Dear Editor,

As the school year has ended and summer is here, I am writing this letter to extend a very heartfelt thanks to a very special group of teachers, aides and staff who work at the School of Hope in St. Clairsville.

Our son, Noah, has been a student at the school since he was 3-years-old and when he returns there in the fall, he will be 11. Over the years, he has had many wonderful, caring folks that have worked with him and used the many specialized tools that they have at this school to provide him with what our family considers the most comprehensive methods to engage and challenge him on a daily basis.

As I sit and write this letter I am at a loss because there are so many words I can use to describe the wonderful people that have impacted our son and our family over the years. You see, these folks very sincerely care about each and every student that is enrolled in their school and they treat these special children with more love and understanding than the outside world can offer. As a parent of a child with Autism, my wife and I couldn’t begin to imagine Noah receiving the care he currently does at the School of Hope at any other school in the area.

I know that my fellow parents of students that attend the school age classes share my feelings about this wonderful place and, like us, are thankful that we can send our children there each day without worrying about them being tormented, ridiculed, or verbally abused by children who don’t understand them. Instead, everyone is treated with respect.

In all these years we have never witnessed or experienced anything other than kindness and compassion from the employees of the School of Hope.

Currently, there is a push within the state to integrate our special needs children into their respective public home school districts and in doing so, eliminating facilities like the School of Hope in the process. This isn’t an immediate situation, but one that is currently the direction on a state level and one that will progress over the next few years.

On a few occasions, our family has visited local public schools with Multiple Handicapped classes, in order to be open minded about the opportunity for Noah to attend one of these schools. I can only speak to what I have personally experienced, but in those visits, I have yet to see one that offered Noah the Occupational, Speech and one-on-one guidance he now receives. In my opinion, the public school setting has a very long way to go in providing each developmently challenged student what he/she may need in a larger classroom setting.

As a parent of a child with developmental disabilities, it scares me to think that a state official with an agenda, who they themselves don’t have a special needs child, is making decisions that drastically impact our children.

In short, deciding what is best for our children. As a parent of one of these special kids, we have learned that when making decisions for our kids, we have to weigh what is best for them over what/who impacts them. We look at getting Noah the best level of education and at the same time, we insure what provides Noah with a safe and secure place where he is well treated and respected. We have found that place and it is the School of Hope, where he has and continues to receive both!

I look back to when we began this long journey, full of fear and the unknown.

We were so very fortunate to have been able to enroll him there and having never had to think twice nor regret our decision! I only hope and pray that the existence of this fine facility can continue onward, so that other parents in our situation can experience the same.

Respectfully,

Patrick N. McConnaughy

Bridgeport