“Our 6-year-old son cannot hold a pencil in his hand. What is he going to be able to do in first grade?” Graziella and Abdelaziz Boujemaouiinhabitants of La Croix-Saint-Ouenno longer know where to turn.
Their son Younesschild affected by severe autistic disordersstill does not have its place in IME (Medical-Educational Institute). However, the MDPH (Departmental House for Disabled People) granted them their right of notification three years ago. Which means that their son can join a specialized establishment. “He is 67th on the waiting list,” says his mother Graziella.
His parents tried to find him a class in UEMA (kindergarten teaching unit). “But they refused his file because his autism was too severe,” explains his mother. Which is contradictory, since the only solution left to us is to place him in a normal school.
He spent three hours at nursery school a day with an educator
Time is running out for the family. “My disabled autistic son still does not have an EMI establishment. And the specialized educator who followed him with SESSAD resigned.” In any case, SESSAD (Specialized Home Education and Care Service) ends at 6 years old.
The multidisciplinary team from SESSAD in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, where eight children are taken care of, travels to the person’s living areas. “His educator, who resigned, was replaced a month later, for 2 hours per week.”
The rest of the time, he spent three hours a day at the Pierrette-Abeille nursery school, with the help of an AESH (accompanying a student with a disability). “My son is a big boy who needs diapers,” recalls his mother. He will never have a normal life. What are they going to do with him in first grade, where students learn to read? They’re going to put him in a corner of the classroom and make him do his puzzles.”
Among the particularities that prevent Youness from following a normal schooling is, for example, his hypersensitivity of the head. “He refuses to have his scalp touched,” recalls his mother. So he has very long hair because he refuses to have it cut.”
A disability that takes a long time to diagnose
To enable her son to send him to school, Graziella put her job as a caregiver on hold. Her husband Gilles works overtime to compensate.
Youness’s parents discovered his disability when he was twelve months old. “I met five doctors,” she remembers. They told me “he develops at his own pace”. I could see that something was wrong…” The diagnosis took a long time to make, however.
Parents wonder if they should hire a lawyer to assert their rights. They communicate with parents on a WhatsApp group. In the Oise, Graziella recalls, there is notably the IME Decrolly in Crépy-en-Valois or the IME Les Etoiles in Etouy.
To propose a solution to Graziella, here is her email: ab.mb@outlook.fr
