I. LEGAL INFORMATION
Legal advocates and attorneys are expensive. If you ask your Regional Center caseworker, he should provide you with a list of advocates and attorneys available to you. But the fact remains that you need to learn your child’s rights. It is too expensive, and frustrating to hire an attorney yearly for your child’s IEP (Individual Education Program). There are different organizations, including Regional Center, who offer assistance free of charge. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for, and the waiting list can be long at times. Knowledge is still your best weapon. I am still learning, and I am NOT an expert anyway. But experience with three different attorneys, and free advocates, I have found that everything runs smoother when I know what the school district is talking about and what the attorneys are talking about. Like many other parents, when my husband and I went to our first IEP, we didn’t understand many terms. Watch out for the goals and time lines that they set for your child. If you don’t have an advocate with you, just remember you don’t have to sign it! Just tell them you would like to review it at home. Then, if you wish, you can review it with an advocate. Many parents audio tape the IEP, which is your legal right as long as you give the school twenty-four hours advanced notice. I have a file where I keep all of my son's past IEP's. This is something that I recommend, for if you don't you will have to notify the school and ask for the past records two weeks in advance. It is your legal right to see all of your child's records. But it is also convenient to keep as much as you can on hand; evaluation copies, etc. The best advice ever given to me was to contact PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY, and get a copy of their book that provided state laws regarding special education. You can receive a free publication of this book by going to www.pai-ca.org. PAI is well known for providing information to children and adults with disabilities. You can also ask the California State Department of Education in Sacramento for their COMPOSITE OF LAWS book, which is very helpful. If your child attends school in Los Angeles, familiarize yourself with the Chandra Smith Decree. Of course, wherever you are, be aware of the IDEA act. Another organization that you must check into is “DREDF”, which stands for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. This organization can be found by going to www.dredf.org. DREDF even has programs that can help parents learn to become advocates for themselves. Try to attend any support groups. This will give you a chance to meet other parents, and find out what they are doing. There are many other families going through what you are, asking the same questions. There is always strength in numbers. Most parents who are experienced will always tell you this, “Don’t ever sign the IEP same day!” Take it home and think about it. Don’t be rushed into anything. Don’t let the district intimidate you.
Try to be as specific as possible on the IEP. If your child is on medication, handle this situation carefully. If you have someone that can come to the school and give your child the medication instead of the school distributing it to your child, personally, I would do it that way. But you would have to have it written into your IEP. Many of the schools do not have nurses now. I will never forget the time I was sitting in the office at one LAUSD elementary school, and during the break a young boy ran in behind the counter of the office, went into a file cabinet and pulled out some pills and took them. I asked the office worker if she was aware of what he just did, she just looked at me and said, “He knows which pills are his. He takes them everyday”.
II. THERAPY
1. Speech
I was recently told that if I wanted to make a career change, speech therapists are desperately in need. Please have a private evaluation done on your child before accepting the results of what the school district may tell you. Check with your doctor to see if your insurance will cover it. If not, contact SOCIAL SECURITY and apply for SSI for your child. In their process of finding out if your child is eligible or not, they should do a speech evaluation with a private speech therapist. This process is time consuming, but it is necessary if it means to have your child receive the proper care. Regional Center also has referral lists. If you pay for this service yourself, it can run anywhere from $200.00 up.
2. Occupational Therapy/Behavioral Intervention
If your child suffers from Aspergers or Autism, I personally believe that Behavioral Intervention is a must. Early intervention has worked wonders with my child. Receiving it is becoming harder and harder. If you have a child that suffers from Aspergers or Autism, early intervention from a licensed behavioral therapist is certainly worth fighting for. Some of them will work on occupational issues also. Remember to also contact your insurance company to see if they will cover any evaluations. Evaluations can be VERY expensive, some at $2000.00 and up. I remember once being told by a psychologist that the reasons why many of the psychologists do so many tests is because they are insecure of one test result, so they continue with more, and more to confirm their diagnosis. This made me laugh, because when my son was diagnosed at UCLA (by a doctor that I later found had diagnosed almost every child I know with Autism) they consulted with us, did one test on my son, and knew in a heartbeat what his issue was. We were amazed because she knew everything about him and what he did before meeting him. She did not cost us anywhere near $2000.00. Locally, UCLA has been my best bet regarding evaluations.
