No, You Shouldn't Have to Hire an Advocate!

I hear many parents and guardians say that they shouldn't have to hire an advocate to get their child an appropriate program.   I agree.  No one should have to hire anyone to secure an appropriate education for their child.  I truly wish that all school districts would provide all students who have disabilities a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) all of the time.  In the meantime......

No matter what measure a parent or guardian takes to secure an appropriate education for their child, the good news is that the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) is a federal law that exists to be ENFORCED!

So I say, if you are a parent or guardian and you retain a special education advocate to help you enforce the IDEA, learn as much about the process and the IDEA from your advocate.


Because knowledge is Power!

                                                                   

        

Early Dismissal Everyday is Not O.K.

All the middle school kids in your neighborhood get on the school bus together in the morning at 7:15 a.m.  All of the neighborhood kids get off the school bus at 3:15 p.m., like clockwork.   Except one.  One boy gets off the bus at 1:30 p.m. everyday.  Why does only one boy get off the bus at 1:30?

It's not a riddle.  It's something that happens too frequently to students who have disabilities.

I received a phone call from a parent who explained how her son's IEP (Individualized Education Program) stipulates that he be dismissed early everyday.  The IEP doesn't mention the actual time, but as it turns out, he is dismissed almost 2 hours earlier than regular dismissal time as a function of his behavior plan.

Her son has to earn staying in school, which is determined by his good behavior.

Know this please.  Every student has the right to stay in school all day!  Students who have a disability can not be held to a different standard from other students.

Let me help you look at this situation in a different way.  Let's say there are 180 school days in a year   and 7 hours in a school day.  So, let's take 180 and multiply it by 2 (hours).  That's 360 hours (of school)  Let's divide that by 7 (the hours of a school day).  That's about 51 school days.  That's almost one third of the school year.  Adds up, doesn't it!

This means that this student was denied the opportunity to be in school learning for one third of the school year.

While most situations may not be this extreme, no amount of lost school hours is O.K.  In this particular situation, where the student's behavior is the culprit for early dismissal, it would be appropriate to ask the school district to conduct an FBA (Functional Behavior Assessment) to determine the function of the behaviors in question in order to put a BIP ( Behavior Intervention Plan) in place.

All students have the right to be set up for success at school.  In this case, a really well-designed and implemented behavior plan is a good start.

And please know this.  Earning the right to stay in school should never be a part of any behavior plan or IEP.

I'm Still Hearing the "R" Word

At a Stamp Out the "R" Word rally

Everyonce in a while, a big screen movie comes along that uses a word that offends people who have disabilities.   The most recent one I recall is The Descendents. 

During that time, I was invited to attend a Stamp Out the "R" Word rally.  That was several years ago and I really hoped that the national coverage of people who rallied against the use of "the word" would have convinced people to stop using it.

Well, here we are several years later and I'm still hearing it.

I hope people stop saying it, but in the meantime, remember one of my favorite quotes

by Eleanor Roosevelt:

                "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"

4th of July: A Time to Celebrate!

My son at the fireworks!

This year was the best fourth of July fireworks.  It's not that they were the most spectacular, they were the best because my son watched them from the front row.  It's quite an accomplishment when you consider the love/hate relationship he's had with them since he was a little boy.  He liked them from afar, but hated being too close.

So ever since then, we've been working on what I call fireworks desensitization.


At first, he was only able to tolerate them from a mile away with the windows closed.  We eventually got the car closer and he would put the windows up and down as he could tolerate.  In time, we moved to sitting on the grass a half mile away, but the car was parked in front of us so he could take refuge if he needed.  This year, we were as close as they allow you to get.  Sure, he plugged his ears once in a while, but he truly enjoyed every bit of it.  He was so happy!  I enjoyed the fireworks, but I was so happy to watch him and see how far we have come.

No One is Not Valid

I snapped this photo because I couldn't believe my eyes

I'm going to be brief.  There are many words we thankfully have abolished to describe people who have a disability.  Invalid is one of them.  

One meaning of the word is "not valid," another is "not well, weak, sickly." No matter which definition,  I can't imagine anyone who would choose to be described by it.  Or, be driven around in a van that screams it!

Think Twice at the Pump!

I feel compelled to tell every woman (and man) about the front-row experience I had to a car jacking.  As I had done hundreds of times before, I pulled up to get gas at the filling station.  I pulled up about 5 feet to the car in front of me.  A sweet looking, 60ish looking woman was pumping her gas.  I also noticed a mid-age man leaning against the gas station building.  I thought it was a bit odd, but it's not exactly against the law to look suspicious and be waiting for someone.

What happened next took place in a blink of an eye.  The lady finished pumping her gas; she walked to the front door to get in.  At the same time, the man dashed toward her, pushed her out of the way and jumped into her car, took her keys and sped off.

The poor woman didn't know what hit her.  Thank goodness he didn't harm her!

I spent the next two hours with her and being interviewed by the police.  I was fine, until I got home and the shock of it hit me.  Then I started thinking "what if......?"

What if it had been me?  Had I pulled in seconds before it would have been my car that was targeted.  What if my son had been in the car?  What would have I done?  What would my son have done?  What would the man have done to my son?  Of course, my thoughts all went to the worst case scenario.

My son has an autism spectrum disorder and is essentially non-verbal.  I don't believe he would have been able to know what to do or defend himself.  O.K, so enough ruminating.  Here's the take away:

When you pull into pump gas, look around and pay attention to the surroundings.  If you see someone hanging around for no apparent purpose, be suspicious!  Drive out and go to the next gas station if you have to think twice.

We Don't Do That in This District

There are lot's of things I hear at IEP team meetings that cause me to bristle and take a deep breath.  One of them is when I hear "We don't do that in this district."

It was recently said at a meeting in which we were discussing the possibility of a student requiring a residential program as part of an appropriate placement.  The director said, "we've never paid for the residential portion of an educational program,  we don't do that here."

As I usually do,  I took a few deep breaths and contemplated my response to make sure I said something appropriate.

I explained that I was a uncomfortable with his response and I would be more than happy to ignore it.  But, if he really meant it and wanted it on the record, than I would request for the district's position to be on the record.  Loud and clear!

I explained that I was uncomfortable with it because he was predetermining what the IEP team was going to decide about the student's program.  Additionally, it sounded like it was their policy not to do such things, and it wouldn't be appropriate for the district to have a policy about what they do and don't pay for as a part of a student's IEP.

He rethought his definitive statement about not paying for residential portions of educational placements and said he wanted to wait to see what the evaluators had to say about what the student needed.

I confirmed that I thought that was a great idea!