THE BILLY PROJECT
The Josh Story
Story Findings
At the end of this story, the interviewees really get to the system behind the stories. There is a delay in qualifying a child for a disability. The observation period is so long, and there is no funding to support a kid as they are in the process, even if the symptoms are very obvious. Here we don't see parent resistance, we see organizational resistance.
In this case, organizational resistance is created by delay. Without legal qualification, there is no support, even if the child is clearly needing additional assistance for their own safety and are causing an entire class to abandon classes for the day.
Laura: Josh is autistic. I don’t think he was diagnosed in third grade even. He would refuse to work. He would hide under the table and scream and refuse to come out. We finally had a plan in place where as soon as he started distracting the class, the class would have to leave, and I would have to stay in there with him until help could take over him and I could bring my class somewhere else.
Me: What were Josh’s parents like?
Laura: Josh’s mom was at her wits end, she didn’t know what to do. He would pick the strings out of his socks and eat them as part of his anxiety. Then she would have to come at lunch time because he would have a bowel movement and the strings would be stuck. She was ultra-accommodating and didn’t know what to do. She was at the school quite a bit. She was there a lot in case he had a meltdown. He would get me so worked up. He would just argue. I would almost get mean sometimes, and get down to his level because I kept going and going and going.
Me: And he didn’t have a specialist in the classroom?
Laura: No, not at the time.
Laura S: Unless they have qualified, they don’t get any support.
Me: But he was in the process of being qualified?
Laura S: Yup, you are on your own.
Me: So there’s no transition help?
Everyone: No.