Farmer’s Advance

When Jackie Busch’s adopted son Makenley began attending high school in Hendricks County, she was confident he would succeed despite the brain abnormality and cerebral palsy that physically challenged him. And for the next few years, the only things she heard from Makenley’s teachers at Danville Community High School were praise for her talented son and reassurances about his progress in school. So as she helped her son prepare for graduation, Busch was shocked to realize that Makenley lacked basic knowledge that she’d expected him to know such as spelling her last name and the number of their street address. A neuropsych evaluation at Indiana University confirmed that Makenley had a borderline intellectual disability as well as his brain abnormality and cerebral palsy, and that his reading comprehension and math skills were between a 4th grade and 6th grade level, respectively. Despite these findings, backed up by medical documentation, the school refused to acknowledge the issues, refusing Makenley further in-person education if he wanted to walk with his class during graduation.