"As the number of Montgomery students diagnosed with autism has increased by more than sixfold over the past decade, educators are grappling with the best ways to teach them and satisfy concerned parents.
Special education officials reported successes in educating the roughly 1,650 students on the autism spectrum last year, but admitted to the Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee on Monday that the way principals and teachers work with those students and their parents varies among schools, a problem that needed to be corrected.
A Westbrook Elementary School parent who addressed the committee, Julie Reiley, said she had encountered “great providers” for her child with autism, but also said she did not think schools consistently collaborated with parents in a positive way, and that the services originally promised in special education meetings were not always delivered, at least initially.
“Parents too often don’t feel like they’re being heard,” Reiley said."
To read the complete Gazette article, click HERE.
FYI: present at the ED Committee meeting was Superintendent Joshua Starr. Many in attendance noticed, and appreciated, that this hearing was the first time in over a decade that the MCPS superintendent had come to the County Council exclusively to discuss special education.
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