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There’s Small Choice in Rotten Apples: An Exploration of the Process of Parental Decision-Making Around Educational Choice for Parents of Children With Disabilities

Published in 2003, this report looks at the decision-making process around educational choices by parents of children with a disability in Queensland.

While the notion of choice was often expressed, many parents found that going against the recommended suggestions of segregation were met with resistance and a comparative lack of funding.

This report highlights the problem of continued, pressured segregation in an education system and the potential lifelong impacts and dependencies these decisions can create for persons with a disability, their families and wider society.

“When disability is the basis upon which life-defining decisions are made, options become limited and expectations are lowered.

As parents of children with disabilities we have the right to expect more of the education system than their automatic segregation and narrowed opportunities.

The label does not make the child, their strengths, talents or unique personality. Why should the label determine the present or predict their future?” – Roz Cooper: President of Queensland Parents for People with a Disability