No matter how well he does. Today, two years later, Maimuna can brush her teeth, zip her jacket, tie her laces. But she still has difficulty starting conversations and speaking in complete sentences. It requires districts to provide what that child needs to be educated. Yet too often the districts try to squeeze children into whatever programs they have in place, Finn adds, programs parents often believe are inadequate.
School districts see things differently.
We are not in the business of trying to deny any child what we feel they appropriately need. Still, even L.A. Unified recognizes it could do better and is trying to improve its services, Lopez says. Some of the classes will focus on applied behavior analysis. Others will use a mixture of teaching methods. The goal, Lopez says, is to bring expertise into the school district and match each child to the teaching strategy that fits him or her best.