BonnerSprings.com / Autistic outsiders

Archive for Thursday, July 31, 2008

July 31, 2008

To the editor:

One in every 144 children finds themselves in the autism spectrum.

Not only do these children find themselves in a world that they can't understand, but usually they find themselves in a world that doesn't understand them either. They find themselves among other kids who look at them and treat them as if they had no feelings. They find themselves in a school setting that doesn't accept their disability for what it is, many times acting as if it is a discipline issue instead of a disability.

Our own school district is guilty of this. Its answer is to send the child to the inner city to attend a district 500 facility.

Wake up USD 204. You are building more buildings because you are expecting more children. Some are going to have issues, and it doesn't seem you are preparing for those. Will you simply continue to put them in USD 500's closet?

Robert Stapleton

Bonner Springs