In his first four years of school, 10-year-old Matthew Abou-Rjeili had been invited to only one of his classmates’ birthday parties. He was delighted to be asked, his mother said, even if he was ultimately unable to go because he was recovering from surgery.
Like many parents of a child with a physical and mild intellectual disability, Amanda Abou-Rjeili had agonised over whether to send him to a specialist or a support school.
“I felt really overwhelmed – I wasn’t sure which school to go for. I wanted him to experience mainstream,” she said.
Amanda Abou-Rjeili said since her son enrolled in the specialist school Mater Dei, his learning has improved, he plays with other kids at lunchtime and he gets invited to birthday parties.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The first four hours of the day were spent with other children with disabilities learning English and maths before Matthew went to a mainstream class with classmates his age.
“He struggled. He just didn’t flourish there. He wasn’t learning – he’d forget everything,” she said.
Since enrolling him at Mater Dei in Camden in Sydney’s south-west, a specialist support school for students with a disability, he feels more included and is learning new things.
Matthew has learned the names of all the planets since starting at the school.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“He comes home and tells me about his day; he never used to do that … like, he’s into planets now, he can tell me all the names,” she said.
“He had his 10th birthday party and all his friends came, and he loved it, and he will go to their birthdays. He never had that opportunity in the mainstream – he would not get invited.”
When the Disability Royal Commission handed down its findings in September, the six commissioners were split on the question of the future of education for students with a disability.
Three commissioners said that for students with complex needs, specialist schools had a place as long as those with a disability had regular interactions with children in mainstream settings in social, sporting and recreational activities.
The three other commissioners recommended specialist or segregated schools, such as Mater Dei, be phased out by 2051 with no new enrolments by 2031.
Abou-Rjeili struggled to see the logic behind shutting them down and denying parents and their children at least the option of attending a specialist school.
“I would be devastated if Mater Dei was shut down … I have seen such a big difference in my son,” she said.
Another mother with children at the school, Karen, who did not give her surname for privacy reasons, was also angered by the idea.
“Somebody else has decided on the inclusive path and special schools should be closed down, but is that actually better for the families? I know for my boys, that is absolutely not the case,” she said.
Her sons Adam, 11, and Jack, 18, have flourished at the school. Jack, who has an intellectual disability, is the school captain. Through the school, he’s gained work experience with The Dessert Lab at Camden, and participated in the national championships in cross-country running.
Karen says her sons Jack and Adam have both benefited from non-mainstream education.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“Jack has some of the most amazing friends and relationships and I’m very doubtful that he could have built those close connections in a mainstream school,” she said.
The royal commission’s report detailed how once a student is placed in a special or segregated school or class, they will rarely transition to a mainstream school, which contributed to them remaining in other segregated environments throughout their lives. But Karen does not see it that way.
“It’s funny people see him now as an 18-year-old, and they can’t imagine the head-banging, slamming-on-the-floor monster that he was prior to coming in,” she said.
‘We only exist because every mainstream school could not be resourced to the levels we need. There is no country in the world which has full inclusion because it is really impractical.’
Matthew Johnson, Australian Special Education Principals Association president
For her, recommending specialist schools is emblematic of a failure to acknowledge the difference which exists among school children with a disability.
“Why does our choice get taken away when nobody else’s does? Yeah, and it gets taken away so many times because it’s a physical limitation because they can’t access whatever … I’m sorry that’s unacceptable to me as a parent.”
Disability Royal Commissioner Dr Rhonda Galbally said students who went to a special school were 85 per cent more likely to end up in a sheltered workshop, a place of work specially designed to provide a safe environment for disabled people.
Australian Special Education Principals Association president Matthew Johnson said that statistic showed specialist schools catered to a cohort of students who would struggle in mainstream settings.
“Very few employers will take our kids because they need one-on-one support,” he said.
“I don’t want to have one of my severe non-verbal students put in a classroom with 30 other students. We have small class ratios and specialist staff, we only exist because every mainstream school could not be resourced to the levels we need. There is no country in the world which has full inclusion because it is really impractical.”
The three commissioners’ proposal to phase out special schools was welcomed by peak body Children and Young People with Disability Australia, and Down Syndrome Australia, but they also expressed disappointment at the long timeline to 2051.
Following the release of royal commission’s findings, the Department of Social Services established a taskforce of 15 officials from various government departments to support a coordinated consideration of the recommendations. The taskforce will run until June 2025, with the federal cabinet to ultimately determine the government’s overall response.
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