TESTIMONY. Disability: this mother’s obstacle course to find educational help for her little daughter

“I didn’t know what to do anymore. As a mother, this situation was very hard to live with,” sighs Myriam. Since September, this Lotoise has fought every day to find an AVS (school assistant) for her granddaughter Ambre, enrolled in CP in a Corrèze school, due to delays in understanding. At the end of November, she had knocked on all the doors and felt up against the wall. But the good news finally came a few days later: Ambre will have an AVS before the Christmas school holidays. An obstacle course for this Lot family.

“Ambre had hearing problems when she was little. She had surgery but she has a cognitive and language delay. Understanding is difficult for her. We will ask the other students to take out the book and open it on page 6, Ambre will not know what to do,” explains Myriam. The little girl is entering first grade. In September, the MDPH (Departmental House for Disabled People) of Lot notifies that the child must have human assistance at school (an AVS). Neither one nor two, the mother begins the process with the school in Corrèze. From September, she sends the first requests.

But a first refusal was issued. “It was for a geographical reason because we live in the Lot but Ambre goes to school in Corrèze, in another department. Then, then, we ended up being told that there was no budget,” regrets the mother. The latter moved heaven and earth to find an AVS. An assistant, whom Myriam knows, applied to Ambre’s mistress to help the little girl. But no follow-up is given.

Amber was getting tired at school

Myriam even called the Ministry of Education, desperate to find a solution. “The lady, in charge of children and disabilities, told me that if the DSDEN (directorate of departmental national education services – Editor’s note) did not have the budget, she could not do anything. advised them to put them on notice, but I didn’t want to get to that point. I said to myself: I’m going to finance the AVS. I would have done anything for my daughter,” says the mother.

So for several months, Ambre managed alone in class. “The teacher does what she can. But my daughter is exhausted. She goes to the speech therapist twice a week, she has psychomotor sessions… She gets tired. Besides, she is a little girl who always wants to try. It’s in first grade that she needs help, that’s where we learn to read, to write… I don’t want her to fall further behind,” confides Myriam. And a few days ago, the long-awaited good news came: Ambre will have an AVS by the Christmas holidays. A relief for the whole family.

For its part, the DSDEN of Corrèze affirms that there was “no refusal, no problem of substance or breeding ground”. Jean-François Lévêque, academic director of national education services, explains: “There was doubt as to whether it was the place of schooling or the MDPH which sent the notification to implement it. From now on, it’s clear: it’s at the school. There have been recruitments at the Pial (localized inclusive support centers). We are trying to create active pools so that these people can return as quickly as possible to the children. For Ambre, everything will be unlocked. The little girl will have help before the holidays, the contract is being signed.”