While the collective “An inclusive school for all” is organizing a demonstration on Wednesday in front of the National Assembly, Audrey Tatry, mother of a 5-year-old child with attention deficit disorder, denounces the lack of Accompanying Students with Disabilities (AESH).
It calls for a “general mobilization so that inclusion is not an illusion“. The collective “An inclusive school for all”, which brings together parents, teachers and AESH (staff who take care of supporting students with disabilities), is organizing a demonstration in front of the Bourbon Palace this Wednesday March 29, so that “each disabled child benefits from schooling adapted to their needs“.
“We will be received in the National Assembly by the deputy of Seine-Saint-Denis Fatiha Keloua Hachi (Nupes) for a press conference, with a book of grievances which brings together the testimonies of many families.“, says Audrey Tatry. This resident of Rosny-sous-Bois is fighting to ensure the education of her 5-year-old child “in good conditions“.
“He has attention deficit disorder, ADD, she explains. He will return to CP in September, he needs support to help him recover his attention. It’s hard for him to stay focused, and the mistress can’t always be behind him. He has an MDPH file (Departmental House for Disabled People) which allows him to be recognized as a person with a disability.“
“Most of the time, AESH are ‘shared’. The accompanying person must take care of several children at the same time, in several schools. In reality it is impossible, there is no follow-up. Some discover the child’s disability the same morning“, deplores Audrey Tatry. Last October, while her son “still did not have his hours of individual support“, she has thus decided to put the National Education on formal notice”before an administrative court, to enforce the law“.
“We won the case, the judge made the order public on January 6, she says. Since he more or less had his hours of AESH. But in reality it is to the detriment of others, to enforce the order, hours have been taken away from other children with disabilities so that they can have theirs. This is called undressing Peter to dress Paul. And my son’s AESH is currently on hold, there is no replacement… For the parents, we are on our own and it’s a daily battle. You have to pay the lawyer, and always reprove by A + B the handicap of your child.“
Pour “better support“, Audrey Tatry calls in particular to “unlock resources” : “There are not enough staff, who are exhausted and poorly paid, without development or hardship bonus. There are few recruitments of AESH, and that barely covers the resignations. We also need to raise awareness about disability and train teachers. The inclusion of students with disabilities is a disaster today. There is the psychological suffering of children who find themselves in classes of 26-27 students. But there is also the suffering of families, carers and teachers..”
“There is the risk of a vicious circle, she also points out. When there is no integration, it can lead to teasing from other students, then a loss of confidence from the child. Many suffer harassment, what are we waiting for to avoid the tragedies that this causes? I know this reality, my mother was in a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis. When she picked me up from school, the others laughed. I experienced school bullying from the age of 7.“
“The obstacle course imposed on families is unfair and humiliating“, laments for her part Danièle Créachcadec, municipal councilor responsible for early childhood, disability and parenthood, in Montreuil. She also denounces “staff shortage” et “the lack of specialized medico-social structures“.
“I was a school principal, there are grotesque situationsexplains the chosen one. I remember an AESH present for two children: a girl with a motor disability who had to be accompanied in the morning on her trips, and a boy with autistic disorders who could therefore only be accompanied in the afternoon, which makes no sense in CP… And some children with disabilities sometimes have behaviors that are difficult for teachers to manage, and families experience a situation of rejection.“
“The inclusion of these children in school is a right recognized as fundamental by the Disability and Equal Opportunities Act of 2005, but this right still does not apply, alerte Danièle Créachcadec. It is a right-wing breach of Republican equality. There are many consequences, especially for mothers who have to stop working because their child does not go to school.“
The school must adapt to children with disabilities, and not the other way around
Danièle Creachcadec, municipal councilor responsible for early childhood
While the mayor of Montreuil Patrice Bessac (PCF) supported the collective “An inclusive school for all” in a press release, for “denounce situations of discrimination in access to education“, Danièle Creachcadec cites several measures taken by the City. “We cannot recruit instead of National Education, she indicates. But we are working on the inclusion of children during extracurricular time, by paying AESH as canteen facilitators during the lunch break, to allow more consistent support for students and provide additional salaries to staff.“
“There is also a training plan for leaders in leisure centres, to understand behaviors to which we are not necessarily accustomed, adds the chosen one. We have also set up a disability awareness course for school students, including blind football and an introduction to sign language. The school must adapt to children with disabilities, and not the other way around.“
Audrey Tatry calls for “government awareness” : “The school inclusion of children with disabilities should be a national cause. We need to change our perspective on difference.“
An online petition published by the collective “An inclusive school for all” on Change.org gathers at this stage nearly 900 signatures.
