Parents, advocates calling for 'urgent' review of inclusive education in N.L.

Terry Bursey didn't have to jump through many hoops to set up accommodations at school for his son. However, he says, it's not as easy for other parents. (CBC)

Terry Bursey of Centreville–Wareham–Trinity only had to write one accommodation letter to get support for his non-verbal autistic son in school.

Barely any time had passed before his son, Max, received the support he needed to thrive in the classroom.

Max just started kindergarten. The teachers and student assistant are aware that he sometimes relies on physical cues for communication and is disturbed by loud noises, such as class bells. The bells were changed to a softer tone as a result.

However, Bursey knows he's fortunate in his son's situation. Not every child has the same level of access to personalized accommodations.

Bursey has autism himself, and when he was in school he was categorized as "disobedient" and "problematic." It wasn't till his 30s that he was diagnosed.

"We're making the shift from autism awareness to autism acceptance. Standards have also changed, but schools haven't really changed their approach to things," Bursey said.

"They tend to approach a lot of neurodivergent kids in schools as essentially a problem in need of control."

The Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (ASNL) is urgently calling for a review of the inclusive education system in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The group says there are "persistent gaps in resources and educational supports" and identified three key issues: inadequate accommodations, insufficient support staff and limited training for educators.

Leah Farrell is the advocacy and outreach director of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. The organization is calling for a full review of the inclusive education system. (Heather Gillis/CBC)

The Department of Education defines inclusive education as "a philosophy that promotes the right of all students to attend school with their peers, and to receive appropriate and quality programming; a continuum of supports and services in the most appropriate setting and respecting the dignity of the child."

However, ASNL says that's not truly happening in every school.

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Director Leah Farrell says the province needs to commit to offering individualized support for each student in every classroom.

"We're hearing that sometimes students are only able to access 20 to 40 minutes a day of instructional support, also a lack of access to student assistance, whether that's through transportation, daily access to school and through speech therapy as well," Farrell told CBC News.

The Inclusive Education Initiative began in 2009 and developed in phases until 2017. According to the Department of Education's website "representatives from all public schools will have received training in inclusive practices, differentiated instruction and collaborative training."

Farrell says there's a willingness from officials to improve how they implement the initiative, but there simply aren't enough resources.

Students falling behind

It's a situation Lindsay Rumbolt has become familiar with in Corner Brook.

Before the school year started, Rumbolt says she had a meeting with over 10 people from her daughter's school and N.L. Health Services.

She said she was feeling optimistic about the goals they set together.

Lindsay Rumbolt is worried about the level of care her daughter is receiving in her kindergarten class. (CBC)

Rumbolt's daughter, Layla, also started kindergarten this year and is non-verbal with autism. She requires a higher level of personal care, but Rumbolt says it was a rough first day of school.

"She requires full assistance with toiletries, eating.… Those are things we really stressed in the meeting," said Rumbolt. "The first day was kind of gut-wrenching picking her up from school because she was still in the same diaper she went to school in that morning."

Rumbolt says that's seven hours in a soiled diaper, and Layla didn't eat much of her lunch,.

Rumbolt was told her daughter had access to a student assistant, but that time is shared between two other students in different grades. She says the information she's been getting from the school is very limited and she worries if Layla is being left alone or left behind among her class of about 20 other children.

In terms of speech therapy, Rumbolt said her daughter had weekly sessions before starting school. Now, she sees a speech therapist once every couple of weeks. The speech therapist is responsible for five schools in total, according to Rumbolt.

Stories of stretched resources are all too common, Farrell says.

"It's really difficult year after year, talking to the school, having people say, 'Yes, we really want to help, but we've got our hands tied,'" she said.

A Facebook group for N.L. parents has emerged to "spread awareness of the lack of student assistant and IRT support" for special needs children. That group is calling for government funding to hire more student assistants and more training so students can have equitable access to services.

ASNL has joined that call with a petition to review the education system.

"By prioritizing inclusive education and addressing the gaps identified, we can build a more equitable educational system that truly serves all students."

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