For more than 10 years, I’ve had the privilege to watch two students with special needs succeed academically and socially while making critical gains in independence.
Coincidently, they share the same first name – although spelled differently. Their educational paths took two different directions but with the same winning results. It’s a good lesson when we consider the discussion around inclusion.
Brendan D.’s parents chose to live in Newton because it offers strong inclusive special education services. Recently, Brendan turned 22, the age at which publicly-mandated services for students with special needs ends. At his transition party, Brendan gave a speech at Newton North High and individually thanked all who had helped him on his path to success.
It took me back to when I first saw Brendan, at age 2, crawl along with his oxygen tank. He later had a pacemaker inserted so he no longer needed the tank. But, as I glanced across the room as this young man with Down syndrome spoke, I saw the love and pride in the faces of his parents, brother, and sister. For seven years, Brendan was the basketball manager at Newton North and had the opportunity to play on TD Garden’s parquet floor. At Newton North, Brendan had learning support and was included in college prep classes, having the opportunity to learn alongside his typically developing peers. He had a successful community work placement at Boston College where he is now gainfully employed and travels independently to work.
In 2011, Brendon H. graduated from Cotting School, a private day school for children with special needs where he developed academic, vocational, and advocacy skills. In a wheelchair and with speech and hearing challenges due to cerebral palsy, Brendon’s needs could not be met in public school. Therefore, Cotting was the most accommodating and inclusive setting for him. He was a tenacious student, embracing all the academic, athletic, and social activities that our school has to offer. Brendon also has a remarkable sense of humor. At graduation, he gave me a t-shirt with the message: “Handicapped, can’t beat the parking!” Brendon has become a national spokesperson for the Accessible Icon Project and recently was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Craven Community College in North Carolina where he is studying computer-aided design.
Both students have rich academic and social lives. Both have made gains in independence. Both are now on a path toward greater success.
In each case, their parents were fortunate to find the right school to match the needs of their child. They were able to ask the critical question: “Which school can most fully meet the unique needs of my child with special needs?” For one, it was a public school setting; for the other, private.
What makes a school “inclusive”?
Public or private, it is the opportunity for a student to be fully included academically and socially. It is having friends, being invited to sleepovers and birthday parties, growing in self-esteem and learning new skills. It is access to on-site services, which often include medical, communication, occupational and physical therapies, necessary to meet the critical and complex challenges of each child with special needs.
Brendan and Brendon’s families were dedicated to finding the appropriate school to serve the unique needs of their child. All schools along the special education continuum from public to private day to residential services can be inclusive if they create an academic and social community that values and fully includes students while empowering them to achieve their full potential.
David W. Manzo is president of Cotting School in Lexington, MA and the vice-president of MAAPS, Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools, a state-wide association for schools that serve children with special needs. He is also an adjunct professor at Boston College in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
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