- Pin it
- SubscribeUnsubscribe
- Embed
S Fraser hasn't added a story.
Note:
This plea for help has had to remain anonymous. H.B.'s parents are both teachers within the school board where their son attends school. If they were simply parents, they would have the right to speak freely about this case and about their child's experiences. However, as they are teachers, they have been warned by the school board that by speaking about this case and their son's experiences, they could be accused of "disparaging the employer" and disciplined.
They have been warned that there is the possibility that not only could the school board take disciplinary action themselves, they could also be hauled in front of the Ontario College of Teachers for further disciplinary action.
Apparently, and unbelievably, there is no clear delineation for these people in their role as teachers and as parents and this has been used in attempts to silence them.
All funds raised will go directly and strictly go to the legal fees for this battle.
H.B.'s Story
H.B. is a 6-year-old boy who enjoys, music, nature, school buses, and Blippi. Like many little boys his age, he loves tickle-wrestling with Dad, playing outside and with his sisters, mixing pancakes with Mom, and the chase and giggles after a bit of sneaky mischief.
At a year old, H.B.'s parents received the devastating news that he had been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called MECP2 Duplication Syndrome . The diagnosis likely means that H.B. will never talk, have a plethora of health issues and concerns, and will more than likely have a reduced lifespan.
H.B. also has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, further complicating his life, but providing some clarity of how to move forward in providing him with what he needs to access the world around him.
I cannot begin to express in words the emotional heartache H.B.'s parents go through every day when considering their son's plight. Parents of children with these challenges exist in an alternate universe where things that should bring joy, often bring painful reflection and crushing sadness. It is hard to escape the fear and anxiety they have for his future... he's so innocent, pure and helpless. They are his only voice, and as his parents, they have decided to fight for him.
Junior Kindergarten
H.B. qualified for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) funding and began receiving Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy during his JK year. It has delivered amazing results for H.B. in his ability to communicate his needs, interact with others, reduced frustration, and allowed him to better access the world around him.
Generally, ABA for children with ASD consists of a tremendous amount of structure with high concentrations of reinforcement while using specific teaching techniques. Data is collected so that we know when a skill is learned or mastered. The most important job of the parent in ABA is to learn to provide your child with lots of opportunities to take the skills learned in a clinical setting and transfer these into your their everyday life. https://www.abacuslist.ca/All-About-ABA
However, H.B.'s parents being teachers, knew that the school board would require H.B. to leave this essential part of his learning at the door. Thus, negatively affecting his ability to grow, progress, and access the world around him - including the Ontario curriculum. This is akin to asking a student to leave his/her wheelchair at the door.
So despite H.B.'s parent's desire for him to be treated just like everyone else and be able to access his homeschool and attend JK with is neighborhood peers, H.B.s parents had to make the heartbreaking decision to keep him at the daycare facility - a facility that he had already aged out of.
H.B.'s daycare has embraced his exceptionality and has worked really hard and in concert with his ABA provider to meet his individual education needs within the confines of their building and programming. His daycare and the teachers employed by it have been a model of inclusivity and respect for his human rights and have done everything in their power to provide the programming that will help him be as successful as he can be, proving it can be done.
Meanwhile, the local school board has simply refused.
Senior Kindergarten
At the beginning of his Senior Kindergarten year, H.B.'s parents pleaded with the school board to allow his ABA provider to deliver ABA in his classroom. With their collective years of experience as teachers and extensive knowledge of the classroom and how it functions, H.B.'s parents presented a reasoned and rational plan for this to be possible.
The school board denied this request. Again, H.B.'s parents were forced to either forego his education or his ABA. In an attempt to have him a part of his community and among his age appropriate peers at least part of the time, unlike parents with neurotypical children, H.B.'s parents had to make the agonizing decision to send H.B. back to the daycare for three days a week and then attend school two days a week. The daycare is wonderful but is also a place where he had aged out of by 2 years at this point. While this would limit his ABA hours, it would allow for the kids in his neighborhood an opportunity to know he exists and that he is a classmate in their community.
Any parent with a child with severe special needs has dreams of their child being accepted and protected by the peers they grow up with within their community. While they try not to be naive, H.B.'s parents also have those dreams for him.
Senior Kindergarten - Again
Not only did the school board deny H.B.'s parent's requests for ABA in the classroom, but they also offered H.B. little to no appropriate accommodations to meet his needs. At the end of his Senior Kindergarten year, it was determined by the school and approved by the board that H.B. was to repeat his SK year. He did not meet the expectations of the Senior Kindergarten curriculum or the goals of his Individual Education Plan.
H.B. will never again be in class with his age-appropriate peers.
