During my time with the YELP clinic, I worked on two cases. The two cases involved helping mothers with 9-year-old sons in the 4th grade. Both cases were eerily similar in how they each involved very loving mothers who genuinely knew their children well, were honest about their children’s skills and deficits, and who had been fighting for years to get their sons what they believed would be best for their educational success. In both cases, the mothers were frequently dismissed and ignored, at times even belittled or threatened. One son had more severe diagnoses and, consequently, complex needs that the school had consistently failed to address, leading to more debilitating behavioral disruption that the school then used as a justification to exclude him entirely. The other case involved a child with less severe diagnoses, but he was a transfer student into a more affluent community. Thus, there were concerns that his exclusion to the Special Day Class was not only inappropriate for his developmental needs but perhaps also motivated by less genuine intentions.

I discuss their cases in tandem because within both the similarities and differences, I took away similar lessons. First, through my work with these clients at YELP, I felt like I truly made an impact because we listened to these mothers, acknowledged and learned from their expertise regarding their own children, and empowered them to continue to advocate for what their sons deserve in school. I also realized how adversely these children’s lives may be impacted by being “different” because of schools’ inability (and/or unwillingness) to embrace integration. All students benefit from sharing a space with people who are different from them (research shows this!). However, for whatever reason, there is still such a regressive tendency to exclude and isolate students who do not perfectly fit what is deemed to be appropriate or correct. It’s impossible to imagine our society progressing towards more inclusion and acceptance without also teaching our children these same principles.

Winter 2023 Clinical Law Student: Hayden Henderson