Re: need help with the school district

November 8, 2004

,

I only have a moment (else would have a *lot* to say!) but have you

just talked with the school or have you also talked with the school

district/system directors??

I would think a good psychologist or the special ed director for the

school system would understand the social anxiety and her OCD history

and the need for transitioning back into public school. I will say

that even psychologists can differ from school to school on knowledge

of disorders (our experience). If you can't get satisfaction

locally, call the state special ed director, give all the history

(like you did here) and ask their opinion. I've had to call the

state before to clarify something, it was very helpful. Just keep

trying " all " parties, go beyond the ones you've already talked to who

don't " get it " so far as an OCD history and social anxiety.

Please keep us updated!!!

>

> Hello,

> I have posted on this message board before over the past couple of

> years. I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice regarding

> my 13 year old daughter who has OCD. She was diagnosed at age 10.

> At the time she had severe contamination fears and had to withdraw

> from school - could not leave her room, hours of rituals etc. But

> her OCD has been managed pretty well with medication (although it

> took us awhile to find the right ones). She has attended public

November 9, 2004

Hi Theresa, her learning *is* impacted by her disorder because her disorder

at this time keeps her from attending school. That she is a bright child

and capable of the work is beside the point. It is the school's obligation

to facilitate your child's accessing her education, not yours. Though I

understand that you had decided to homeschool her, this is not required of

you. There are many parents of children with similar issues, who for one

reason or another, would not be able to homeschool their anxious child. The

school personnel may well not truly understand about anxiety disorders, but

that is also not a valid reason to deny your child access to her education.

It's also not your job to educate/convince school personnel about anxiety

disorders and how they can impact education, attending school and so on. I

get angry at the hoops some schools want to put parents through.

www.wrightslaw.com is a good place to learn about all this.

Have you asked your daughter's therapist or pdoc for help? I was amazed how

things changed for my child when one of these spoke with a teacher or

principal. In any case your child will not be their only client who has had

this sort of trouble with the school district, and they may have ideas or

suggestions for you.

Rather than further back and forth with your daughter's school, you may need

to speak to an education lawyer, and/or find or hire an advocate (may be a

savvy parent, may be a lawyer) who knows education law and your child's

rights. Many of us do not have a good enough understanding of education law

(at least in the beginning) to recognize when what the school is saying is

counter to what the law provides. You can call your local NAMI office to

see what sort of help they might be able to provide, or what they may

suggest in your situation.

To start though, I would call the district superintendent and explain the

situation. I have found that sometimes, what the school-level principal

etc. are saying is not supported by those higher up in the command chain.

Another idea is to call the office of special education for your district,

and see what they say about your daughter's situation. The state office of

education is another possibility.

Is there a local organization of parents of special-needs kids? These need

not be specifically children with OCD/anxiety. There is a group such as

this in my area and they have been very helpful and a source of support and

information regarding schooling, accessing accommodations and so on.

Good luck!

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

> Hello,

> I have posted on this message board before over the past couple of

> years. I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice regarding

> my 13 year old daughter who has OCD. She was diagnosed at age 10.

> At the time she had severe contamination fears and had to withdraw

> from school - could not leave her room, hours of rituals etc. But

> her OCD has been managed pretty well with medication (although it

> took us awhile to find the right ones). She has attended public

> school until 5th grade and then we put her into a small private

> school for 6th. During her 6th grade year she started to have

> social anxiety symptoms and became more and more stressed being

> around other students her age. She finally could not attend anymore

> due to her anxiety and currently does not have any interactions with

> peers. She has been homeschooled for the last year and a half.

> Academically, she has always done well, in fact, is significantly

> above average on both achievement and cognitive testing.

>

> We have decided that we'd like to go back to the school district and

> ask them to help us come up with an educational plan to get her back

> into school. I picture her having a home tutor initially but with

> the goal being to transition her in more social academic settings

> and eventually have her attend classes. But we are having some

> difficulties with the school district. They feel that she does not

> qualify for IDEA (special ed) because her learning is not impacted

> by her disability. I feel that she should qualify under section 504

> and that she should recieve accomodations in the form of a home

> tutor initially and part time school later. They disagree. They

> said that the public school is available to her. She just needs to

> attend. I truly believe they don't understand the nature of social

> anxiety. We can't even get her to go the movie theater, the park,

> or a restaurant without a battle and a lot of anxiety. She clearly

> cannot make it to school for an entire day. (She is receiving

> therapy, by the way)

>

> Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with the school district?

> It seems to me that they are willing to let her go without a public

> education by saying that we " just need to get her there " . Does

> anyone have any experience with this?

>

> Thanks for your time.

>

November 9, 2004