Wednesday, 16 September 2009
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Service Dogs in School
I was reading this article and I wanted to get some other opinions. The family has a severely autistic son. He had not spoken and was subject to frequent outburst. A few months ago they got him this service dog and since they have seen big improvements in him. The fight began when they asked that the service dog be allowed to attend Kindergarten with the boy. The parents standing is that this is a service animal and their child has a recognized disability thus this would fall under the ADA rules.The school has stated that this is not a certified service animal and therefore it is not an ADA issue. I was reading some of the comments following the story and it got me to thinking. One person stated rather harshly something along the lines of when was the government going to stop catering to those with special needs and think about all the children as a whole. While I didn't like the harshness of the statement, the person makes a very valid point, as did a few others.
Yes, every child has the right to the least restrictive education available. That means exactly what it says; EVERY child, not just the ones that require modifications. I understand where these parents are coming from. Parents want to make things better for their children and I believe that this child is responding in a positive manner with the animal, but there are other children that must be considered before allowing the animal into the classroom. Someone made the point that while these dogs are highly trained, they still need someone capable of controlling them. Is a five year old autistic child capable of maintaining the control needed to keep this dog with him during the day?
What about the other children in the classroom? Do we not need to address the needs of them as well? What if one child is allergic to dander or is simply terrified of animals? Where does the line between modifications for those with disabilities and the rights of those around them, fall? Does my daughter have more rights simply because she has Down syndrome? I personally do not think she does. What I want for my daughter is the availability to the same education that children without Down syndrome are given. I do not wish for the entire classroom to suddenly change everything simply because she is there. I want her treated as normally as possible. If she needs modifications, yes, I will ask for them and in some cases I might demand them. What I will not do is expect an entire classroom to change their routines to accommodate my daughter. If I really want her mainstreamed into a regular classroom, I must be willing to accept she will follow regular classroom protocol. This does not mean she will no longer be getting her speech therapy, or her adaptive PE, but I will not expect her teacher to suddenly "dumb down" the assignments or allow her to bring in something that others are not allowed to bring.
I am sure I am going to get slammed for my opinions, but this is how I feel. While I have never found that the schools bend over backwards to make things easy for parents of a special needs child to receive the appropriate services; I don't think in this instance that they are making the wrong decision. There are other children that must be considered before this animal can be allowed at the school and those children have just as much right to their education as the young boy at the center of this controversy.
Okay, let me know how you feel.
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About the Author
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- From: gwacemom
- Name: Ange
- About Me: I am a mom to eight. 5 by birth, 3 by marriage. I am trying to rediscover myself. Writing has been a big help. I am passionate about Down syndrome awareness as well as CHD (congenital heart defects). Have a question about either, feel free to ask. If I don't have the answer, I will by nightfall. The beautiful girl in the picture is why I am so passionate about the two subjects. She is the face of Down syndrome. Not what you expected, is it?
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Comments (44)
I always felt the same as you. I have worked with several special needs children, and shadowed a kindergartener with asperger's once. It was really tough because the school/teacher wouldn't work with me, but I could kind of see where they were coming from too. The child did disrupt the class about every 15 minutes some (most) days with an outburst It wasn't really fair to the other students trying to learn.
In this case, I don't believe the boy should be allowed to bring the dog. I thought about the allergy/fear issues as well. This seems like they are asking a bit much. Are other students such as blind children for example, allowed to bring service animals to class?
My sister in law has worked on this law suit and I feel the same way you do. While children who are differently abled DO need some special considerations, their rights to special considerations end when it infringes on other students ability to learn in a safe environment. The dog in question is NOT trained as a service dog and while I don't believe the papers have covered this issue, the reality is that the parents were offered a service dog to help with their child's disability and they rejected the service dog in favor of the dog they have. Another issue is the fact that this child cannot control this dog on his own because, again, this is NOT a trained service dog. So in order for this dog to attend school with the child, another adult would have to be present to keep the dog under control.
Basically, this is the case of an animal being a really big safety blanket and the school saying that it's ridiculous for them to be responsible for this animal for the comfort of one student.
I equate it, probably very poorly, to that old saying that my right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. Your special needs child has every right to the same education as any other child, but that right ends when you're talking about possibly ruining that opportunity for other kids.
btw whay your daughter is GORGIOUS! super cute<3
o nd as a mother so passionate like i am on my new blog there is a vidieo of something that was on the new about a 6 month old being abused and killd and it reallllly made me cry my eyes out like it was my daughter. no one has really said anything about it and i really would like anothers moms opinion because everyone else just kinda doesnt say anything.
Haha I thought you were going to write about how furious you were that the school wouldn't accommodate. Thankfully you didn't. Go you!
There are a lot of factors to take into consideration... Largely, I'm on the same page as you -- a 5 year old (period...not to mention one with a disability) isn't going to be able to take the dog out for potty breaks during the day. The teachers and aids aren't there to be dog walkers; they're there for the greater good of all the children. If the dog isn't specially trained, then I also doubt he'd be able to handle the dog, especially in an enviroment outside of the home. It just seems like a bad idea...
