We were talking to our daughter yesterday, when she had invited herself back to our house for coffee after our picnic and extended play session with the small people in the park. My original plan had been that she would join me and the small people in the park, we would have our picnic and then she would take the little people home in the car while I walked back to my house along the Donkey Line with my shopping. There was half an arrangement for Phil to come and meet me along the way. But the play session extended itself, I went and bought more fruit than intended - the greengrocery had some very nice apples - and my shopping back was heavier than planned, so when she suggested going back to my house for coffee, well, I just had to accept.
And so we talked about how her work as a primary teacher is going, how next year looks like shaping up - it’s that time of year when you have to plan ahead - and all that sort of thing. She expects to have the same year group as she has had this year, saving some time on planning, tweaking this year’s material to meet the needs of the new class rather than starting completely afresh. Every year there are a few children in the class with special needs of one kind or another. She expressed relief that an especially extreme case has been transferred to a special education unit. One problem she won’t have to cope with. This is a child who frequently displays violent behaviour: kicking, lashing out, even biting his helpers.
We all agreed that in principle we believe most children with special needs benefit from being in main stream education. They reveal skills nobody knew they had and develop more fully in a class with others of their age group. The other children in the class benefit too, learning to be tolerant and accepting of those who may seem different and who need extra help. Often they become very caring and protective of those “different” children. However, if seriously violent and disruptive behaviour is being displayed, then the benefits can be lost for both groups of children.
The DJ Jo Whiley was talking to the Guardian newspaper about growing up with a disabled sister and how, as a child, she used to stare down people who looked askance at her sister and her frequently odd behaviour. She stressed the benefits of growing up with her sister Frances:-
“Frances has brought huge positive aspects, including fun, joyful chaos and an awareness of differences, which Whiley says her children have adopted. “They’ve grown up with an auntie who’s got quite extreme behaviour, so they don’t bat an eyelid,” she says. As a child, Whiley was incredibly protective and would stare down anyone who dared gawp at her sister. Have things changed? Do people still stare? “Well, she’s so loud that it’s hard to ignore her,” she says with a laugh. But even now, on occasion, “you’ll get people tutting”.
Jo Whiley also talked about the difficulty of arranging for her sister to receive the vaccine. She herself was offered the vaccine, because of a childhood heart problem she has long since outgrown, while her sister, in a residential care-home, was not. Her sister did catch Covid and it was touch and go but she was lucky and survived. And Jo Whiley sees the positive aspects of that near-miss experience.
The big push right now is getting younger people vaccinated. The Delta variant is affecting that age group very significantly. Our eldest granddaughter, almost 24 now, falls into the age group now being offered the vaccine. She received her invitation, she applied for an appointment and was offered St Albans, Ormskirk, Huddersfield, even Southampton, but nothing really close to Mossley, where she lives. That sounds like a very familiar experience! Bury was in the list of possibilities - we all advised not going anywhere news that dangerous place! Eventually she accepted an appointment at the Etihad Stadium; still not really local but her father will drive her there. Now she just needs to get over her almost constant anxiety!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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