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Autistic boys' parents give U.S.C. an 'A'
Friday, September 08, 2000
Helping school children with special needs takes special commitment, by both the school district and the parents.
That's why Susan Niederberger says their family has had a good experience with Upper St. Clair schools during the past four years her two autistic sons have attended public school.
"Initially, I had to make it clear what my kids needed in order to learn," she said. "Fortunately, there were some people in the district who have had a lot of hands-on experience with providing both behavior and learning support."
Susan and Tom Niederberger's sons, Bill, 11, and Patrick, 8, have been diagnosed with autism and pervasive developmental disorder. The family started planning their sons' education well before they enrolled in school and, when it came time to start classes at Baker Elementary, they found the school receptive to providing what the boys needed.
Bill and Patrick both have aides with them for half the school day, while they are in regular school classes. Almost daily, they receive speech therapy and Patrick receives occupational therapy once a week.
"It's tricky to get what works for kids, because sometimes schools aren't geared to what works," Niederberger said. "The district has to make a commitment to it, both philosophically and financially, which is hard sometimes. And they have to have people in the district who really know how to do it."
And Upper St. Clair schools did just that, she said.
The boys' aides have ongoing training in behavior therapy and other specialized areas. She credits the people in charge of special education at Upper St. Clair with knowing how to make school work for her sons.
It started with a comprehensive assessment of the boys' learning abilities and barriers. Almost more important, Niederberger said, was the staff's experience and willingness to do what was best for Bill and Patrick.
"There were people there who knew how to make it happen," she said.
Not knowing all the particulars of Deanna Lesneski's dispute with the McGuffey School District, Niederberger said she could not judge the right and wrong of Lesneski tying herself to the school flagpole to compel school officials to provide a sign-language interpreter for her son, Ryan "Max" Lesneski, who has Down syndrome, asthma and a hearing disability.
While she cannot picture making such a public demonstration herself, Niederberger noted that "it's so hard for a parent not to appear extreme, because this is your child. Sometimes people really do get upset about things, but you have to figure out how to make it work.
"It's hard for the districts. It's hard for the parents. But, most important always, is the kids and doing what helps them learn."
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