A mom of a special kiddo private messaged me after reading my blog and wanted to know what my goals are specifically for Special Education and wanted me to give her some information because she has a child, like 1 in every 34 children in NJ, that has been diagnosed with Autism. NJ has the highest rate of Autism in the nation. I was so glad she asked because I (as a momma of a special kiddo) am so very passionate about this topic. I have a differently abled son with Fragile X Syndrome, which is the leading genetic cause of Autism. My son learns slower, has speech and language delays along with OT and other developmental delays. I have had to “fight”for him several times. I am proud to say he is mostly mainstreamed in high school and has been al throughout his time in the Deptford School District. He has a one to one aide that he has had since he was 4. Yep, the SAME kind, wonderful man who is now like family. I fought HARD against privatization of our paraprofessionals a few years back because I did not want to see a revolving door of people responsible for the care and learning of our most vulnerable population. I also wrote a resolution to the state against the qualifiers for state assessments including our special ed. students being forced to take a “one size fits all” test instead of allowing modifications that are in students’ IEPs. The board needed convincing but we did end up passing and sending that resolution to our elected representatives. I also served on a committee with the NJDOE for the revamping of the up and coming state wide assessments and consulted on ways to make the assessments more accessible and equitable. When my son was young (maybe 5 or 6) I approached the district about the lack of a special ed. parent advisory group for parents as required by law. That group was started and allowed parents to communicate students’ needs to the district in order to service them better. As a result, the community fair was born. The committee has since died down and one of my goals is to get it to be an active group again. I am also working with the high school principal to initiate a buddy program. Kiddos like ours need friends and some help fitting in, especially at the high school level. My son’s interests range from Sesame Street to WWE. That’s not always high school age appropriate but he should still be accepted and included with his peers. My hope is that we can soon begin to send less students out of district so they can have connections with their neighborhood peers in school and out. I also fought hard to have our New Sharon students included in the high school rather than be secluded the whole day in another building. We now have those kids at the high school half the day where they are included and have community based training and skills. Some go to New Sharon for the other half of the day where they learn life skills as the building is now like a store and apartment that they can learn life skills in. My goal is to always offer more opportunities for inclusion, have well trained paraprofessionals that offer structure, nurturing and consistency, and advocate for “our kids” to be seen for what they can do and not what they can’t. I am pretty well versed and educated in special ed. law. I recently advocated for a parent of an autistic child that wasn’t receiving communication, had a substitute and aides that were not equivalent to the aides in the past. That problem was quickly rectified. I was the first teacher in my district to teach a student with a diagnosis of Asberger’s Syndrome. I educated myself and learned about sensory integration, different learning styles, calming techniques and assistive technology. I am so very proud to say that student and I met in 3rd grade and today he is 22 and we still keep in touch. I genuinely care and walk in the shoes of a special ed parent. I will always advocate for and be the voice of our special kids. We obviously love and are proud of BOTH of our sons equally, but being Gavin’s parents has taught my husband and I true, unconditional love. I tell everyone Gavin has taught me more than I could ever teach him. He is the most pure, compassionate, empathetic human being I have ever known. There isn’t a bad day in Gavin’s world, he loves everyone, and doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Every Single Day I come home from work and get a huge “MOMMY” and a hug. He’s the best! I often find myself being known as, “Gavin’s Mom” and I’m good with that. If you’ve read all of this THANK YOU! This is just so important to me and should always be a priority of every BOE. Please feel free to ask me any other questions.
Stacy
Stacy Gray For Board Of Education 