Skating Lessons

Roughly once a week on Thursday mornings my son's elementary class takes the bus to skating lessons at an indoor rink not too far from the school. My son's teacher and the classroom educational assistant accompany the students but do not go out on the ice with them, they sit in the stands. I am currently on maternity leave so when I can I like to go to take my sons baby sister to go watch the lessons since it is not a far drive for us. Usually it is only me and a few other parents observing. The skating rink has glass all the way up from the top of the boards to almost the ceiling so it is impossible to talk through or hear through the glass if my son or any of the instructors come by. Usually there are between 3 to 6 skate instructors on the ice for 16 students. The skating lessons coordinator is usaully somewhere in the arena or sitting at a table with her computer and not really watching what is happening on the ice.

My son has only had maybe 4 or 5 skating lessons since September due to staff shortages. I have been to a few skating lessons and observed my son improving by being able to hold onto the boards and move along. He has also gotten better holding onto the bar to get better at standing and trying to move his feet to skate. Unfortunately the skating instructors do not seem to pay much attention to him or offer much assistance aside from a few minutes here and there. They do not try to hold his hands and help him balance or teach him how to stand up if he falls. Much of the time he is just laying on the ice. I have witnessed instructors look his way but do not come to help him or interact with him. The last class I went to I saw 6 instructors on the ice teaching the other kids how to pass a rings using ringettes stick. All of the other students are able to stand on their own and skate. My son was laying at the side of the boards on the ice and several times instructors looked his way but did not come to check on him. I was quite upset so I talked to his classroom teacher to see if I could talk to the skating lessons coordinator. I did finally talked to her and shared my concerns. She stated that none of the instructors receive training of any kind let alone training to work with students with special needs like my son with autism. Many of the instructors are young maybe late teens to early 20s with experience playing hocket but not necessarily teaching skating. I am hoping that I can talk to my sons school division and the coordinators of the skating and swimming programs to see if training sessions can be provided prior to these instructors teaching these programs so that children with special needs are being respected and not being ignored.

Even in an age where children with disabilities are participating in activities due to improvements in inclusion and accessibilility. Program coordinators and instructors are not being provided adequate training and education associated with children with special needs and how to provide truly inclusive and appropriate care. Many children with special needs are not able to advocate on their behalf due to communication barriers or fear therefore as a parent and educator myself, I have decided to take it upon myself to talk to my sons school division, teachers, and skating coordinator to advocate for training for staff (many of whom are young university students) so that children with special needs are receiving the care they deserve in programs occurring during school time like skating or swimming lessons.