Just sick! Service dog not allowed in school!

[Mayonnaise]

I know I wish I had been/was taking pills for my Dyslexia and I wish I had known what it was while in school so I didn't think I was just stupid and couldn't spell or read. But since I was not, then I am thankful for the "special" treatment I received from a teacher.

Then why would you deny that same special treatment to an autistic child because he isn't on pills either?

8^S

[PapaMouse]

Then why would you deny that same special treatment to an autistic child because he isn't on pills either?

8^S

I don't think you understand what I was saying.

I was in a private school, it was just a normal private school, but one teacher there took me aside each day and did special tutoring.

I wish I had gone to a special school it would have been a lot easier for me.

[felinefan]

The only problem I see with sending children to special schools because they have special needs is that kids can be very cruel--"Tommy has to go to retard school because he's a freak.", etc.. You can explain to kids until you're blue in the face about special needs and special schools, some will get it, but quite a few kids will continue to refer to little Timmy as a freak and the special school as the retard school. Kids will do that; it's frightening how they mirror adults in that they seem to have a need to cut others down to build themselves up.

[Mayonnaise]

I know I wish I had been/was taking pills for my Dyslexia and I wish I had known what it was while in school so I didn't think I was just stupid and couldn't spell or read. But since I was not, then I am thankful for the "special" treatment I received from a teacher.

I don't think you understand what I was saying.

What you were saying is that you had a mental disability in school, and were not on pills, but received help for it... which is precisely what you earlier said should not be allowed. Allow me to quote:

In short, if someone is going to gripe about their kid not getting special treatment for their illness, then the child should be on meds for that illness. That's what the meds are for.

If you were given special help in school without being on pills, and are thankfull for it, then why should other children who need help be denied it because they are not on pills either? Aughtent they be given just as much help as you were?

8^S

[PapaMouse]

What you were saying is that you had a mental disability in school, and were not on pills, but received help for it... which is precisely what you earlier said should not be allowed. Allow me to quote:

If you were given special help in school without being on pills, and are thankfull for it, then why should other children who need help be denied it because they are not on pills either? Aughtent they be given just as much help as you were?

8^S

I was THANKFUL for someone helping me, but I also said I WISH I had the meds.

[EeyoresButterfly]

You are right Felinefan. Unfortunately, kids will get teased just as much for going to a special school as they would in a normal classroom. Perhaps even more so because if the other kids have never been around special needs kids they are that much less likely to be accepting and understanding. I think I do see a more accepting attitude in younger generations who have been exposed to kids with special needs in their schools and have come to see them as real people. It's amazing what a personal connection will do to change your mind about a group of people.

I find in the schools now, those kids who have been in classes with a special needs child are much more tolerant and accepting than those kids who have not had special needs children in their classes. The kids at my school are wonderful with the special needs children. They play with them and accept them as one of the kids. There is a little girl who is nonverbal and confined to a wheelchair and has very little independent movement. The kids fight over who gets to push her in gym for laps, and they talk to her like she is any other child. Yes, I have seen kids teasing the kids with special needs, but these are the same kids who act out and tease their neurotypical peers as well. Every time the situation is handled and the teachers work hard to instill a sense of respect in students.

[Mayonnaise]

I was THANKFUL for someone helping me, but I also said I WISH I had the meds.

You're missing the point. If there is no medication for a problem, like there is no medication for dyslexia, then a child should be allowed to have the help even if they are not on pills. No one is denying dyslexics medication... there IS no medication that cures dyslexia. Likewise there IS no medication that cures autisim. So why should kids like Alex (remember Alex?) be denied help in the classroom?

8^S

[DisneyMom]

Hehe, as a nurse I can vouch for the fact that "medicated" does not always mean "better".

I will ask my son's doctor to continue to evaluate if Jamie would benefit from any medication....
but "calmer" won't erase his cognitive disabilities, or keep people from realizing that he is different....
The most I could hope for is that he will learn to stay away from the jerks!

[Zazu]

Really? Look up "The McMartin preschool trial" to see how much detail 4 and 5 year olds can make up.

Or ask me. I lived less than 50 yards from the school, and knew the McMartins, teachers, parents, police, and therapists involved. Major bad memories of it all.

Ah well, it did get me off jury duty last year. When during voir dire the asked if anyone on the panel had been involved in a school molestation case, I raised my hand and said McMartin. Even across the country, that was enough to make the judge's head snap and invite me straight up to the bench.

[Zazu]

I am suggesting that if a person has a mental problem, they should take medication to help with that problem. ... It is an illness and therefor requires medication.

Nope, you can't sell me that one.

There are many medical conditions for which there is no effective medication. There are also some for which the side effects of the meds are themselves disabling. Trust me, I've been on some of those.

I've seen a lot of kids who were overmedicated to avoid annoying their parents. They end up being dysfunctional adults, and begin to self-medicate as that's the only tool they know. And as others have mentioned in another thread, some (neurotypical) kids just need some rational discipline.

Ah, if only there *were* a pill for every disease. I wouldn't be up at 3am right now waiting for my CPH to calm down enough I could get some sleep!