School uniforms are a big topic of debate in my local school district at the moment. There are surveys being handed out, conversations going on in classrooms, town meetings raising a ruckus in the high-school gym. Personally, I think there are bigger issues our school board should address before dress -- like maybe providing the personnel and training to do inclusion right -- but somebody in the district's higher echelons has clearly decided that uniforms are worth picking a fight about, and there are folks in our town who are always ready for a fight.
I was interested to see that those wardrobe freedom fighters are citing the needs of special-education students as a reason to oppose public school uniforms. Chief among their arguments is that kids with the "face blindness" typical of autism will not be able to distinguish between classmates who are all wearing the same clothes. Also cited by one protest website is the cruelty of forcing uniforms on students who "have to wear certain clothing to connect with their own sense of self, or to provide other neurological stimulation needs," or telling "an autistic child that he cannot wear a hooded sweatshirt which makes him feel he has a head."
Our school district already bans those head-preserving sweatshirt hoods, so no comfort there. I could see sensory integration begin an issue for kids who need particular outfits to feel comfortable and safe; if my kid would only wear sweatpants or one hard-found style of dress, I'd probably be complaining. As for the face-blindness, I don't have much experience with that ... but wouldn't peers whose clothing changes every day be as much of a problem as peers who are all dressed the same? I could see the point more with restrictive hairstyles than restrictive clothing.
I don't know whether to be touched that the opponents of school uniforms are considering the needs of students with disabilities, or suspicious that they're just using our kids to make their arguments look humanitarian. Have uniforms been imposed in your district? Was it a problem for your child with special needs? Share your experience in the comments.
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I think I can understand some of the faceblindness issue with wardrobe. Yes, clothing changes every day, but there’s usually some elements which remain consistent. Ever run into a friend dressed for an interview and be completely surprised to see who it is? There’s the friend who always wears jeans, the one always in black, the one who’s always in a T-shirt, etc. Every bit helps. I depend a lot on hair – the length, the hue, where it tends to fall – so wintertime with its toques is very difficult. Bundled into heavy coats and boots, I can’t tell who anyone is anymore.