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Parents Say Move Will Upset Disabled Kids

Posted on: Saturday, 3 June 2006, 00:00 CDT

By Lolly Bowean, Chicago Tribune

May 27--When Debbie Haak's 10-year-old son came home from school and showed her he had learned how to eat his food with a fork and spoon instead of his hands, it was cause for celebration, she said.

Basic skills have been a challenge for Steven, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 3. At school he participates in a learning program for autistic children and others who have suffered brain trauma, his mother said. So when he picks up a new skill in school, it's a major accomplishment.

"It was thrilling," she said. "His steps are very small, but we are excited by any little healing we see."

But now Haak and other parents with developmentally disabled children fear a move that could potentially dampen their children's progress.

Officials with the Echo School in South Holland plan to move 58 children enrolled in a program for autistic students to another facility in Blue Island.

The move is part of a plan to restructure several schools and relieve overcrowding, said Dennice Ward-Epstein, director of Echo Joint Agreement.

"In the long run this should provide us some good, stable facilities and address the overcrowding," she said.

But parents say they are particularly vulnerable because many of their children rely on routine and resist changes.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that can make communicating and social interaction a challenge. Many autistic children don't speak, but they can excel with special help in the classroom.

The decision to move the Echo students comes after three years of planning, Ward-Epstein said. She believes the move can be a learning experience.

"I understand autistic children have difficulty with transition and change, but that's part of what we are supposed to teach them to deal with," she said. "Our staff is trained. If we don't teach them about change, then we are not preparing them for what life is going to get them."

But parents like Haak said they weren't notified of the move until days before it was finalized. Haak worries that the stress of being in a new building will overwhelm the students.

"Our big concern is that these children are being taken out of their comfort zone and put into another one," she said. "They will be anxious, angry and withdraw."

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Source: Chicago Tribune

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