Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

What can I say when this actually says it all?  So what is my point that I am trying to make?  It is simple, make my son feel safe and he will be able to function in a classroom.

I wish the discussion could end at Maslows Hierarchy of Needs because it doesn't feel to me that some people can actually grasp this concept in our nation's classrooms.  This is because in our nation's classrooms and especially in our special education classrooms it is all about power.  It is "Do as I say and I won't hurt you."  I will also add that there are amazing teachers and amazing special ed teachers.  For the sake of this discussion, this does not include them.

I am basing this, my own discussion, on what I see on various groups on facebook.  I am hit time and time again with images of bruises on our kids.  I sit and read in horror on how our kids can be electrocuted to behave. I believe that the only school that uses "aversion shock therapy" is the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts.  It shouldn't be used anywhere.
  

This is how it works.  The kids wear a backpack and it holds the equipment to shock the kid.  This particular kid in this photo has two holsters that also hold the equipment to shock the kid.  I am not going to go on and on about this practice but to actually have the equipment on their body the entire time they are awake and having to walk around knowing that this equipment on their body can harm them?  What must these children think of themselves?  I really don't know what else to say.  I wish I could come up with something clever but I can't.

My thoughts drift to Sam as an example of the American child with a disability.  You can't lump all children together in any category but my point is this, what does my child and every child think of themselves?  Do they feel valued?  Do they feel good about themselves?  Do they know that they are or could be contributing members of society?

I have too many examples of where Sam feels he is not good enough, he doesn't feel smart and he doesn't feel important.  That is a shame.  

I repeat this over and over again.  The national average of kids dying per year in the United States of America is six children.  I watched the life drain out my son's eyes after being restrained and put in the seclusion room time and time again.  He was voicing that he wanted to harm himself.  He actually tried to harm himself. Obviously, me repeating that time and time again isn't going to make much of a difference for our kids.  The only thing that I can do is educate.  

Why am I talking about this?  It is because I sat in my son's pediatrician's office today stating my case that I needed a letter stating that the use of restraints and the use of seclusion closets is not in the best interest of my child.  I scratch my head on how it says in his IEP that he can be restrained and put in a seclusion closet for up to twenty minutes.  I did not OK that.  I would never OK that.  I want it out of his IEP and I don't want it in any behavior plan and I don't know how to get it removed.  The problem lies in that the pediatrician saw Sam kick a chair when we were talking about how I needed the letter.  I asked Sam if he was OK if we talked about it and he said yes and clearly that was not a wise decision.  I made a separate appointment without Sam and the doctor said to me, "Well, I am wondering if they are afraid what will happen."  Ummm, give the kid hands on, multi-sensory work that caters to his interest and think outside the box.  I am a broken record when it comes to how you should teach Sam. Not one single person, except for the idiot Boy Scout Troop leader (sorry he was a boob) is afraid of Sam.  

Give Sam food, water, shelter and a safe place to learn that caters to his needs.  If he has that maybe, I will say most likely, he will feel a sense of belonging, his self esteem will rise and he will begin to have self-actualization where he believes in himself.  It must be true.  I say this because if it wasn't true, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs would not be so well known and would not be used in the extent that it is used to teach others what is needed to be successful.  I am sure our special ed teachers have heard about it.   

Definition of Mental

1. a: of, relating to, or being intellectual as contrasted with overt physical activity.

2. a: of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder <mental patient>.

b: mentally disordered, mad, crazy.

I choose being an intellectual as my definition of being mental.

*The photo that I use for my background was taken by Sam.