Sask. mother elated that son with autism, ADHD and ODD to be allowed back to school full-time after 5 years

A Saskatchewan mother says she is delighted and relieved that her son will be able to attend school full-time after five years of fighting for inclusion.

"I'm going to happy cry," Chelsea Vansickle said. "This is the biggest weight that I think I've ever felt lifted off my shoulders."

Vansickle's 13-year-old son Aaidan, who has autism, ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attends Eston Composite School in the Sun West School Division, about 180 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon.

Chelsea said the school decided in 2019 that his disabilities made it too difficult to include him in activities. Since then, he has had a mix of homeschooling, half-days and distance learning, Chelsea said. When he is allowed to attend in person, he is often excluded from physical education, recess and field trips.

CBC asked the Sun West School Division for comment on Aaidan's situation this week. It did not respond. Instead, Chelsea says, the vice principal contacted her Tuesday to let her know Aaidan will be allowed back at school full-time starting on Jan. 6.

CBC reached out again for comment after Chelsea received the notice, but has not received a response.

Chelsea said she was in a state of shock and couldn't believe it was finally happening.

"I know that Aaidan is very excited to go forward and get back to full days of school and being a normal 13-year-old boy," she said Tuesday afternoon.

She said it has been a long process.

"I'm just glad that we stuck with it and we didn't give up and kind of let the school dictate my son's life," she said.

"It's frustrating, but at the end of the day, if you're not going to fight for your kids, who's going to?"

Chelsea said Aaidan has always been smart, a quick learner and often reading at a higher grade level, but had behavioural problems.

"He was always one of those crazy boys that had a very short attention span unless it was something he really wanted to be interacting with," she said.

The school required a psychiatric evaluation before allowing Aaidan to attend full-time, Chelsea said, but lengthy wait-lists and COVID-19 delays meant the evaluation process took more than three years. Despite eventually receiving medical clearance to attend full days, Aaidan's access to school remained limited, she said. He was required to go home at 2:30 p.m. CST every day this year, she said.