I recently took a stand against an ableist comment on my kid’s school report (read about it here).
I wrote to the Disability Royal Commission I complained to the Department of Education, asking for:
removal of the comment
education for staff, so the same thing doesn’t happen again
Weeks later, a phonecall from the Department of Education Regional Office:
“Sorry. We can’t just remove the comment. School reports are an academic decision by teachers. We can’t interfere.”
(I think: So discrimination is ok, as long as it’s on a school report? Because then it’s an “academic decision”?)
"I understand reports are academic. But I don’t want this to happen again. To my kid, or any disabled kid."
“Of course. The school needs to hear where you’re coming from. I think you should meet with the principal. You’ll need to resolve this with them, because we can’t interfere.”
I agree to a meeting. I sit with the principal, classroom teacher, and school administration officer. I suppress my Autistic urge to launch into a frank discussion on ableism. I perform neurotypical small talk until they signal we are getting to the point.
The principal is surprised about my complaint.
"I know our staff won't have heard of ableism. But we are always keen to improve."
"I understand. Ableism is something I'm still learning about too! Thank you for meeting with me."
"We aren't going to be able to remove the comment, unfortunately."
"Oh that is a shame. Can I ask why?"
*Confusion. They haven't really worked out why. It just hasn't been done before.*
I wait.
The silence lengthens.
It gets awkward.
I wonder if neurotypical culture dictates I should say something to make people feel comfortable? I don't, because that doesn't make sense to me.
This makes me look badass.
Eventually....
"We'll find out if it's possible.
But we should also make sure the next report gets it right. We know this is important for your child, and other children."
My heart lifts. Willingness to listen, and improve. This gives me hope.
I explain, checking the notes I'd prepared on my phone as I go.
"When I say ableism, I don't mean teachers dislike disabled kids, or want to treat them badly. Not at all! Everyone has biases about things, including disability. Ableism is also about schools being designed for non-disabled people, not just the physical buildings, but the whole curriculum. This puts disabled people at a disadvantage. It's what we call the Social Model of Disability."
"We have loads of evidence. There are inquiries into Australian school suspensions, and reports from the Disability Royal Commission. Disabled students are suspended more, bullied more and have worse mental health. Disabled students in Australia don't get fair accommodations at school."
"Neurodivergences, like autism and ADHD, are invisible disabilities. There's a tendency to think these are different to physical disabilities. Some teachers think kids can choose to turn their disability on and off, because their skills and level of support vary. But it's definitely NOT a matter of choice for these kids. Variable skills are a normal part of autism and ADHD."
"The great thing is, we can change our biases, including the language we use. We can make systems fairer. Neurodivergent disabled kids need accommodations just like kids with phyiscal disabilities. Like wheelchair users need wheelchairs and ramps. I think this is a useful way to think when you write school reports."
I check if this makes sense.
"Yes it does." *pause* "Do you want us to write a different kind of school report for your child? Do you not want them to get a rating, like the other children?"
(I think: Nope. Segregation is the opposite of what I want.)
"No. I'm happy for my child to be included in the same kind of reports as everybody. An ordinary school report can respect disability AND rate academic performance. The focus would be not on the child as a problem to be fixed, but on improving the child's access to the curriculum. So they can have more opportunities, and better learning."
“OK thanks, you’ve explained it well. We’ve found some online learning packages that go into these topics. So we’ll let staff know about those.”
"That’s great news. And thank you for looking into removing the comment. I’m afraid I won’t be able to say this is resolved if it stays there."
“We will. We will. It’s not something we’ve ever done before. Never in my career! Reports are just not something we’ve had parent input with.”
"I understand. I don’t think parents should be measuring academic skills!
But, even though these are academic reports, they’re not exempt from human rights law.
So if someone makes a sexist, or a racist, or an ableist comment, we should make sure we can fix it. If there isn’t a way, that’s something I want to change.”
My use of the words law, racist and sexist definitely cause consternation.
I don’t regret it.
“We’ll let you know.”
I thank everyone and leave. I’m swinging between feeling like every bit of progress is great. Then overwhelmed by how far there is to go to make schools inclusive.
Later I chat with my 7 y.o.
“Hey do you remember I asked you if I could write to the school to change a comment on your report?”
“You mean the one that was really unfair? Because it said I shouldn’t need so much help.”
“Yep that one. Well I had a meeting with the principal about it today.”
“What happened at the meeting?”
“They didn’t change it yet. But they said they’re going to work out how.”
“Good."