DDD/AzEIP Cutbacks

Well, it is "official" that the state of Arizona is terminating all early intervention services. Which means, I am without a job in an economy that is already struggling to provide jobs for other US citizens.

I have been asked if I am upset about being unemployed. Don't get me wrong, I am, but my heart weeps and my eyes flood with tears for the children who deserve the best chance to thrive. Numerous studies show that human beings grow the most, mentally and physically, in the first three years of life. A child is born, small and helpless. By the time that child is three, they typically are walking, talking, running, jumping, using the potty, coloring, etc etc etc. That is what typically developing children accomplish in the first few years of life. Children who are delayed, do not reach these developmental milestones at the age appropriate times, on their own. Many families become overwhelmed with dealing with their child's special needs. If a child is given a chance, early on, they have a better chance at thriving later in life. People know education is crucial to a person's development, mentally, physically and socially. What some people do not realize is education starts at birth. A child grows more in the first three years of life than throughout a lifetime.

The services that are being cut are those services dedicated to helping these developmentally delayed children, between the ages of birth and three, reach as many milestones as possible before entering the school system. By eliminating these services these children will be tossed into the system at 5, when they may only be mentally at the age of 2 due to not receiving the help needed early on. These children will struggle throughout life, they will need to be "retaught" all they learned from the time they were born and the day they entered school. There is only so much a teacher can teach a student. Even these teachers in the school system are being terminated due to budget cuts. Special Education classes are being cut, when these children need more QUALIFIED teachers to help them become the best they can be. A few years ago, a law was passed entitled the No Child Left Behind Act. Within this act it states that students with disabilities/delays have a right to an education. This is a great act, but it does not guarantee children not of school age a chance to become a typical child. These children will be in fact, left behind. Without services EARLY on, there is a slim chance these children will be able to get the education they deserve. They will be helped while in the school, but without early intervention services, these children will not be where they should be when entering the school system. Meaning they will be even more mental years between them and other students their actual age. The rich will be able to provide services for their special needs children, while the working class will be stuck with no support for their child. Leaving their child even farther behind.

I am ashamed to be an American right now, and even more ashamed to be an Arizona Native. I cannot even believe the state would take away such a crucial services from children who don't even have a voice to express themselves. These children HAD a chance to become something, now they only have a chance to be stuck in the system and hope they come across a teacher who truly cares and will go above and beyond what is expected to ensure that student has the best chance in life.

To those teachers out there, stick with it. You are molding the teachers of tomorrow. Helping a student become the best they can be is the best gift you could ever give. Without good teachers, this world would be even sadder than it is now.