I am forwarding the above composite picture of my son Conor, seated in the kitchen watching the clock at 7:30 am this morning.  Conor, now 16 years old, has severe Autistic Disorder and is assessed with profound developmental delays.  He was not placed on a "time out" chair for having behaved badly.  He was sitting there of his own choice because he was, as he is every day, anxious to get to school at Leo Hayes High School, an experience he truly loves and one which he misses during the summer months.  

I encouraged Conor to engage in other activities instead of just sitting on the chair and he did so. At precisely 7:55 though Conor, again on his own initiative, brought me a pair of my sneakers and handed them to me,  as a polite reminder to Dad to get ready to take him to school. To the far left of the picture is a red object. It is his school back pack including his lunch pack which he packs the night before and placed in the fridge.  In the morning, on his own initiative, he places the lunch pack inside the back pack and places them near the exit door to ensure that it is with him when Dad drives him to school in the morning.  

With these actions Conor indicates clearly what a positive experience his flexible inclusive education at Leo Hayes HS is for him.  Conor does not, at our request receive his instruction in a regular classroom. Some autistic children can prosper in a regular classroom and some, like Conor, require instruction outside the regular classroom in a quieter space where he is not overwhelmed by noise and other distractions. 

Conor started his schooling in a regular classroom and came home every day with self inflicted bite marks  on his hands and wrists. (self injurious behavior is a recognized condition commonly associated with autism disorders). Once removed the biting ceased and Conor received his instruction in an individualized area in grade school, middle school and high school.  His instruction has been provided by education assistants/teacher aides trained at the excellent UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program.  

Conor's socialization has NOT been impaired by these arrangements.  Throughout school he has, in consultation with us, his parents, been involved in various outings and activities within his abilities including some specified gym activities, swimming (his favorite), outings like apple picking (another favorite) and last year he even attended a play put on at Fredericton's playhouse. Other students have ALWAYS greeted Conor warmly at every level of school. Some have even sought him out at our home in order to say hello to him outside of school. At Tim Horton restaurants Conor has been greeted by staff who are were students at school and knew him through Best Buddies. I underline these facts because it is important to realize that full regular mainstream inclusion is NOT necessary to ensure a full social learning experience for children with severe challenges like my son.  

One of the greatest socialization assets for Conor has been the Resource Center at the Leo Hayes High School. The RC is well staffed with trained experienced personnel that know how to manage children with extra needs in as stress free a manner as possible.  It also provides a variety of tools and sharing of information directly by people who are actually working directly with challenged children.  Stigmatization does not occur by placing challenged children in a resource center for parts of the day.  Stigmatization and outright harm occurs by pretending that all children regardless of cognitive level and regardless of disability based sensory and behavioral challenges,  must receive instruction in the same area as their chronological "peers". 

I have made these statements again on Conor's behalf, as I have made them throughout his education because of the constant threat posed to the flexible mode of inclusion that has benefited him in his education. The ideologically based every child in the regular classroom model to which this current administration and its most trusted advisers subscribe would be detrimental and harmful to my son if inflicted upon him, if his ABA based learning in an alternative area or if his socialization, security and happiness in the Leo Hayes High School are targeted for elimination.

Conor demonstrates the success of the current flexible model of inclusion, of the ABA instruction he has received outside the regular classroom, of the security and opportunity for socialization that the Leo Hayes High School Resource Center provides.  Please do not ignore Conor's story while making decisions affecting his future and the future of other children who need accommodation outside the regular classroom.

Although I am a lawyer by profession I try to avoid making legal arguments in education discussion since they can unfortunately lead to confrontation when cooperation and understanding are so badly needed to ensure proper education and development of children.  Having said that I will provide you, with respect, to two links to documents summarizing leading precedents in Canadian jurisdiction concerning the need meaningful access to education of children with disabilities written by Yude Henteleff QC a distinguished lawyer and Order of Canada member who has represented many disability organizations in Canada. Without getting too detailed I believe these documents can be summarized by saying that case law has established that an ideological insistence on regular classroom placement of all children regardless of disability considerations, and without providing alternative arrangements to accommodate their disability based challenges can constitute unlawful discrimination:

I would ask you foremost though to simply look at these pictures of Conor and take my word as his parent, as a long time autism advocate and representative of the Autism Society New Brunswick during the MacKay and Ministerial Committee inclusive education reviews (and current acting ASNB President). Not all children, and certainly not ALL autistic children function well in the regular classroom.   The ASNB position that children should be educated in a manner consistent with an evidence based determination of their best interests is consisted with the policies of the Canadian Learning Disabilities Association. It is also consistent with the first section of the PNB definition of Inclusive Education that resulted from the Ministerial Committee review of inclusive education:

I ask both of you Honourable Ministers to be faithful to the above definition of inclusive education fashioned after years of consultation conducted by Ministers of the Lord and Graham governments and examined the evidence of my son and other children with needs that require education outside the regular classroom.  Please continue the option for individualized education outside the regular classroom for those like my son who require that arrangement.  And please do not eliminate valuable, proven resources like the Leo Hayes High School Resource Center that have contributed so much in the way of socialization, security and friendship for my son and others with similar needs.

