Fathers of children with disabilities may be interested to read that Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has outlined some of the plans she has for helping families with special-needs children.
Speaking to an audience at a Pittsburgh hotel, Palin said that people should be able to use their own parenting skills to make choices about their children’s education.
Under her plan, parents would be able to use federal money to send their kids to a school of their choice – public, private or religious.
"The schools feel responsible for the education of many children, but a parent alone is responsible for the life of each child and how to make that life better," the governor said.
She also called for more money to fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), suggesting that pork barrel spending could be cut and directed toward IDEA instead.
Palin and her husband, Todd, are parents to six-month-old Trig, who was born with Down syndrome. The couple also has four other children – Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper.
This is not a plan!
When it is said that,” Palin said that people should be able to use their own parenting skills to make choices about their children’s education.”, people must be forgetting that most individuals don’t have the knowledge, training or experience to deal with a totally unfamiliar situation when they have a child with special needs. I was fortunate I had relevant training and experience before my child was born. So unless you have the background to even comprehend what needs the child will have, how can you make good choices regarding their care and education.
After Sarah Palin has had a number of years of experience with her son, she can not speak for me and many other parents of special needs children.