Why are H.B.s parents taking on this battle?
H.B.'s parents are not looking to embarrass or shame anyone. They have tried as hard as they can to be benevolent and discreet (initially out of respect for their employer and moving forward out of fear of reprisals from that same employer) in their efforts to affect change for their son and perhaps through precedent, all ASD students in the province.
In a perfect world, the school board would independently and altruistically embrace H.B. and his exceptionality, do what is right, and allow him to access his education by permitting his ABA Therapist to assist him while in school. H.B.'s parents pleaded for the school board to be progressive in looking out for one of the most vulnerable of their community of children. They provided a rational, reasonable, informed, and knowledgeable plan to move forward in providing a learning environment that is functional for H.B., his classmates, and all students with ASD.
The school board has put forward a lot of excuses:
- They claimed that the Ministry of Education Policies would not allow what they are asking for - The Ministry of Education said that is not the case.
- They claimed that the Ministry of Child and Youth Services OAP program itself prevented what we are asking for - The Ministry of Child and Youth Services said that is not the case.
- They claimed that there was no room for such a program - H.B.'s parents being teachers in the system know this is nonsense... and that argument quickly disappeared.
- They claimed that collective bargaining contracts prevented such a program - yet provided no specifics as to what in those contracts prevented ABA Therapy from happening.
Even with their excuses crumbling in on themselves, the school board has stayed resistant to moving in a progressive direction for students with ASD. They refuse to allow ABA Therapists from the OAP into the classroom and refuse to create a plan to provide it themselves.
So where are kids with Autism when it comes to effective programming?
Unfortunately and archaically, what the school board is doing is asking H.B. to leave his wheelchair at the door, to exclude and segregate him, to marginalize his experience, and deny his rights to education.
Unfortunately, for many ASD students, this lack of a plan for inclusivity through the lack of ABA therapists in schools means violence, outbursts, and ultimately exclusion.
One would expect this school board to live up to its mandate for all children and work toward nullifying any and all barriers and obstacles that would impact H.B.'s access to the programming he needs to continue down this path to maximizing his potential. Sadly they have simply said no.
So H.B.s parents decided to fight for his rights and force this school board to accept H.B.'s ASD needs and allow him to access his education through ABA Therapists in classrooms and possibly effect change for all students in situations similar to H.B. in the Province of Ontario.
Why they need financial support?
Taking a school board to The Human Rights Tribunal is a daunting and cost prohibitive task. To have a chance to correct these wrongs requires large sums of money. While they as a family are fully invested in this battle for H.B. and essentially all children with an Autism Diagnosis province-wide, their financial resources are not going to be enough.
It would be a great loss for H.B. and other children if they had to end this battle because of the costs associated with this fight.
There's a better way to provide educational services to a child like H.B. His parents, who are very knowledgeable of the system presented this to the Board ... with your help, they can force them to accept change.
Victory, in this case, will ensure education in this province starts moving in a progressive direction for H.B., and other ASD children like him.
H.B. really needs your support!
Highlights
See all activity18Activity
Delete media item?
Delete this item from the media gallery? It will also be deleted from any related story update.
Set as ?
The campaign video will appear in social media and email.
The campaign cover picture will appear in social media and email.
The will appear at the top of your campaign page and in social media and email.
Reset ?
It will be removed from the top of your campaign and won't be used as default in social media and email. The will remain in the media gallery.
Embed
Share a link
Delete update
Delete this story update?
Any pictures or videos will remain in the campaign's media gallery.
Report campaign
Report submitted
Thank you. We take reports like yours very seriously. Our goal is to keep the community safe.
Please know that we may contact you for more information, but that we won't notify you personally of our decision. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Thank you. We've already received your previous report. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Tell us about the problem. Please fill in both fields below.
Record a video
Upload a video
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Take a minute or two to record one now. Record a short video message of support. Or upload one from your device. You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Upload a short video message of support. Upload a short video message of support. Or record one right now.
- Most effective video length: about a minute.
- Maximum length: 5 min.
- You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Heads up! The existing video will be replaced.
Email your friends
Join our team
Tell people why our cause matters to you. Your personal message will encourage others to help. Easy, effective, optional.
Say it in video
Short personal videos by supporters like you are incredibly powerful. Record one right now and you'll help us raise more money. Easy, optional, effective.
Add a personal goal
Set a personal fundraising goal. You'll encourage more contributions if you do. And rest easy. There's no obligation to achieve your goal or bad consequences if you don't. Easy, optional, effective.
We have a video!
Video thumbnail
We'd love to show you our campaign video. Want to take a look?
, you're already on the team.