Mom: System fails autistic children
Tanya Michaud and her 14-year-old
autistic son, Skyler Michaud, look through
some school books at their Durham Bridge
home recently Tanya Michaud is struggling to
keep her son in school for the second year
in a row, but it's not because he doesn't
want to go."Skyler loves
school, but right now he's at home doing
nothing," Michaud said. "He's been taken out of
yet another one."
Skyler Michaud, 14, has Asperger's syndrome, an
autism spectrum disorder.
He's intelligent and high-functioning, Michaud
said, but he likes structure and consistency. He
can become aggressive if his daily schedule is
changed.
Because of this aggression, Michaud said, the
school system doesn't want to deal with her son.
"He does fine in class as long as he's given
time to settle into a routine," she said.
"I don't understand why he's being shuffled
around. The constant changes are very hard on
him."
Elementary wasn't a good experience for Skyler
and neither was his first exposure to middle
school, Michaud said.
He was taken out of Devon Middle School and
moved into Nashwaaksis Middle because he was
lashing out at others, said his mother.
Nashwaaksis officials refused to comment about
their experience with Skyler stating they are
unable to discuss individual students, even with
the parent's permission.
"I had to fight to get Skyler a teacher's
assistant," Michaud said. "But as soon as he got
one, he was fine."
Skyler has since moved on to Leo Hayes High
School, but he is encountering the same problems
he faced in middle school.
"Even though I sent them a doctor's note telling
them what to expect, they still weren't
prepared. At first, there was no (teacher's
assistant), and it's been nothing but
environment changes and shuffling around since.
"So he's been very easily agitated lately."
Recently, Michaud received a call from the
school because Skyler was upset and needed to go
home, but she couldn't leave work to pick him
up.
Michaud said Skyler was handcuffed and escorted
home by the school's police officer and informed
he would not be allowed to return to Leo Hayes.
"I cannot comment on one specific individual,
but I can say that every attempt is made to
provide for every student in their local
school," said Kevin Pottle, principal of Leo
Hayes High School.
"Any situation where we deviate from that, it's
not done lightly and it's certainly done because
we feel it will better serve a student."
Pottle said moving a student out of a school is
a last resort. He said they don't move students
without a good reason.
"Sometimes the school environment doesn't work
well for a child," Pottle said.
"There's an energy when you walk into our
school, and for most it's great, but for those
with challenges, in particular autism spectrum
disorders, that energy might not be a positive
one."
Colleen Irvine and her daughter Morgan, 9, are
having the same problems in Campbellton.
Her daughter has Asperger's and has not been in
school since the middle of October.
"Her school is saying they can't control her
behaviour and have exhausted their resources,"
Irvine said. "You're not supposed to try to
control the behaviour, but look at what's
causing the outburst to begin with."
Irvine said the school has told her Morgan is
"assigned to home," but still hasn't had time to
settle into a routine.
"She was given a supply teacher who had no
teaching degree or training in autism," Irvine
said.
Michaud said her son is now supposed to attend a
tutor-assistance program at Fredericton High
School.
The program is meant to provide a way for him to
catch up while working his way back into a
school environment.
"He's supposed to go to FHS after that, but I
live clear out in Durham Bridge and we have no
way of getting him there," Michaud said.
"I've been told they have no intention of
returning him to Leo Hayes or finding
transportation for him to get there."
The worried mother said she feels the
responsibility of her child's education is being
shrugged off because he is more of a challenge
than other students.
Harold Doherty, Michaud's lawyer and the former
president of the Autism Society of New
Brunswick, said he's hearing this same complaint
from parents throughout the province.
"Generally, the needs of autistic children are
not being met," Doherty said. "There's almost
1,000 autistic kids in our schools and we might
have 15-20 people trained to work with them."
Doherty said if a school is prepared, it's
possible for children with autism spectrum
disorders to attend without major problems.
He said the government promised to train more
people to deal with these children. If the
promise is kept, he said, there is hope for
families such as the Michauds and the Irvines.