August 26, 2010 2:30:33 PM CEST
The Netherlands has signed on to the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, yet discrimination is still rife throughout South Holland.
Parents are consistently being over-charged by taxi firms to transport their children to and from school. Parents also experience long waiting lists, they receive outdated information about autism and how to treat it, are advised to place their children into institutions, trouble with funding and budget cuts, encounter untrained staff at schools, KDC's and MKD's.
And yet, in the end it is only the vulnerable children who suffer.
Children with special needs are consistently denied their right to an education, and instead are placed into KDC's or MKD's with untrained staff, a lack of resources, and strict holiday schedules that impede normal family holidays.
Bullying, segregation, seclusion and restraint are common practices due to the lack of knowledge of behavior analysis and modification techniques. Children are not seen as 'humans with a special needs', they are viewed as second class citizens, and I have done my best to curtail this by offering training, information sheets, and feedback to organizations willing to learn and become better informed about children and their needs.
Do you have a story about a positive or negative experience with the Dutch system? If so, contact me at kelly@specializedautismservices.com, lets work together to raise awareness for these precious children!
