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Eve (name changed, known to the editorial board) wants to send her 10-year-old son, who has an autism spectrum disorder, to a general education school where a special class is formed.
To enter a specially formed class in a general education school, a special assessment of educational needs must be submitted by the Pedagogical Psychological Service (PPT).
For Eve’s son, such an assessment was made. According to him, according to a PPT psychologist, a family can really request a special class. But not everything is that simple.
Two schools in Vilnius, where special classes are formed, would be suitable for fifth-grade students, but neither can enter.
“When I started to get interested, one of these was already full in Lazdynai, although it is only the beginning, the class for autistic people has already been formed. At the Mindaugas school (King Mindaugas – ed.), I received very strange letters that it is very unfortunate that there are three children and that the class will not be formed ”, the child’s mother shares her experience.
After receiving negative responses from schools, the woman ran in the Vilnius municipality. However, even here the answer to what to do in such a situation was not received. As Eve says, it reminded her of possible home schooling.
Still, she doesn’t think that training will benefit her son. Unable to find where else to turn, the boy’s mother contacted 15 minutes phraseology.
Space was lacking in one place and there was no choice in another
Vilnius King Mindaugas School 15 minutes confirmed that a special class will not be formed this year due to the small number of students.
A special class needs 6 children, so with two children, no one will actually open the class because they are funding.
The director of the Ramutė Pilauskaitė school says that last year, five children were in the fourth special class. Three of them will study in a general classroom from September, after a reevaluation of the Pedagogical Psychological Service (PPT). They no longer need individual training. Another student went to another school.
“A special class needs 6 children, so with two children, nobody will really open the class because they are financing. A child will be integrated if he stays with us and the parents decide that we can integrate him into the general education class.
If the parents decide that it is too difficult for him in the general education classroom, then the parents have the option of choosing which school to take the child to. As there are no more special classes, we really cannot accept additional students from abroad ”, explains the school principal about the situation.
Vilnius Lazdynai school administration reported that a special class for children with autism spectrum disorders had already been formed at the school, there are no more vacancies. The boy’s mother received the same response.
Special classes formed in other Vilnius city schools are not suitable for Ieva’s son. They are aimed at children with behavioral and emotional disorders or children with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities.
He suggests applying to the Pedagogical Psychological Service.
PPT specialists who have responded to this situation say that in this case, the family can contact them and seek a joint solution.
“We will consult, advise and meditate,” says PPT psychologist Irina Blažienė.
She agrees that it is not possible to form a special class with 1-2 children, but there are other solutions.
“It just came to our attention then. You can be in the classroom, but have individual lessons with a special educator, speech therapist, with a separate teacher, have a teaching assistant. There are possibilities that are regulated by law,” – I. Blažienė teaches a possible solution.
She says that new classes could also be formed, but so far there is no such need.
Photo from 123RF.com/School
Aims to educate everyone together
Vilna Deputy Mayor Vytautas Mitalas, commenting on this specific situation, says that admission to schools and staffing is still in progress, making it too early to say that the class did not meet in schools.
Although it seems that the situation in the aforementioned Vilnius King Mindaugas School will not change and the class for children with autism spectrum disorders will not be formed.
However, if there are not enough children in the classroom, there are possible exceptions, says V.Mitalas. At the end of admission to general education schools, a special group is formed in the municipality to consider these exceptional cases.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Vytautas Mitalas
“In this case, the group can be formed smaller. It is clear that then the municipality itself can start an interview with a particular school about the good conditions for that student. If we really have the physical conditions and the provision of support professionals educational, with the possibility of teaching it in shared classrooms.
There is such a group. In any case, he will make decisions and consult with his parents, ”says V.Mitalas.
However, V.Mitalas views special classes only as a means of preparing a child to attend general education classes. It will endeavor to maintain the number of such classes in the city.
“Each case is delicate and different, there may be cases where transition periods are needed. Education is needed in smaller groups, in separate groups. Not all Vilnius schools have enough space to guarantee this.
But that should really be the exception, but not the rule. It should be the case that all Vilnius students, and especially those needing additional educational assistance, would have access to educational assistance, ”says V.Mitalas.
The son does not want to be allowed in the general class.
Therefore, parents may consider allowing the child to enter a general education class together with all students. But the boy’s mother says that because of the noise in the big class, it would be difficult for her son to study, he could be scared, angry, becoming aggressive.
“We were in first grade in Jerusalem [Jeruzalės vidurinėje mokykloje – red.]Two months later he told us: take the boy, we will not work with him. I got a call from the principal about home schooling, ”remembers my mother.
We were in first grade in Jerusalem, two months later they told him to take a child, we will not work with him.
For these reasons, a special class in a general education school is, according to Ieva, the best solution: a safe solution for both the child and the parents. In such a class, the child would receive appropriate care and professional help while learning, and at the same time could interact with other children at school.
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