Thread by @ottawa_asd_mum

1/ I have a child with an autism diagnosis and intellectual delay. He is 9. He spends his mornings included in a Grade 4 classroom.

2/ He is not doing what his classmates do. He works at his own pace, with his own (extremely) modified curriculum while he practices sitting at a desk for longer than 20 minutes.

3/ He has the kind of needs that dictate he be supervised at all times. ALL. TIMES. If you have children, consider that feeling when you watch them climb onto the yellow bus and then wave from their window—or when your teenager flies through the kitchen, grabs their lunch and

4/heads out the door. Do you think about what happens a second after that? How they get off the bus, or how they enter the yard? What happens after they walk through the doors of the building? If they know what it means when the first bell rings? If they know how to ask

5/permission to use the washroom or where to go to do so? Do you worry that they may bolt from their classroom? Leave the building? Remove their socks & shoes and leave them somewhere? Do you worry about who will clean them up if they spill something? Who will make sure they can

6/do up the zipper on their coat? Make it to the right classroom? Get on the right bus at the end of the day? Make sure they receive necessary medication on time? That they receive a tube feed properly and on time? That there is someone to tote their belongings if they can’t?

7/Do you think about every second of each day wondering if your child will be where they need to be, when they need to be there and remain safe, clean and fed?

I do. At least, I did.

Logistics of each & every day must be planned. If they’re not—someone is injured. Someone is

8/lost. And someone dies.

I wish I could say this is being dramatic.

If I can’t simply let my child hop out of the car at the curb in front of the school & then head to work—then what DO I do? How do I spend my days not literally vomiting from worry and talking myself out of

9/calling the school every 10-15 minutes to make sure everything is ok?

My son has an EA.
And she is me. At school.
And I once lost sleep & agonized over the logistics of each and every day. But I don’t anymore—because I am privileged to have a 1:1 EA for my child who is with

10/him *constantly*. Every moment accounted for. No divided attention between other children. She is his “School Mom”. And she is invaluable.

I’ll ask you to note that I’ve made it 10 tweets into this thread BARELY MENTIONING *EDUCATION*.

I am not talking about

11/quality of education, good grades, healthy work habits with peers, punctuality or organizational skills.

THAT is a whole other story and a testament to how very broken the education system is particularly for children with differing needs.

I send my child to school so he

12/learn basic day to day tasks, practice routines, be part of a school community and BE SEEN. I send him so I can spend days combing through an endless stream of paperwork for every aspect of his life and maybe get some work done in between. I send him because he is a human

13/being in Ontario and has a fundamental right to an education. He has every right to be there.

My child can ONLY attend school because he has an Educational Assistant. If she is not there, he isn’t.

She is the key aspect to making my family’s life actually happen each day.

14/ She is the human equivalent to that big box building with a yard & unlocked doors that is full of professionals ready to teach.

She is my son’s ACCESS.

If you are upset because your child might not have access on Friday—this is my child’s life every other day of the year.

15/@Sflecce and @fordnation are communicating that she and her colleagues are asking too much to have liveable wages that keep them above the poverty line and safe, supportive work environments.

These two are having a field day vilifying the people parents like me hope for,

16/advocate for, fight for, even pray for. When they are assigned to our children, we are overcome with relief. When they aren’t, we are crippled with worry & sentenced to another year of re-planning the logistics of our lives. EA assignment is like winning the lottery. There is

17/nothing more coveted. When @Sflecce and @fordnation communicate they are being unreasonable—they are communicating that my child is not worth the trouble. They communicate that my child’s safety is not worth the trouble. They communicate that my child’s right to an education

18/ is not worth the trouble.

Calling this out, holding this government accountable & standing with @CUPEOntario is worth EVERY ounce of my trouble.

I am one of the lucky ones. My son has access. Other families do not. A day of “locked doors” of the neighbourhood school is an

19/everyday reality for special needs families across this province.

I will be at the picket line carrying my son’s EA on my back if I have to. She is the backbone of his education, and worth every penny being asked for. It is a damn shame that the value of these dedicated

20/Professionals is even a question. This is not just their fight. It is my fight. This is an attack on the village that supports my child. This is an attack in my child. I am insulted to the core that @Sflecce would even try to turn me against them.

I know whose corner I’m

21/standing in & no number of $250 payments will convince me that those most dedicated to our kids’ education are the ones who show up every day. Not the ones that turn up for a photo op or impassioned speech about the importance of keeping kids in the classroom—that someone

22/else wrote for him. I will stand with those ACTUALLY keeping kids in the classroom. I will stand with Education Workers every. Single. Time.

@CUPEOntario @Sflecce @fordnation #ontedsolidarity @ChandraPasma #onpoli #onted #IStandWithCUPE #39kIsNotEnough