So earlier this evening/late afternoon, I posted on Facebook about Dearborn Public Schools and both an ASD teacher and two speech clinicians with NO knowledge about Michelle Garcia Winner and her Social Thinking www.socialthinking.com that is used by countless districts across MI and America. Further, they had no knowledge about Sarah Ward and her extensive work on speech and executive functions, and the fact that she has presented to the Oakland ISD and Macomb ISD and is nationally recognized. Well, I set off quite a fire storm and over a brief couple of hours. I was accused of bullying staff over my questions and concerns.
I have thought a lot about this over these past hours. I am always open to thoughtful criticism and I know that I open myself up to harsh criticism and both misconceptions and misrepresentations in my quest to see that children receive meaningful educational benefit and my daily fight for public education. I push limits every day. I challenge broken and exhausted mindsets everyday, and I won’t stop doing either.
I can’t single-handedly change the fact and neither can you, that we are living in the worst of times for children with special needs, and for public education as a whole. What I can do is fight for what and whom I believe in, and I can urge EVERY person who visits this page to do the same. We can be a part of the solution or we can be an accomplice and part of the problem. As uncomfortable as it can be, I will fight for solutions and fight for children and public education. I hope you will do the same. Stay out of “the box,” and build a new one that expands to infinitum. Push back from comments, mentalities and actions that reflect all that is broken in both public education and un-special education. And don’t ever be afraid to ask a question or challenge statements that need challenging. Your child, our children, deserve all of our efforts and so much more.