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For Children with Autism, No More Being Hushed

For children with autism, Dorothy Siegel does not believe in paraprofessionals, the teaching assistants sometimes assigned to shadow students in class. To show you why, Ms. Siegel, 70, a longtime special education advocate, grabs your arm, pokes you and forcibly turns your head toward the teacher, the way an aide might. "The para is not someone who's there to help a child understand how to interpret the environment so he doesn't get upset," she said recently. "The para is there to keep him out of trouble, so they'll allow him to continue in that classroom." Read More