Back to School = New Round of Advocacy

Just the thought of a new school year gives me anxiety. Anxiety about the change in routine for my child. Anxiety about having to explain and fight for their needs to a new teacher. Anxiety about starting yet another round of advocating for my child.

While many parents and caregivers have some level of anxiety about a new school year, this anxiety is heightened when you have a child with disabilities.

Every single year it’s like starting over. Even though my child has been in the same school since kindergarten.

Why? Because new teachers, new administration, new EAs and new classroom dynamics often require a new round of advocacy.

While I wish my child would get the support they need based on their IEP, diagnoses or documented needs, sadly this is never the case. With an underfunded, overstretched education system, many kids fall through the cracks.

This is why I advocate. Because without advocacy my child is left behind.

Funding ≠ student needs

In British Columbia, 1 in 29 children has been diagnosed with autism. Knowing there are kids waiting for an assessment, and those aren’t flagged for assessment (primarily girls), the actual number of autistic children is much higher. Now add anxiety, ADHD, dyslexia, learning disabilities, Down Syndrome and other disabilities to the mix and the needs of students is great.

Unfortunately, there’s a large gap between student needs and resources available. This results in a Hunger Games approach to education, with students pitted against each other to access a limited number of resources.

The outcome - a wait to fail approach of providing supports. Wait until a child’s behaviour is too disruptive, they’ve fallen too far behind (if anyone even notices) or they’re impacting the education of others.

Two-tiered system

So, what happens when you have greater student needs than publicly funded resources? Parents and caregivers are forced to dig into their pockets or tap into lines of credit to hire the resources to support their child.

While this might seem like a simple fix, it adds an additional burden to already overtaxed families. Very few of us have the bank accounts required to pay for the private tutoring, therapy, assessments or even the education our kids need. Yet without getting private support, we know our children will fall further behind.

In the school district my child attends, kids with disabilities have a 54% graduation rate.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like those odds.

Exodus from public schools

Distance learning, home schooling and private schools are becoming increasing popular options for families of kids with disabilities and complex needs. Why? Because in many cases these kids have too many barriers in place in the public education system.

This can include being excluded from field trips (not enough staff support), limited attendance hours at school (not enough EAs), bullying (kids with disabilities are disproportionately targeted) and other forms of exclusion.

A 2021 survey by BCEdAccess found that 52% of respondents had removed their child from in-person public education with another 6.7% in the process of removing their child.

Empty tank

If you’ve read this far, you’re likely exhausted. I know I am.

This is the sad reality facing many parents and caregivers as a new school year approaches.

Having spent years advocating, I’m tired. Tired of artificial barriers. Tired of shelling out thousands of dollars for private assessments only to be told the school doesn’t have the resources to support the identified learning disabilities. Then shelling out more money for private tutoring.

But as September nears, I’m putting on my advocacy armour once again.

Why? Because I love my child and will do whatever it takes to fight for them, and other kids with disabilities.

These amazing kids deserve the support they need to go from surviving to thriving.

This is why I’m gearing up for another year of advocacy. I know I’m not alone.