beginning of this year. This happened after he started depicting aggressive and violent tendencies, especially towards his mother.
William usually left house contented and happy, but he would come home agitated later in the day. As a result, an amicable solution was necessitated and his father, Kevin Anthony, decided to work with him at a Broome truck yard.
Notably, this arrangement may seem heartwarming as significant bondage between an autistic son and his father, but it was prompted by desperation.
WA schools’ inadequate classroom arrangement
Andrea Anthony, William’s mother, proclaimed that her son might have developed aggressive habits because disabled learners were being taught in adjacent classrooms to students possessing severe behavioral challenges.
Moreover, she stated that an outdoor area was shared and this could have considerably exposed William to violent altercations. Andrea noted that the school environment that William was accustomed to was not as friendly as it comprised of bullying and thug tendencies.
The idea by William’s parents to keep him out of school was instigated by their urge to provide him with a safe environment where aggressive behaviors could be thwarted.
Many WA school parents have been forced to have their children homeschooled.
According to Samantha Jenkinson, the executive director of People With Disabilities WA, she has worked with nearly forty (40) families from WA who have been made to make their children stay at home as compared to going to school.
Across the world, various concerns have been raised about disabled students. For instance, in Delhi, India, schools have been told that they do not have the right to refuse special needs students.
Conversely, various strategies have been availed to assist students with disabilities.
