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Patricia: A Success Story
in Process
Patricia's School History
When Patricia was 13 months old, she was then enrolled in
Palma Ceia Presbyterian Preschool in Tampa, which was an inclusive preschool.
Patricia was in a classroom with mostly typical classmates. She remained in this
preschool until she entered Kindergarten. She entered an inclusive Kindergarten
at Grady Elementary School. She remained there until the end of her first grade
when the family moved from Tampa.
On moving into her new community, Patricia was placed in an
exceptional student classroom for her first grade which she repeated twice and
second grade. By third grade she was reading thanks to the instruction and
guidance of her paternal grandmother Marianna and was fully included in a
typical classroom. By fourth grade she was assigned a classroom assistant which
was provided for her until graduation this year. Middle school was fully
included with lots of social life in and out of school. She joined the band for
a couple of years and played the Baritone. She was an active young lady and an
assistant in the middle school's library.
High School was at a school outside of her normal placement
area. This was done to insure that she would be included with typical students
until she graduated. To insure success in such an inclusion program, Patricia
was provided with a one on one support aide, who was Wendy for her four years at
High School. Wendy did not do her work for her but rather assisted her to get
organized and focused on the work at hand and worked with all of Patricia’s
teachers to accommodate their curriculum to Patricia’s intellectual potential.
Her high school was divided into several in school
“Academies.” Patricia’s Academy, which she entered in 10th grade, was the
Environmental Technology program, which focused on ecology, environmental
protection, endangered species, ways to work with the environment so as to
respect and support it. As a student in this academy, she participated in a
number of environmental projects, camp outs and clean up days. She even received
from the Academy the Student of the Month Award.
What a wonderful placement for Patricia. She was blessed to
have many typical classmates who were socially proactive and thus were open and
accepting to her. She became close to a number of her typical classmates. She
would be asked out for typical “sleep over” events with the girls. She would go
out to movies or events with them. Patricia and her boyfriend (at the time)
Thomas even double dated with her friend Ashley and her boyfriend Matt. Ashley was
responsible for getting Patricia's parents to agree to have her participate in
the "School Mascot's Walk" when she was a Junior in High School. The parents had
no idea what this event really was except that Patricia needed a gown and
costume for a performance she would put on. It was only until her parents
arrived at the event did they realize this was a "talent and beauty pageant" and
they were overwhelmed and nervous for Patricia. However Patricia went on to
perform outstandingly and did a performance from "Grease" her favorite show at
the time. She was the first runner up out of 35 contestants.
Her typical classmate friend Michelle said that the Academy
in which Patricia was placed was an excellent environment for her. Patricia’s
teachers reached out to her and accommodated for her throughout her academic
experience. Patricia had her curriculum expectations modified and yet she was
required to do all papers, presentations, and reports just like her typical
classmates. Michelle reported that if Patricia’s “one on one support person” was
absent that her classmates would chip in to help Patricia stay focused and
organized during the school day. Her classmates were generally supportive of
her. They were able to overlook the existence of her disability and accepted her
as a person. There were however students who did not know how to deal with
Patricia and it was these kids with whom Patricia would have some challenges. It
sounded like a typical High School situation where kids have to deal with the
pain and heartache of cliques and standoffishness of others.
After Patricia had completed her second year in High
School, her successful inclusion into school was covered in a National Magazine
oriented to fathers. The article was called: New Rules for School: In a
dramatic break from the past, more kids with special needs are taking seats in
regular classrooms (Dads, November-December 2000, p. 62). In the
article, Mike related the following story: In 1993 a call came from Patricia's
third-grade teacher. This was her first year of inclusion. Her teacher said: "We
have a problem. The kids are asking questions, and I don't know what to tell
them." To assist her classmates to know more so that they could get along better with Patricia, Mike and Nancy sent their older daughter O'Hara, then a
high-school cheerleader into the classroom to take the questions. Her presence
went a long way toward helping Patricia fit in with her new classmates.
Patricia's classmates were remarkably unfettered by preconceived notions. Their
first question with O'Hara was: "What's her favorite food?" "Spaghetti." "Well,
that's mine, too." "Why does Patricia put her head on the desk and sleep in the
afternoon? Is she sick?" "No, she just tires easily." Mike mentioned in the
article that Patricia had received the Principal's Award in fifth grade. He
pointed out that the award is given to one boy and one girl who have done the
most to influence the other students, the teachers, and the principal. He
concluded: "That helps explain how children with special needs can be
influential. They can teach things and have a positive effect." The article
concluded: "that's a message all students and their parents should hear and
heed."
Patricia had a full and varied High School life in and out
of school. She was the basketball manager, a volunteer at the recreation center,
sign language interpreter for church music, caregiver for a disabled child at
her church, in the Junior Achievement BowlAThon, pet care sitter, a member of
the Drama club and attended the International Thespian Society Conference. In
her Junior Year of high school she received the regional Advocacy Award from her
state's Downs Syndrome Association. Patricia with such a busy school schedule
also took time for her varied hobbies of: reading about pets and wildlife,
riding horses, going places, and being with friends.
During this past year, which was an additional year of High
School for her to meet the minimum requirements prior to graduation, Patricia
had to adjust to a new group of classmates in that the students she had been
with since her sophomore year had graduated and moved on to work or school.
This was a difficult year for her due to this radical change in her social
network, however her undefeatable personality got her through this transition.
Another support for her during High School was the Medicaid
waiver support which she was enrolled in at 16 years of age. Her Medicaid Waiver
support person Pearl's task was to take Patricia out into the community to do
those things, which typical young ladies indulge in such as shopping, movies,
and exploring. Pearl reports that Patricia is a “dream” to accompany in that she
is very sociable and has never met a stranger. Patricia loves to read and when
in a bookstore can be seen sitting there for hours just reading books. On one
adventure to an energy company’s environmental demonstration program, Patricia
and Pearl spent over three hours just reading all of the information available
about the workings of this model environmental protection site.
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