Education

Inclusive education

Education systems vary from state to state. Every school is different, just like every child is. We encourage you to do your own research when selecting schools. You want to choose the school that you think will best suit your child’s and family’s needs. Not every school will necessarily suit every student at every year level, so be mindful of this. There is nothing wrong with changing school if the current school is no longer meeting the needs of your child or is no longer the best fit for them or your family. It’s helpful to be flexible, adaptable and tuned in to what is working well or not so well.

SWAN recommends you tour a few schools and take a support person with you. Talking with parents who have children attending the schools you are interested in is a great way to get an understanding of how the school could best meet your child’s needs.

There are different models of education SWAN families can access depending on where they live. These include:

• Mainstream school – not IQ dependent.
• Mainstream school with supports – will depend on the level of disability and chronic illness how much additional support a child will receive. Additional support may or may not include an aid in the classroom.
• Satellite/Support classes/Supported learning unit – a class for children with additional needs but is located on mainstream school grounds.
• Special school – an IQ and Vineland test will need to be administrated to determine the level of funding. Special schools cater for students with an IQ between 50-70 points.
• Special development/special developmental school – an IQ and Vineland test will need to be administrated to determine the level of funding. Special schools cater for students with an IQ under 50 points.
• Specialist school – an IQ and Vineland test will need to be administrated to determine the level of funding. Specialist schools cater for students with an IQ under 70 points and are a cross between a special school and special development/special developmental school.