School Dist Lawyers: Burton Committee would 'Flush Kid Money Down Toilet'

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March 8, 2001 Search www.feat.org/search/news.asp

Also: Mentally Retarded Get Substandard Health Care - ABC News Report

School Dist Lawyers: Burton Committee would ‘Flush Kid Money Down Toilet’

Public pro-parent autism hearings may pose 'scary' threat to schools

Directors urged to be on guard as courtroom losses fuel frustration

[by Bevilacqua from LRP. LRP is a publicly funded anti-IDEA

consulting organization for school districts in support of their efforts

against parents seeking educational services for their disabled children.

Your tax dollars at work. -LS]

You probably did not hear about it, read about it or talk about it --

which is why it is sparking concern.

The House Government Reform Committee, in what appeared to be

well-maneuvered positioning for prompting legislative change, staged a

public hearing after more than 2,500 families sought legal assistance to

obtain, primarily, Applied Behavior Analysis programming. And as speakers --

including parents and disability advocates -- voiced opposition to

district-wide autism services, the committee's chair, Rep. Dan Burton,

R-Ind., made certain he would like school policy to change.

" (Burton) very clearly said it was his intent to draft legislation to

allow parents to demand whatever methodology they choose, " said Melinda

Baird, a Knoxville, Tenn., attorney who represents school districts in

special education cases. " This scares me because it would be opening

Pandora's box. It's ludicrous . . . if you did that for one disability, you

would have to do that for all disabilities. "

An official with the committee contends the meeting was not held for

pushing a specific agenda.

" The intent (of the hearing) was never to push ABA, " said spokeswoman

Beth Clay.

Effective formulation of staff policy, practical strategy and service

delivery have begun to register with school districts attempting to meet the

needs of autistic students, education attorneys say. But, you must also keep

pace with autism-related litigation, legislation and debate.

Stay attuned to public discussions, while also offering unique,

individualized instruction, even as schools remain relatively successful in

legitimizing their programming decisions to courts.

" The fact is that since 1997, schools have won 75 percent of all

autism cases, " Baird said. " It was obvious the (Committee) meeting was set

up to support one methodology (ABA).

" Special education directors need to be aware that these are the

lengths people will go to. "

At the hearing, witnesses, mostly parents, charged districts did not

provide the necessary Individuals with Disabilities Education Act services

to students. Witnesses said schools often question whether a child really

needs services, particularly if they are expensive.

Burton, grandfather of an autistic boy, said the situation runs

counter to IDEA ideals.

" It was never congressional intent that taxpayer dollars be spent on

hiring attorneys to fight parents in long, expensive court battles that will

keep children from getting services, " he said. " The role of special

education directors, teachers and administrators is to serve the children,

not to serve the system. "

Still, Clay contends the meeting was not held to promote a specific

methodology.

" The intent of the hearing was to see if the IDEA was being carried

forth appropriately, " she said.

An attorney representing schools in Indiana -- Burton's home state --

said this most recent hearing seems perplexing, revealing autism issues are

not close to cooling off.

" Special ed directors should ask themselves 'Why is the chair of the

Government Reform Committee having hearings on schools' and 'how many of

them were asked to testify?' " said Margaret Mannon , a lawyer

representing schools with Bose McKinney and in Indianapolis.

" We are certainly doing a lot of work with our clients, " she said.

" Parents want their own programs. They have attorneys just for this area. It

is very definitely front-burner stuff for schools. "

Whether legislators would be successful mandating that schools provide

all parent-demanded methodologies is uncertain, though it " flies in the face

of case law, " said.

Yet, defending such a movement, should one occur, could cost districts

money that should be spent on student resources, she said. " It scares me

because it will be a lot of kid money flushed down the toilet. (Schools')

general fund monies are kid monies. "

Though parents at the hearing testified districts refused to pay for

the ABA program, Baird countered that school districts are confronted with a

steady stream of parental requests for methodologies. " Some of these . . .

are supported by research literature and some are not. "

She advises that directors express opinions, viewpoints and

experiences to Burton's office, local legislators and state senators. And,

watch the Internet to track new legislation introduced, she said. And even

if districts are successful at better providing for autistic students,

special educators should be aware of a push for mandating methodologies,

Baird said.

" Schools should be very vigilant if something like this ever gets

started. Be aware that this happened . . . be on guard. "

Bevilacqua covers special education issues for LRP

Publications.

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Neglect of Our Most Vulnerable: Mentally Retarded Get Substandard Health

Care

[by Robin Eisner ABCNews.com. A high percentage of those diagnosed

with autism are also classified as mentally retarded.]

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/healthcareshame010301.ht

ml

She came into his office with acute dental pain, accompanied by her

mother and aunt, says Dr. Perlman, a Boston dentist, recounting a

health-care nightmare he sees over and over.

The 30-something woman with Down’s syndrome hadn’t been to a dentist

in eight years. She had infected gums and abscesses. She was 100 pounds

overweight. She had not received a pelvic examination or a pap smear in

years. And she had a heart murmur that her doctor had not detected.

“It is outrageous that doctors can get away with providing such little

care,” says Perlman, who treats developmentally disabled people. “The

neglect is horrific. … And it is sad that caretakers also expect so little.”

The woman, whose name the doctor would not reveal, needed surgery in

an operating room for her dental condition. A doctor Perlman called in to

examine the woman while she was under anesthesia also detected a

gynecological problem that should have been treated years earlier.

Indifferent Care

Such indifferent care of the mentally retarded systematically plagues

our medical system, says Tim Shriver, president and CEO of the Special

Olympics.

Shriver, the son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver,

is releasing a 175-page report to coincide with the winter Special Olympics,

taking place in Anchorage, Alaska, from March 4-11. The aim is to bring

attention to how this vulnerable population needs help.

The research is believed to be the first of its kind to compile

information about the physical and mental health of the mentally retarded.

Conducted by Zigler, Sterling professor of psychology at Yale

University, and his colleague Sally Horowitz, the study found that, among

the many areas of neglect, medical school curricula do not even address how

to care for this population.

Federal and state insurance programs also particularly neglect the

retarded: Dental care is covered by Medicaid until a person is 21, but after

that very limited care is provided, Zigler says.

While this restriction affects all poor people, the developmentally

disabled get short shrift because doctors, who resist Medicaid patients as

it is because of low reimbursement rates, especially avoid the mentally

retarded, says Dr. Corbin, a dentist and dean of the Special

Olympics University.

Doctors Avoid Mentally Retarded Patients

Doctors often are reluctant to treat mentally retarded patients

because many do not communicate and can be difficult to handle, says Zigler.

And family members, grateful when a doctor does agree to see a loved one,

aren’t aggressive enough in getting good care, the report says.

“It is a blind spot in our health-care system, and the result is

scandalous,” Shriver says.

Although physically disabled people get attention, the federal

government, insurers and providers are not paying attention to the needs of

the mentally disabled, he says.

In an attempt to address the inadequacy, a Senate Appropriations

Committee hearing on the issue, chaired by Sen. Ted s, R-Alaska, is to

be held Monday in Anchorage.

Perlman also has been active in treating what he calls these severely

underserved people. He started a program, called “Special Olympics, Special

Smiles” now available in 51 cities. It provides dental care and referrals

for other health care for the mentally retarded.

“These people need help,” he says.

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