Shane Humphries was born 24 August 1988. Two weeks later we were informed he had 'Down Syndrome'. After the initial shock and acceptance, it was time to get on with our lives and include Shane as part of our family.
Shane started school at the Darke Peak Primary School in February 1993 after pre-entry and preschool at Cleve Kindergarten. We live in Darke Peak, a small rural town of about 30 people, 50kms from Cleve, another rural town of about 1000. Our nearest major towns are Whyalla and Port Lincoln, each about 160kms away. Both these towns have facilities for people with disabilities but distance was a major factor.
Our community has been very welcoming towards Shane. Sending him to the local school was a natural progression with his peers, after playgroup, kindergarten and preentry. The actual decision to enrol him was not a problem, the school being willing to learn along the way. All staff have treated Shane with respect as they do with all the children who attend.
Tapping into resources has been 'on the job' training, learning along the way, combining methods, collating information and advice into a package specifically for Shane's needs.
Being at Darke Peak Primary School (a total of 18 students) has certainly had its advantages - Shane knows all the kids, and they know him and make allowances for him only when necessary. The staff ratio is also very healthy and all students, not only Shane, get individual attention.
There is no travel involved so this allows me immediate access to Shane if there is a problem. The whole community is involved with his learning, and know of his habits and keep an eye out for him. The school was pretty well set up and no major alterations needed carrying out.
The School Services Officer employed to help Shane is a major factor in his inclusion. She is of wonderful support to Shane, the school and family. The extra time she puts into Shane on a one-to-one and small group basis is extremely beneficial and rewarding.
The transition to Cleve Area School, a 50 minute bus trip away, will be a hurdle we will all have to cross together in a few years in order for Shane to do Year 6 and further his education. Problems will be dealt with one at a time, and ongoing contact and support between the school and home will ensure things run as smoothly as possible.
Our families are not far away and they too are very involved in our lives, my mother in particular being of great support and encouragement. Our friends don't treat Shane any differently to the other children in the community because that is what we have asked for and what we do ourselves. We don't generally think of Shane as having Down Syndrome - he has his little problems as do all children.
Shane has a brother, Grady, four years younger than him and at present they get on well together, having the odd disagreement like all siblings. Grady doesn't treat him any differently and it has been wonderful for Shane to have someone around to learn with.
I do not see what the 'big deal' is having a child with Down Syndrome. He has had to fit in with our lives and exemptions are made only when necessary. From the word go, my husband Terre and I have treated Shane as normally as possible and have expected our family and friends to do likewise. We certainly don't dwell on the fact that he is disabled. He has his problems, but his progress both at school and socially is very steady and encouraging.
Yes, Shane is special but no more so than Grady or any other child!!
From Shane's Teachers...
Shane is a student in Year 2. He is 8 years old. He is attending Darke Peak Primary School, which is a small rural school situated in a geographically isolated area of Eyre Peninsula. The school has currently got an enrolment of 18 students.
When he was first enrolled at the school, there was a mixed reaction from other parents. They had expressed concerns (amongst the outside community - not necessarily within the school community) that his enrolment would disrupt the school routine. Their fears resulted from witnessing his disruptive behaviour at playgroup and kindergarten sessions.
The Principal of the day addressed the parents' concerns at a School Council meeting in an open, honest way and some of their concerns were dealt with successfully through consultation, discussion, public/private airing of opinions and with the knowledge that appropriate programs would be implemented, once Shane began school, to address behavioural issues.
The school staff implemented an awareness-raising campaign amongst the school students before he began school and continued to implement strategies to deal with his behaviour and help his inclusion into the school.
The school community believes that all students are similar and different; language, behaviours and attitudes affect relationships with people with disabilities; and the rights of students with disabilities are to be respected.
The community recognises and values Shane's growing knowledge and participation within the school. Shane is now accepted as a school member and sees himself as such. All the students use appropriate language and demonstrate positive behaviour towards Shane and he is seen as a learner, participant and contributor.
The Department of Education and Children Services has supported Shane's learning programme by providing peripatetic support from the day he was enrolled. However this assistance is not guaranteed to continue and is in some jeopardy. This assistance is essential to enabling Shane to be fully included in our community school. We are in limbo at the moment just waiting to hear from the bureaucrats! VERY frustrating!!!
We receive valuable advice and support from one outside agency - Anne Squires from the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia visits us once a term and offers lots of valuable advice and practical ideas. She also provides us with information about new resources available. We value this as we don't get to a metropolitan environment very often. We also have a once a term visit from the Speech Pathologist who monitors and reviews Shane's individualised speech and oral language programme.
The 'Highs' and 'Lows' of Teaching Shane
There have many rewards in being Shane's teacher. His inclusion into this small school has been successful for him, both academically, socially and emotionally. Seeing the progress we make just in a term, and knowing that he has learnt skills in the past three years, will help him play an effective part in society in the future.
Teaching Shane has me, as his teacher, constantly reviewing my methodology to ensure that what I do in the classroom is meeting his and the other children's needs. I am always reflecting, monitoring and reviewing my classroom practice, so he is helping me to grow professionally as a teacher.
It is most frustrating that the school does not receive enough peripatetic hours - the hours keep decreasing annually, forcing Principals to be 'creative'. We are also forced to become resourceful people, begging or borrowing equipment from larger neighbouring schools which can be a tiresome event if many kilometres separate the two schools, as is the case with us.
When I was talking to the other students about the impact which Shane's presence has on our school, one response from a year four student sums up why it is important for us to include Shane in our school community:
"It's a good experience for all of us because he helps us to understand people's personalities. He helps us to learn about ourselves and that it is alright to be someone with a disability."
Reference: Humphries, G :: Kenny, R :: Hayes, S . (1996). A Right Rural Reception. Interaction v.10 #2 p.30-31.
Reprinted with permission from the National Council on Intellectual Disability.
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