We want to thank Terry for being the first ever interview for Equal Opportunities for Students. This was our first ever interview for our Food for Thought series.
You can find his interview here.
He has been working with students with disabilities for years, more specifically students on the autism spectrum. Two very important things Terry said during his interview were the need for individualized accommodations, and the way that schools look at punishing students with disabilities. First, there are a lot of schools, colleges, and universities that look to not offer accommodations to students, or look to limit the accommodations that students are able to receive. Many schools only offer certain accommodations, while the students may be entitled to more accommodations, or different accommodations entirely than the ones offered. Schools also occasionally attempt to limit academic options for students with disabilities, by telling the students they must go without their accommodations in higher level classes. This isn’t the way accommodations are supposed to work; students are supposed to get individualized accommodations for their disability, and be able to use theses accommodations in whatever classes they are taking. Second, many schools have an issue with using disproportionate punishment on students with disabilities. Many times, students with disabilities are harshly punished for behaviors that are directly connected to their disability. Students with disabilities disproportionately receive exclusionary punishment, compared to students who aren’t serviced by IDEA. There have also been multiple reports of students with disabilities, more specifically students on the autism spectrum, being punished through restraint or physical force. Students with disabilities being disproportionately punished is a common, and serious problem, but it is also a problem we can do something about? What is your experience with having a disability in public schools?