No room for Down Syndrome child

A Ballito mother has accused a local school of refusing to accommodate her son because he has Down Syndrome.

Sophie De la Cruz’s six-year-old son Dion was a pupil at Sheffield Beach Pre-Primary until a recent fallout, apparently over a speech therapist’s report.

Originally from the United Kingdom, De la Cruz and her husband relocated to Ballito last December.

“The school was all for helping Dion and for eight months there were no problems we knew of. When we got his mid-year report, it seemed as though he was doing well in all areas except for speech. We decided to get a speech therapist in to assess him in the classroom.”

De la Cruz said she got the necessary permission from owner and principal Andrea Sharrock.

“All we wanted was to help where we could because we know the school has no special needs teachers,” she said.

De la Cruz claimed she was called to the school and verbally abused by Sharrock.

“She said parents are not happy about Dion being at the school and there have been complaints about him in the classroom. She believed I got the speech therapist to assess Dion because I was implying she and her staff were incompetent. That was not the case at all – I just wanted to help.”

A letter from the school was sent home the following day in Dion’s book bag, stating the school would “no longer do business with” the family and asking them to collect any belongings left behind.

In the letter Sharrock claimed the speech therapist was sent not to observe Dion, but to show how she and her staff were falling short.

Sharrock told the Courier she had agreed to help Dion on a trial basis as the school is not equipped to handle special needs pupils.

She said it was De la Cruz, not her, who became verbally abusive after the speech therapist’s report.

“I felt this was not conducive to us working together to try and solve her plight. I decided that although I was working tirelessly to try and research a solution to her child’s care, I was not prepared to put myself or my staff through her threats and accusatory  behaviour. I therefore asked her to leave the school.”