A court obliges to school an autistic child with high abilities in an ordinary school | Society
The illusion of Óscar, of 11 years and diagnosed of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is to be a videogame programmer and, if he can, go to university, but, for now, his workhorse is to be integrated into Torrent public school. There he goes two days to class while the next three attend a special education center that has not been satisfactory for the child, says his father, Juan Diego Rodríguez, who took the case to court. The court has just sentenced and forces the Generalitat to school the child in an ordinary school.
Óscar's father moved him halfway through Primary to a public school in the Valencian town where they live, but there was no place in the Communication and Language classroom (CyL) of the center and the youngest began to give classes with support. Oscar sometimes showed disruptive behavior (aggression, especially), as his father explains, because to school bullying that he suffered before. They were not enough and in 2016 the Valencian Administration opted for a combined schooling of two days in its ordinary school and three in one special education.
Two courses later, the formula does not seem to work with him. The child has high abilities, takes the course forward and has not repeated. Students who have shared class with him remember his incredible ease and speed to do mathematical calculations. "Its main obstacle is the relational one, it's what it costs the most", says his father. "We have noticed regression in some aspects, being with children who have a greater affectation, he imitates his classmates in the special center, he sees it funny and repeats it and when he returns to the ordinary classroom he highlights his difference more. in the specific education center they do mostly recreational activities, so they end up resisting doing their homework regardless of their capacity ", Rodríguez explained.
Tired of the fact that the Valencian Administration did not respond to the request that his son attend school full-time at Federico Maicas public school in Torrent, he filed a complaint for violation of the right to education and equality. "We want the 2008 UN Convention to be applied, which establishes the right of all people to quality inclusive education," adds Sandra Casas, an advocate for Action for Social Justice and defender of Óscar. "The usual dynamic of children with diversity is that they are expelled from the ordinary system because they do not receive support for lack of resources when they have the right to be in the cabbages of their neighborhoods," he continues.
A court of the contentious-administrative of Valencia forces to the Valencian Education Council "to adopt the necessary measures so that the child can be schooled in a center of ordinary education". The sentence is not firm, but it makes clear that the combined schooling "is not justified and involves discrimination and a violation of the fundamental rights of the plaintiff," reads the text.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," stresses the father. "The importance of all this is that if you do not pass it to your regular school with the necessary support staff, you could force Oscar, if there are no resources in the secondary school to which he must go, continue his studies in a specific center full time".
"I know cases of many parents who have convinced them that their children can not continue in an ordinary school and people, out of ignorance, out of fear or many times because this is a battle of years, breaks and gives its arm to twist, when the children could study perfectly in their usual classroom with the support of the right staff, it's a shame ", concludes Rodríguez.
The counseling does not yet know the sentence but ensures that it has followed the recommendations of the school psycho-pedagogical services "for the best inclusion and student learning." "It was considered that the student could receive a better personalized attention and that there would be a better coexistence among the whole educational community, in any case, what will be dictated by the sentence and when the student goes to an ordinary institute will also have the support in a specific classroom, "says an official spokeswoman.
