Trainable

[Guest guest]

As a peer of granny, I have to disagree with her support for the

dictionary definition of trainable. When my child (the same age as

hers) entered public education, the view of the educators was simple.

These kids (with ds) were either only trainable or they might be

educated a little. They should be in the very nice 'special school'

where on tour we saw a class that was largely students released from

Willowbrook (is anyone else old enough to remember that?) There I saw

students in their late teens who were in school and group homes for the

first time in their lives. Some of them had so little stimulation and

training at the institution that they could barely get food to their

mouth with fingers. It was really sad when you realized that the little

kid with you was ahead of them.

Then trainable meant 'no education with any academics because the kids

can't do them'. Educable meant almost no academics.

After a large fight, Jan went into a regular school in a sped class with

kids classified as learnaing disabilities. These kids really did get an

IEP education. Jan was taught to her potential and helped show the

educators that they could educate kids with DS. For years she had no

other kids with DS in her class. It first happened late in middle

school.

The use of 'trainable' by school diistricts might be no problem today,

or it might well be that the district might be 20 years behind. If it

was used to describe my child today, I'd be wary.

BTW .. Willowbrook was the real landmark that set of education for our

kids and the legislation of IDEA which followed. It was the courts that

eventually sent people out of institutions and back to the communities

and education followed.

Rick ....... dad to 27.9 year old Jan