Special kids deserve special consideration

With all due respect to Deborah Tomlinson of Thousand Oaks, your Feb.7 letter to the T.O. Acorn ("School board should ignore emotional parents") reveals exactly why we need to be sure that our kids with special needs attend a school where tolerance and inclusion are a way of life.

If they attended a school with your way of thinking, where they were met with the lack of compassion and understanding that you showed in your comments, they would never blossom.

Since you freely admitted that you don't understand, I'd like to help you. A child with autism is ruled by their environment; to change their entire school environment and peer group could set off serious regression.

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities states, "Individuals with autism generally prefer consistent routines and environments; they may react negatively to changes in them. It is not uncommon for these individuals to exhibit aggression, increased levels of selfstimulatory behavior, self-injury or extensive withdrawal in overwhelming situations.

"The classroom environment should be structured so that the program is consistent and predictable. Consistency and continuity are very important for children with autism."

It takes a lot of time and routine for these children to blossom. It takes much more time than it would take any of their typical peers.

Of all the groups that you mentioned in your comments who could claim that they need "special consideration," not one of them has an inherent inability to adjust to new surroundings in a way that a child with autism does. The Conejo Valley Unified School District school board made the courageous and just decision to look out for these kids who have found a community of inclusion at their schools.

Your insensitivity was astounding when you said that parents who fight on behalf of children with special needs are just trying to change the outcome by making threats and having emotional outbursts.

We're standing up for a community that deserves the same childhood as your child or mine.

It takes a little more planning and little more effort to provide them that; I don't know about you, but I think they're worth it. Michelle Page Newbury Park