Special Education. Are students at a greater risk of Abuse?

Part of a parent's job is to worry about their children, but shouldn't they be able to feel like their children are safe while at school? What about parent's of children with disabilities? Don't you think they have enough on their minds. They should feel comfortable knowing that between roughly the hours of 8AM-3PM their children, are in a safe, nurturing and educational environment. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

Maybe it is because the people who abuse or mistreat them are not afraid

of being caught. If they victim is not capable of telling the authorities what has happened to them, then they are likely right, they probably won't get caught. I have somewhat of a personal reason I decided to research this topic in general. A good friend of mine has a son who is severely mentally retarded. He is in the middle school system now we'll call him "Brad". For about a month straight "Brad was having a real lot of trouble sleeping at night, he was keeping everyone in his family awake and it was becoming a real problem. His mother asked the teachers a few times if Brad was napping during they day they told her that he wasn't. She was really concerned, He had never had trouble sleeping before, unless he napped during the day. So after about a month of him not sleeping well she decided she was going to show up unexpected in her sons classroom to see if he was napping. Sure enough she walked into the classroom and he was fast asleep in a corner. He didn't even have a blanket or a pillow, he was laying on the linoleum floor fast asleep. Needless to say she was very upset. Apparently the teachers got the message and didn't want to find themselves in that position again, because from that point on Brad slept great at night. About a year later, my cousin entered the same school. My cousin sits at a few tables away from where the special needs students sit. One day when we were having a family party my cousin mentioned to my friend that Brad is always sitting by himself at lunch, and the rest of the kids sit together. This didn't sit to well with my friend. So the next day when she brought "Brad" to school she asked where he sat at lunch, and they told her he sat right with the other kids. My friend knew that Brad probably didn't sit with the other kids because he was probably grabbing their food or something, but still, she felt like she couldn't trust the teachers, they were lying to her face. How can she really know whats going on in the classroom? Brad can't tell her.

Its scary to think that parents cant trust the people who are supposed to be educating their children. Except for budgeting reasons, I really see no reason why video cameras can't be placed in special needs classrooms, or all classrooms for that matter. If teachers have nothing to hide, this shouldn't be a problem with anyone. That way if there are any questions on what happened in the class, it is easy enough to go to the video.

If parents feel uncomfortable with a situation that includes their child for any reason, they need to do something about it. If their child can't speak for themselves, it is up to them. They need to be their child's advocate. Here are some steps to becoming your child's advocate "1.Positive Parent/Teacher Relationships...2. Be Well Informed About Your Child's Needs...3. Be a Note Taker...4. Know What Records the School Is Keeping...5. Ask Questions...6. Include Your Child...7. Remain Positive and Think Positive"(Special Education Parent).