Special Education has only in recent years become a term that people in Singapore are more comfortable with saying. Even then, in a city known for it's gleaming skyscrapers, anybody who deviates from mainstream society is often only mentioned in hushed whispers. This post is about children with special needs. But more than that, it's about the people who work with them every day--their parents and educators. Most of all, it's about why I think the prevailing attitude towards special education is hurting all stakeholders.

In recent times, my mother, sustained some injuries in an encounter with a student. This incident to me revealed several problems in the way that people view special needs students. How does one deal with such a situation? Should you reprimand the child? Should the child be counselled or punished? I think people are iffy on how to approach this because of the feelings associated with persons with special needs namely, shame, pity, discomfort and even fear.

Here's what I think: I think that a child or person with special needs is handicapped in certain ways ( at least from the point of a neurotypical "normal" person. As a result, there is hesitation to treat such persons the way we might treat a "normal" child. But I think this is not only a disempowering method of teaching a child with special needs but also potentially a dangerous one. By not showing the child a clear consequence for his actions, you silently imply that you condone his actions. And when you do that, you teach the child that it is okay for him to misbehave because you do not expect better from him. Surely, you do not believe that this because if you do, it means that you have lost hope. And if that is the case what is the function of an institution dedicated to teaching such students? Have more faith in such persons.

Secondly, I think when you are complicit in condoning violent behaviour from any child, you put the people who deal with him on a regular basis at serious risk. One day the little kid is going to grow up to be a strong man or woman and if you don't nip the problem in the bud now, do you really think you  can discipline a grown man who is set in his ways?

I also want to talk about the teachers who work with special needs children. Much emphasis has been placed on the welfare of the children themselves and their parents. But what about the teachers? It is true that a teacher must accept the risk of injury as an occupational hazard. But that is NOT an excuse for an institution to tolerate violence from its students nor is it a justification as to why injured staff are not given compensation in whatever form. Why is the welfare and safety of such professionals not a priority? Why are their stories not heard in news bulletins?

I am not a hundred percent sure. But I think it has something to do with this. As long as society views disabled persons as lesser than us and therefore pitiable, we will always excuse their actions. This is because we don't want to experience the discomfort of understanding their conditions and their strengths. This is profoundly demeaning not only to the special needs' persons but also a disservice to the people who work with them daily to make their lives a little better.

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