He cannot speak or write and needs specific support to keep up in class. However, the family of Dídac Lacambra, a six-year-old with three ultra-rare genetic diseases, as well as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, says that some of the educational support he had received over the past three years has been withdrawn this school year. His parents say the situation is already having "academic consequences" and announce four days of protests outside the Department of Education in Zaragoza.
Dídac is in the first year of primary school at CEIP San Miguel de Tamarite de Litera and, according to his family, needs methodological and curricular adaptations, as well as professional support, to access learning on an equal basis. Over the past three years, he had received full-time special education support and had a designated staff member who understood his needs and way of communicating.
His parents, Eva and Esteban, say that the Education Department withdrew this support this school year and that they were already warned in October that the child might fail. The family is calling for the resources they consider necessary to be restored and for educational objectives and methods to be adapted to Dídac’s circumstances.
The parents say they have contacted education officials more than 20 times, both in Zaragoza and at the Huesca Provincial Directorate, without obtaining a solution so far. “We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re demanding that our son’s rights be upheld,” they say.
The family points out that education regulations recognize the right of students with special educational needs to access the resources and adaptations required to guarantee inclusive education. Their main request is to restore special education support, provide a stable designated staff member and maintain the necessary adaptations throughout his schooling.
FOUR DAYS OF PROTEST OUTSIDE THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
In the absence of what they consider an adequate response, Dídac’s mother will hold a protest sit-in from November 3 to 6, between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., outside the headquarters of the Government of Aragon’s Department of Education.
Eva will attend the protest alone while the father remains at home caring for the child so that he does not miss school days and therapy sessions. “We cannot allow our son to fail because the authorities are not providing him with the means he needs to learn,” the family says, calling for a solution that guarantees Dídac’s continued education.