BUT I wonder if they couldn't have reached some sort of compromise? Like maybe having the dog come in once or twice a week as a sort of therapy for all the children in the class? (Provided that no one was allergic.)
I agree. I think that while the rights of disabled children need to be taken into consideration... so do the rights of all the other children. If the parents want their child to be around the dog all day (and Im glad for them that they found something that is helping their child) maybe they should consider other options like homeschool or a special school that allows dogs for all children.
This is a tough one... I guess they could at least try it? Have the child there with the dog, and see if things go alright. And they could try it without the dog... maybe just having the dog at home would be good enough to keep him going at school.
@MangoWOW@xanga - LOL, you will learn that I often go against what people expect me to say. Glad I didn't disappoint.
@thoughmomma@xanga - Thank you very much, we think she is pretty darn adorable.
@filtered_sunlight - you just have to contest dont you!
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - Oh, you know how she is...always trying to find a compromise.
@gwacemom - some people! They just cant be agreeable to what I want! lol
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - She hasn't had the benefit of tequila...pour her some and then she will do whatever we desire.
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - Of course. And don't listen to Ange...that hooker's been drinking without us!
@gwacemom - Honestly, it's been almost two years since I had tequila...I'm certain you're right!!
The article says it's trained as a service dog... and that it has a hypoallergenic coat. So, unless some kid in the school is deathly afraid of dogs, then why not? It could be a learning opportunity for them. They could learn about people with disabilities. The classroom could provide a wee-wee pad or something.
@black_lie@xanga - No dog is truly hypoallergenic. They all have dander.
However, it's a dog. Doesn't seem disruptive at all. Animals are very therapeutic. Kids should have class dogs even if no one is disabled! :)
I think it's a wonderful idea. Friends at my church had a son who was slow in reading, but he loved to read to our beagle. If it's helping the autistic boy, that's great! Of course, it should get certified as a therapy dog or whatever is appropriate, but let it stay. It'll be less disruptive than he can be, that's for sure. (And the boy has an aide too, I might guess? He or she can help.)
@black_lie@xanga - And the dog is actually not trained as a certified service dog. He's still technically a puppy and does not have the control and training of a certified training dog. Because he's not trained, he requires an adult handler since the child cannot control the dog on his own.
OK, Ange, as you know, big dog fan here. I feel that for the most part you are right.......but I have seen this type dog situation in action and have seen it not only benefit the child in question but the rest of the classroom as well. My kids school used to have a different administrator, and he allowed many of the classrooms to have service dogs. He required that the dogs be trained in this field as well as the teacher in charge of the dog. The only thing that I would have a problem with is the fact that the child is in control of the dog. That is not cool, and what happens when it is lunch time.....not too many school cafeteria's are going to allow an animal in there......I think that the dog is great, but couldn't these parents send this child to a more specialized school that would not have so many stipulations where the dog is concerned?
@kidzandK9z@xanga - I think the idea of a more specialized school is a good one. Playing devils advocate, I would imagine the parent would run with the "least restrictive education" statement. Someone else mentioned that the parents had been offered a certified service dog, but declined. I can appreciate that this dog is helping this child in ways that are beneficial. I have no doubt that something positive is going on, but I just have to believe there has to be a better solution.
Thanks for your input. I knew you would have some good ideas.
There's gotta be a better way for them to handle this overall. It'll create a ridiculous distraction for the other kids. They'll wanna play with it, and that urge to play with it probably won't die out once the other kids are familiar with the dog. If someone's allergic, it'll cause a health risk to that child. And if someone's afraid of them, then it'll cause an issue for them as well. Aside from all that, who's going to walk the dog? Or feed it during the day? Or control it, since the boy can't? The parents want what is best for their child, and I understand that. But they need to move him to a different environment if they expect accomodations like this.
I am a retired counselor that use to work with children and families. My stance is, that every situation that arises in life is an opportunity to teach all children how to work things out, and be tollerant of others, especially if they are different. So, with that in mind, a teacher can use a service dog in the classroom as learning experience. There is always some hurdles to get over in life no matter what we do. Let's show our children there is room for everyone, how to adapt to new things in an ever changing world we live in. Our children, and the world will be both benefit!
hhhmmm...if another kid's allergic to or scared of dogs, maybe they could put the autistic kid in another classroom? not necessarliy 1 that dumbs down work or lets the kids do things other kids can't, just 1 in which no one's allergic ot that scared of dogs. if the dog does bite a kid, that kid- or the class as a whole- was probably messing w/the dog, in which case the "teacher" is to blame.
@babykittytara@xanga - if the urge to mees w/the dog is too distracting, it's because the so-called teacher is far from in control of the room. if a kid is allergic or scared, the school can change that kid's or the autistic kid's room #. let's see school's only about 8 hours a day, & that includes recess. there will be oppurtunity to walk the dog. & what's wrong w/the kid having dry dog food in his backback during the school day? i'm willing to bet you the dog doesn't need to be controlled if it is a service dog. it couldn't service the family if it wasn't well-behaved. & if the dog does act up it's because other kids won't leave it alone, which as i said earlier is on the "teachers".