Netherlands: If the law would let go a little... what then?

Is it desperation? Or perhaps the need for something new? Something else? I do not know. At a certain moment last year I decided to go on a journey. With my daughter Cato. She needed a change. Cato now 26 years of age and afflicted with autisme, has been struggling the last two years with traumatic experiences she had at primary school. She was bullied there and I didn't know that because at that time she hardly talked. She had no language then, no words. A few years ago, the memories suddenly surfaced. Like demons. Day and night. She woke up out of the blue, jumped out of bed and started to fight them. She was angry. During the day she trotted through the boat*, with anger, crying, in despair.

 

Now it is a little less, thanks to treatment. That was a search. Waiting lists. Wrong medication that only made it worse. The well-known crap, risperdal. New waiting lists. Finally, we found a couple of psychiatrists who could help her. At least I think so, I hope so. Conversation is difficult. Is it still out there? I don't know.

 

A journey brings new impressions, challenges, experiences. For me too. I need that too, because I also still have to deal with something that won't heal. An unequal struggle with the government. It is of no importance here.

 

We are travelling now, Cato and me. For Cato, the new unknown world around her offers the freedom she seeks. ‘Free at last,’ she cries over and over again. ‘No more bullies!’ she suddenly shouted yesterday. It frightened me a little. Of course they are still there. Traumas like that don't disappear like snow in the sun.

 

In the Netherlands, many children drop out of school. Because they don't fit. Our education system is not suitable for all children. Bullying is a common problem. The design of the schools and the way of teaching makes children who do not fit in extra vulnerable.

 

Is it really that difficult to make schools suitable for all children? Or should we just start over? A whole new concept school? Who has an idea?

 

I have given myself an assignment. I am going to ask other parents and perhaps school administrators in Europe about their opinions. How are things in Belgium, France or Spain, for example? Are there any good educational initiatives that could help? What do people wish for? For their children, their pupils?

 

And if the law would allow it, if it had a bit more compassion for children who are not made for the common system, could these new educational ideas create a beautiful school for these children, for all children? An inclusive school!

 

This is a mother's research. Nothing more and nothing less. 

* We live on a boat

 

Read from next friday: A Mothers Tale

 

 

This is an automatic translation. Who will help to improve?