3. Socialization
We all want our children to be happy and be part of the crowd with the other children. There are agencies that provide socialization groups. Regional Center can provide you with a list, and if you wish to have the school district fund it, you can fight for it. Depending on the governor’s recent proposal, less and less may become available through Regional Center funding.
Personally, I have not found one that I believe in. Parents come from all over Los Angeles; children only meet for an hour once a week, which barely gives them a chance to bond. Some of the time the parents of the other children in the group are not interested in initiating play days. The school district or Regional Center will fund this, but personally I think in some cases it can be a waste of time and money, depending on your child. There are other options, and parents can also become creative. Regional Center will supply a resource list of camps, and recreational activities. Two years ago I started a Special Needs Cub Scout unit here in my local area. There are no “drop-offs”, so the parents are committed to joining in. I had a boy with Cerebral Palsy, but now it mainly consists of Autism and ADHD. These boys have come far, and I am very proud of them. Having a full intake of the capabilities, we take things slow and meet less frequently then other units do. This unit has helped with their occupational skills and their socialization skills. UCLA uses cub scouting as a social and occupational therapy for their children when they are hospitalized. There is also a group called the Adventurers, which is available to you through your local YMCA. The YMCA has worked with many Autistic children, and is becoming more and more familiar with them. AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) also has a special league just for children. Their website is at www.soccer.org/. I have also recently learned that some parents in the valley were able to establish a program at their church. This church provides what they call “shepherds”, instead of aids, to assist the children while the parents are attending the service. If you feel discouraged about starting a program of your own because you feel that you may not be able to “handle it”, there is always parent training available through different sources and organizations. You can contact Regional Center to find out more. A recommended qualified consultant to contact is Peggy Main, L.C.S.W. For information and scheduling call 888-421-6122.
Just to talk to more parents, you may want to join ASK_group@yahoogroups.com Take note there is an underscore between the K and the group in this email address which is sometimes not visible.
III. CLASSROOM ASSITANCE
This is a scary and serious matter to me, for it appears that the school district is always pulling the aids away from the children too soon. I have known of two recent cases that had their children’s aids pulled from them suddenly, yet the district has also told me that “This is not the way they do it. They do it in a fade out manner”. One of the children who recently had his aid pulled is in third grade and can barely print, when the rest of the classroom is working on cursive writing. He is not happy, and is struggling. We have to remember that our children have to try twice as hard then the other children in the classroom. The irony of all of this is I’m sure that this child will move right on to fourth grade. Aids are essential. Try to have an aid from an agency funded by the district. This way, you will hear the true story, and not what the school only wants you to know. Try to observe when you can and make sure that the aid is making progress with the child. Be aware that there are many teachers out there that for some reason do not like the idea of having aids in their classroom. For this reason, they will say that the child does not need an aid any longer.
It’s already been proven that the school district cannot live up to all of its obligations towards our children. Always try to work with your children at home. Try to remember to ask what they did at school today. I don’t think the district will ever completely fulfill its commitments. If we also work with our children, it’s a good way for us to know their capabilities and help them at the same time.
IV PUBLIC SCHOOL OR NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL (NPS)
In some cases the choice is difficult to determine if your child should be in a
NPS or to remain in public schooling. Most prefer the NPS. This is a decision
. that should be based upon careful evaluations and observance. Take more then
. one tour of the NPS before placing your child in the school.
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If you are a new parent just stepping into this, I wish you all the luck in the world. If parents work together, improvements can be made for our children.