Kids on the spectrum don't belong in mainstream school

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I have been reading quite a bit on the Deaf culture the last couple of days and I feel that there is much we can learn from those in the deaf community. For instance, the majority of deaf people do not consider themselves as "less than" and most of them would not even accept the opportunity to hear if given the chance. Many are thankful for the gift of deafness. The majority of the most content of deaf people were not forced to go to school with rabid, hearing NT's. The happiest also tend to spend much more time with others that are deaf [including schooling] and find much of the hearing world fairly pathetic.

Many deaf people do get married [9 times out of 10 to other deaf people] and, hope that their children are also deaf so that they will be part of an emotionally more healthy community.

I embrace this philosophy much more fully than a "let 'em tough it out" one. I am not saying that we should totally segregate ourselves from NT's, but, yeah, more than we do, especially in school.

Also ,a number of us ARE working on autistic communities for people to work and live in for a good portion of their time [not even looking for nearly as high percentage wise as NT's associate with mostly other Nt's] We are also working on bringing Autistics together to enjoy and build more autistic culture at a price [often free] that most of our brothers and sisters can afford. [ just got home from one on Tuesday. Autistic space is an awesome thing]

Our young people are 28 TIMES more likely to plan in detail, attempt to, or succeed in ending their own lives. I honestly do not believe it is because they have been protected from too much pain and suffering, quite the opposite. Most of these young people did NOT grow up in an environment where they were accepted, their space and person respected, not at all.

OOL, if being tough and hard ass keeps you alive, then that's what you need to do. [ incidentally, I do respect you and look forward to reading most of your posts. I also agree with many of them] But, you precious and incredible woman, how nice would it be to enjoy your blessings and accomplishments without the hardness and bitterness?

It seems that the people who argue that mainstreaming is best for all "high functioning" autistic children are people who seem to approach things with a more "neurotypical" thinking style. That's not the best description, because it is by definition inaccurate. I mean that they tend to express a certain level of understanding about others' actions, motives, etc. that many others do not, and seem to use more overtly emotional language than others on this forum.

I am more interested in an approach that is closer to "first do no harm" than "you have to be thrown to the wolves as a child so you can learn how to cope with bullies." I'm not sure anyone espouses the latter perspective in a literal sense, but I have seen posts that seem to point in this direction.

As far as being prepared for "real life," having spent 11 out of 12 years in mainstream classes, and only one year (the fifth grade) in a special ed classroom, I was not prepared at all. Further, I ended up with trauma due to abuse and bullying experienced from both adults and other students. I am still not all that great at "real life."

No, all HFA children do not need to be in special education. No, they all do not also need to not receive special education. Some need one, some need the other, and some need both. There are also problems with how special education is managed and taught, and often the teachers themselves are abusive. There's no truly guaranteed good answer.

I know there've been a few posts lately about "HFA" people and Aspies being able to live independently and just having executive function issues or needing to learn coping skills. That's not accurate. There is also the tendency to shut down under stress, skill loss, inability to generalize skills to multiple contexts, sensory sensitivities, increased emotional lability, autistic catatonia, and I am probably forgetting a host of other issues that can have a direct impact on one's ability to function in an environment geared toward NTs that are still applicable to autistic people labeled with any functioning level.

I don't know what a douchebag is.

It means a bad person - i.e an annoying person or a d*ck.

I am currently in secondary school in the UK and it is one of the most common terms used to describe someone that isn't an accepted swear.
Me and my friend laughed at this.

when I did licensed daycare, when kids who had been mainstreamed started going to the special needs school, the kids usually became more relaxed, stopped fighting me on doing homework and reading, smiled more, and, oh yeah, seemed to have far fewer bruises on their bodies. They spoke of their friends [and these were not the same type of friends who they had to pay money to in order to not be assaulted] at the new school and how they were no longer frightened on the bus [seperate bus, mainstream school bus was just a traveling torture chamber]

We need to protect our kids WHILE encouraging them to step out of their comfort zone, which they can never step out of if they are never there.