They said “sike” to my brother’s diploma. Throughout all of schooling, he had received help by being a student with “special needs” as someone with Autism and ADHD among other cognitive impairments. He had received help with his schooling, being a part of homeroom class with adjusted materials and grading as many resources as the school could offer (sometimes inadequate). I had been helping him out with work as a “bridge-buddy” in middle school and a “link” in high school, as well as the various para-pros and students volunteering.
However, he had expressed interest in other classes, ones “not meant to be taken by such students” (according to those teachers/supervisors); their reason being that he couldn’t complete them on his own or they didn’t have someone to watch him. He has been labeled “high functioning” (despite controversial labeling) and very well could take such classes (for example, business management, graphic design, photography, or CIT training). He’d been taking general education classes (adjusted workload, to only grade if completed, based on effort) and over COVID, when we were quarantined, we’d been in the same history and sociology class.
In short, he’d completed similar courses before, and can take similar courses in the future, without supervision and minimal help. Although he had a different grading scale, he put in the work and thoroughly thought through everything. He barely needed my help. And when para-pros were involved, they infantilized him (as many admin often did at his IEP meetings saying he wasn’t “high enough” functioning) or neglected his needs over another students; sometimes even becoming a “link” himself, to other students in his class when the teachers were neglectful of more severely disabled students. Photography was an example of a class he was allowed to take, where the para-pro would sit on the sidelines most of the time whilst my brother helped the other student with Autism just to pass. He found it easy and had fun exploring new skills (he got to use my Canon rebel T6).
The fact of the matter was, he wanted the opportunity to take such classes even if he needed more time, and he wasn’t often given it. Just because he was like the kids in his class, doesn’t mean he had the exact same needs and communication was incredibly inadequate, so much so that after his 4 years of work, he was not given what he was promised (to our knowledge, we were all surprised and confused on graduation day). In the end, his grades didn’t seem to matter since he was given a “certificate of attendance” without notice. There was the impression that he was getting a diploma or “certificate of completion” but instead, was given a “certificate of attendance” which is not usually accepted at universities (some exceptions are made at community colleges, though it limits his ability to receive financial aid).
He wants to pursue game design, and handy with technology. There were classes just like that in the high school we went to, however, he was barred from them due to admin’s concerns and lack of support from para-pros. Now, being forced to work toward a GED without help (he was put into a SKILL program, meant to prepare him for job searching and oriented toward his needs, as well as preparing students socially). They haven’t met expectations outlined in his IEP, to find a program to enroll in to get a GED or job searching, according to him, the teachers hadn’t spoken about it once since March, instead focusing on the more severely disabled (though understandable due to their needs, at least some effort would’ve been expected toward him, a list of programs to start with would’ve been nice).
Communication is minimal on his end, and ours. The situation is unfair due to promises never met and continually ignored, for so long that we’ve had to take matters into our own hands, searching and interviewing for jobs where he landed one (on his own!) in retail. They may not have thought it wasn’t unfair, just too late to adjust due to a lack of communication; considering the caseload they have and student to teacher ratio is high, he may have gotten lost in the sauce (so to speak), so now he must work harder (as he always had to) and for longer. Since it has been pushed aside for so long, there aren’t any repercussions. Others may not be as ambitious as they would be fine with just “getting by” or never being given a voice to begin with. He isn’t full of himself, he doesn’t think he’s better than everyone else, his dreams are within reach.
This whole situation (these last 4 months) has been full of frustration and a desperate jump to complete certifications required to attempt to learn the material he wants to master for a career. He’s had to make his wants clear and persevere, willing to put in the work to do it, because that is his passion. I think any with disabilities would be able to pursue great heights and achieve the goals they desire; however, they need the resources and opportunities to do so. They already must work harder to meet expectations; an allocation of resources is necessary in any capacity for those needing accommodation.
If things went differently, the high school admin would have communicated better on the endgame for his certification and explained what that meant. If things went differently, his needs would be met individually by those available when they asserted, they would do so. If this was not possible, if things went differently, he would’ve been enrolled somewhere else where he would be accommodated for, the state funding for his education by being disabled would be better used (approximately $6,900 on top of regular state and federal funding for students aged 6-27 in Michigan). He also could have gotten an extended school year, even an extra one, to actually receive a diploma, had they given him that opportunity.
