I could say a lot about Pauline Hanson's latest comments regarding removing children with autism from mainstream schools. I could say it completely vilifies all people on the spectrum. I could say that it's a completely archaic way of thinking. I could say that her thoughts on the subject are ignorant and fuelled by her prejudice, like the rest of her political platform. And all of those statements would be absolutely true.
But I'm going to share with you, my own schooling experience and hopefully dispel some of the myths and misconceptions that surround people on the autism spectrum in regards to education. Because being an adult on the autism spectrum, who spent time in both integrated and segregated systems, makes me one of the few people qualified to talk about it.
![As an adult on the autism spectrum who spent time in both integrated and segregated systems, Mitchell Adams feels ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170623232320im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/q/1/2/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwweax.png/1498114728790.jpg)
I will admit that I was a handful and a half in primary school. I was loud, had trouble socialising, and needed a little extra help in math and English classes. There were times where I became overwhelmed and suffered "meltdowns" in the middle of the classroom. But then again, other children in my classes had similar episodes, and they were not on the spectrum.
However, I do not believe that I was ever too much for my brilliant teachers to handle. These were dedicated educators after all. All of whom would handle as many as 20 or more children, each with different educational needs, in their classrooms. The very idea that someone who spends their days trying to reign in and educate that many kids, each with their own individual needs, will suddenly struggle to do so when a child on the spectrum placed in their class is not only absurd, it's insulting to the teacher.
I'm not going to lie; I was very fortunate regarding my primary education. My parents lobbied the government hard to provide my school with the funding to provide my classrooms with integration aids, which were a godsend.
My teachers had taken the time and the effort to try to structure their lessons in a way that would hopefully suit not just me, but every student in class. I excelled in primary school in every way. I wouldn't say I got high marks, but I was far from the bottom of my class. I had a large circle of friends, and I participated in activities, such as school camping trips and school plays.
Secondary school, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. To be frank, the environment in my secondary school wasn't just toxic for me, but was toxic for all the students who attended. It was a new school that was going through a lot of growing pains and employed teachers who did not show one tenth of the dedication of my primary teachers.
I had gone from an environment where all children were given all the tools needed to succeed and excel, to an environment where very few cared about any student's educational needs. Not surprisingly I floundered in this school. And quite frankly, I think a lot of students not on the spectrum floundered there as well. And this was the extent of my mainstream education.
After three years of being bullied to the point that I began contemplating suicide, my parents decided to take me out of the integrated system at the age of 15 and into the segregated system. A teacher at the secondary school had found an organisation that took on all manner of children with disabilities and promised to help me reach my full potential. Want to know what I did on my first day at this "special needs school?" We played hide and seek and painted pictures. I am not joking.
In my experience, segregated education for children on the autism spectrum is nothing but glorified daycare. And the fact that some people felt that I should be somewhere like that instead of actually being educated was the greatest insult to my intelligence and pride that I have ever experienced.
Pauline Hanson's comments in the Senate regarding children on the autism spectrum and other disabilities being placed in some form of a segregated educational environment are sadly nothing new. But I can say from my own experience, that as difficult as it was being in the integrated system at times, I would never have received the level of education I enjoyed had I been placed in any kind of segregated system permanently. More importantly, I think my teachers and my fellow students would have missed out on the lessons they learnt having me in their class. Namely, tolerance, patience, inclusion, and understanding. Three lessons Pauline Hanson obviously never learnt when she was in school.
Mitchell Adams is a Victorian writer.
0 comments
New User? Sign up