Some days, Alona is cheerful before school. Other days there’s high-pitched screaming

Some mornings when we arrive at school, Alona gets out of the car very quickly. That is if she hasn’t fallen asleep just before we reach the front gate.

Some mornings it takes a while to get her moving, with a balanced measure of cajoling and patience required from her teachers who greet her at the car and take her inside.

Alona, 16, pictured with her mother Keren Zelwer, thrives in her school for special needs students.

Some days I know that Alona is in a cheerful and compliant mood. Other days I sense from the moment she wakes that it is going to be a more difficult day at school, probably one filled with high-pitched screaming and plenty of time outside the classroom.

But no matter what Alona’s mood is on any given day, I know that the staff at Giant Steps Melbourne are equipped for the task and will manage whatever behaviour comes their way. They will do so with humour, love and passion for their job.

The recent disability royal commission, however, recommends that a school such as Giant Steps be shut down.

Alona began her schooling journey at a beautiful mainstream school. As the extent of her special needs became more apparent, Alona’s mainstream school was committed to making it work for us. We are truly grateful for this.

However, as time went on, it was clear that Alona was not in the right place for her to reach her full potential.

Alona cannot read, and she cannot write. She is 16, but she has the learning capacity of a young primary school child.

To suggest that she should sit in a mainstream classroom with her age group is not to have met a child like my daughter.

Alona is witty, friendly, extremely sociable and loveable. She is the class clown at Giant Steps, and she knows every word to all Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber songs. Her teachers use these skills to teach her literacy and maths. She also loves Collingwood Football Club and her teachers use this passion to motivate her to stay in the classroom. Alona is also partial to a chai latte and one of her education goals is to maintain her ability to sit at a cafe to help her stay connected to the community. Her teachers take my daughter on the tram, teach her how to tap her myki and send me photos of her feeling very proud of herself.

If Alona had continued in a mainstream school, she would always have been the student that cannot complete the tasks set by the teacher. She would be disruptive, frustrated and angry.

Realistically, she couldn’t even sit in the classroom at all.

At Giant Steps, Alona has six children in her class, with multiple educators assisting them. She has a program tailored to her, with her teachers maintaining data on whether she is engaged or not. Her educators know her instinctively and intuitively, and constantly readjust their goals and expectations.

I am yet to see any explanation of how the royal commission envisages the practical reality of my daughter sitting in a mainstream classroom. And I resent being told what is best for my child.

Yes, it is important for children with special needs to be part of the community, to not feel segregated. It is crucial that all students of all abilities have opportunities to connect to and learn from one another. At my daughter’s school, this is already happening. Giant Steps has partnerships with mainstream schools in the area. Alona has visited multiple mainstream schools to watch a dress rehearsal of their school musical. Students from other secondary schools have visited regularly to spend time with students at Giant Steps. NRL players have partnered with the school and help in the classroom.

Disability inclusion must never be about tokenism or ticking a box. Genuine inclusion must first and foremost consider the educational, social and emotional needs of students with disabilities. To strip away the best educational opportunities for my child and her peers is naive and misinformed. It would be disastrous for her, and it would have a ripple effect on all the families who have finally found a school that provides stability, security, individual care for our children, community and a sense of belonging.

I respect the right of all parents to send their child to a mainstream school. All I ask is that I be afforded the same right to choose to send my child to a special school.

I invite the three commissioners who are pushing to phase out special schools to come and visit my daughter in her classroom. I hope that seeing a child who is so clearly where she is meant to be would speak for itself.

Keren Zelwer is the mother of a child with special needs. She is also a speech pathologist.

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