Parents of autistic children worried over merger plan

Skeptics say consolidating county programs would extend commutes, limit achievement

Thursday, May 4, 2006

Parents of autistic children in a successful county-run program are expressing strong reservations about a consolidation plan set for the fall that would send their children to school with others who have discipline problems.

Concerned parents gathered Tuesday night to discuss a proposal that would move autistic children in the Forbush Program from Jessie B. Mason School in Temple Hills and Margaret Brent School New Carollton to a new academy at what used to be Edgar Allen Poe Elementary in Suitland.

‘‘Autistic children are a work in progress,” said Terry Christoff, who has a 9-year-old son autistic son. ‘‘I don’t want him modeling the behavior from children with behavioral issues of their own.

‘‘If their behavior (autistic children) is not under control they won’t perform academically.”

Pamela Downing-Hosten, director of special education for county schools, told parents that the children who would be placed with the autistic ones would only be in the school for two semesters. They would return to regular schools once their issues had been worked out.

She said all the students would be better served by the move.

‘‘We’re focusing our resources to serve students,” she said.

Parents also complained about the increased bus ride times for some children if the proposal goes through.

One woman from Laurel said her daughter rides 13 miles to the New Carrollton site and would have to double the trip to the Poe site.

‘‘She’s first on the bus and last on the bus,” the lady said in tears. ‘‘She’s on the bus three hours a day already.”

Some parents said their children would likely be better off where they are or mainstreamed with regular education children who did not have behavioral problems.

‘‘We’re just skeptical that this proposal will work out as well as if we did nothing,” said Kyle Christoff.

But Downing-Hosten said that students would be selected for bus routes to shorten their trips. Autistic children would continue in their special classes and might only be allowed in a regular education class as their ability and educational requirements allowed, she added.

The idea is to get special needs children learning in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and closer in touch with regular education students, according to Downing-Hosten.

Studies have shown that special needs children learn better when closer to their regular education counterparts.

‘‘It’s a plus for both,” Downing-Hosten said for the two groups that could populate the new academy.

Downing-Hosten said the measure must receive approval by the school board. If that approval comes, the program would start in the fall.

Terry Christoff said that despite her family’s reservations about the plan, they would likely keep their autistic son in the Forbush program, wherever it went.

‘‘I don’t know where we have a lot of options,” Christoff said.

E-mail Guy Leonard at gleonard@gazette.net.