"A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step" - Confucius

"The Team recommends that C remain in an inclusive setting for the upcoming school year."

While to many these words have little meaning, for our family it is a testament to how far we have come. Just last year, there was question as to whether or not C could thrive in an inclusive setting. Data was recorded, showing that his attention span and need for prompting and redirection was likely more than could be handled in a classroom with "typical" peers.

Hearing that my child may not have the necessary tools to be successful in an inclusive classroom is heart wrenching. It is one more notch on the belt indicating that my child is "different". It leaves me wondering what that means for the future. It feels as if I am conceding to the diagnosis, deflating the hope I mustered that we could work through the diagnosis, and pave the path to an independent life. Taking away the typical classroom setting also felt like we were beginning the first steps of training our son for a life of dependance, and it seemed like it was just too soon to throw in the towel.

We questioned the placement, we requested a visit to the Self-Contained classroom, we called upon everyone we had met along our journey and asked for advice, guidance, and the strength to call into question a decision we had no part in making. We made our case, and we were able to move C to his home school, where a Self-Contained placement was not an option. We began a journey where in our hearts we knew our child would succeed, but felt the ever present nag of going against the judgement of our team. We prayed that our instinct was more insightful than our teams' decades of experience.

And yesterday, our instinct proved to be not only true, but also a reliable guide as we continue our journey. C was able to master all of his goals from his IEP, he was able to do so in a typical classroom setting, with typical peers. He has a schedule full of transitions, many different teachers, and he succeeded with grace and dignity.

When I think about our journey thus far, I am filled with such pride, for my boy who we were told was on the severe end of the spectrum. A boy who fought to unveil his inner personality, and trust those around him to experience the joyful, caring, charismatic, social, and intelligent boy that he is.  He showed that data is just data, and if given the proper tools, in a setting that is conducive and considerate of his needs, he can thrive, and grow, and prosper. He can begin to pave his way to his life of success and independence.

Thinking over the words "The Team recommends that C remain in an inclusive setting for the upcoming school year", takes my breath away. It is the equivalent of hope, of success, of equality. It means that C is up for the challenge. That he is not willing to be a victim of a diagnosis, that he is willing and ready to work for acceptance and equality. It means that we can trust that we have a team that is also ready to challenge themselves and C to work towards our shared goal of equality and independence, while also maximizing his educational experience. The path to those goals may be different from the rest, but we know in our hearts that it is possible.

An inclusive classroom is not the best learning environment for all children. There are children who require the attention, small classroom size, and additional tools, accommodations and services that a Self-Contained classroom provide. While we fought for an inclusive setting for C, we did so with careful consideration, calculation, and guidance from professionals. This educational setting works now for C, and unfortunately we cannot predict whether it will continue to be C's LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). I strongly feel, however, that all children should first have access to an inclusive educational setting, as we cannot rightfully determine a child's best educational setting, without giving a child the opportunity to learn and socialize with "typical" peers. With the recommendation for C to be placed in the Self-Contained classroom, that the Team initially made, we felt that C was not given the fair and legal opportunity to try to learn alongside his "typical" peers. For that reason, we questioned his placement. Again, we knew in our hearts, and our instinct screamed at us, to continue to question the recommendation. But as we have learned along the way, each child is different, and their abilities shine through in their own unique way and in their own unique environment. We have an IEP, which by definition, is an Individualized Education Plan. No two children learn in the same way, and this needs to be considered when drafting your IEP.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing IEP Team. While we know there will come a time where we will disagree, we have created a relationship of respect and I am so thankful for the hard work, dedication, and out of the box planning and brainstorming sessions. Each and every member of our Team holds a special place in our hearts, and we are so thankful to each of you.