Respectfully,

Harold L Doherty

Fredericton NB

The image above is the cover page of the paper MEANINGFUL ACCESS, INCLUDING THE PROVISION OF A WIDE RANGE OF PLACEMENTS, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF INCLUSIVITY IN EDUCATION by Yude M. Henteleff C.M., Q.C., LL.D. (Hon.). The paper is available in PDF format on the Atlantic Human Rights Centre web site by clicking on the title. 

Henteleff provides a thorough analysis of the relevant jurisprudence to support the critique of full inclusion practices.  He also goes beyond criticism and sets out the principles, all supported by the case law, and supported by education authorities and proposes a new paradigm for inclusive education, a paradigm which supports the legal requirements of meaningful access for all students including special needs students:

New Brunswick education policy is important to all New Brunswickers.  It is of particular importance to students with special needs who require accommodation within our education system, including those students for whom the mainstream classroom is not an appropriate or even a safe learning environment. The contributions of serious analysts like Yude Henteleff and Paul Bennett should not be ignored in  designing policies to address the complex and demanding challenges facing special needs students in our education system.

Attached hereto is a PNG copy as well as a PDF copy link to "The Fully Inclusive Classroom Is Only One Of The Right Ways To Meet The Best Interests Of The Special Needs Child"(2004) by Yude M. Henteleff, C.M. Q.C., L.L.D. (Hon).  Mr. Henteleff outlines succinctly and compellingly the legal basis for a rational, flexible model of inclusive education, one which will permit children with special needs, including severely autistic and developmentally delayed children like my son to participate in a safe, meaningful and rewarding education.  Here in New Brunswick the Porter-Aucoin report is pushing us Back To The Future, back to the simplistic and fundamentally flawed mid 1980's approach of forcing all children, regardless of their needs and challenges, to receive their education in the mainstream classroom.  The CACL and NBACL are now imposing their simplistic "vision" on schools in New Brunswick contrary to the 2009 NB policy defining inclusive education as being evidenced based and based on the best interests of each individual child. 

Dr. Henteleff's 2004 paper represents an articulate, sophisticated analysis by one of Canada's most distinguished lawyers who has represented many disability groups including autism groups and learning disability association groups over a long and distinguished career. Unfortunately, our current NB Premier David Alward and Education Minister Jody Carr are faithful followers of Gordon Porter's   simplistic inclusion "vision".  Hopefully future NB governments will just walk away from that "vision".  The Henteleff critique, first presented to the CACL in 2004 and maintained on their web site until recently provides a rational, flexible alternative for future NB administrations.  Mr. Henteleff also presented a new submission at the Atlantic Human Rights Centre inclusive education conference.  It will be made available to participants after the conference and I will post it on this site.  

Many thanks to Mr. Henteleff.  And thanks to my friend Claire who was kind enough to provide me with access to a copy of the attached paper.

Imposing a standard, namely that the inclusive classroom meets all needs, is a perception not based on reality and is stereotypical. In other words, the standard takes the position that one environment meets the needs of all special needs children. By its very nature, such a standard is discriminatory, as was made clear by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Meiorin, Grismer, Law and Mercier decisions.

Presented by Yude M. Henteleff, C.M., Q.C.
to the
C.A.C.L. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
NOVEMBER 24, 2004

The above document by Yude Hentelleff  QC should be mandatory reading for Educators and Human Rights Commission and Tribunal  members across Canada.  Unfortunately that does not appear to be the case particularly in New Brunswick where the extreme full mainstream classroom inclusion model has been pushed relentlessly by Gordon Porter, the New Brunswick Association for Community Living and senior officials in the Department of Education.  

Meanwhile some children, including some autistic children, for whom the mainstream classroom is not the right learning environment are forced into situations where they injure themselves, or others, in order to get out of an environment which is not the right option for them; an environment that overwhelms and harms therm.  My son, fortunately, has been accommodated in a separate learning environment for his primary ABA based instruction in our neighborhood schools with time spent in common areas of the school for other activities where he does get to interact with other students.  Conor was removed from the mainstream classroom, at our request, after he came home every day with bite marks on his hands and wrists.  He has been well accommodated by our schools and our school district. Other students for whom the mainstream classroom is not the right option have not always been so fortunate.