Autism education scholarships

[Guest guest]

As folks may or may not know, there is a growing desire in TX for

autism education scholarships. During the interim between

Legislative session, Senator Shapiro was charged by the legislature

to research public education choice. Included in that research was

special needs scholarships and more specifically scholarships for

students with autism.

This is an exciting time for our families who have children with

autism in TX, but it is going to take some work from the people who

are wanting a change. In September there will be a Senate interim

hearing on public school choice. This hearing is NOT regarding a

specific piece of legislation that is already written but it is a

public hearing which will help our Legislators gather more

information and hear from the people. It is important to know that

many times legislation is either written or not written because of an

interim hearing. Senator Shapiro and her committee members will need

letters of support from the people of TX. Although all members of

the committee need to hear from the folks, it is extremely important

for the Chair of Public Education, Senator Shapiro to get our

letters. Below are the members of the Senate public education

committee. I encourage folks to take time and write a personal

letter and mail it off to each Senator on the Public Education

committee. I also understand that we all have more on our plates

than any one person should have, so if it is easier for folks to copy

and paste the letter below and send it to me,

tscillian@... and I will get it to Senator Shapiro.

Senator Shapiro has been a true statesman when it comes to issues

affecting all families in Texas and she continues to support children

and families affected by autism. Lets support her efforts to promote

a positive change for Texas citizen's affected by autism.

Much love to all,

Liz Scillian

tscillian@...

Public Education Committee members-

Chair:

Senator Florence Shapiro

Vice-Chair:

Senator Royce West

Members:

Senator Kip Averitt

Senator Janek

Senator Steve Ogden

Senator Todd Staples

Senator Van de Putte

Senator Tommy

Senator Judith Zaffirini

______Copy and paste letter below___ feel free to change and

personalize______

DATE

Senator

Austin, TX

RE: Autism Education Scholarships

Honorable

I am sure you are aware of the unique educational challenges each

student with autism faces. These challenges in the classroom are as

different and as complex as each individual child that falls on the

vast autism spectrum. Because of this complexity several states in

the nation have already recognized the need for and developed

specialized education legislation offering families a choice in how

they educate their special needs child. Ohio tops the list with

their successful Autism Education Scholarship Program.

Unfortunately today, Texas does not offer this education option to

its citizens with autism and as a parent with a child with autism I

would like to see autism scholarships brought to Texas. I believe it

is time for our elected leaders to take a hard look into the current

issues and struggles facing our families today. And while doing so,

they should look into Texas’s future to see what the long-term

effects our current limited educational system will have on the

families and communities of children with autism. Only then will our

leaders begin to understand that this issue of school choice for

students with autism is not about poor performing schools or

inadequate teachers but simply about a subset of children with

complex educational challenges who when provided with most

appropriate educational opportunities available have shown to have

tremendous potential and therefore can make a positive impact on the

future of the Lone Star state.

Thank you for serving in the Texas state legislature and for taking

into consideration my view in favor of bringing education

scholarships for students with autism to Texas.

YOUR NAME

YOUR ADDRESS

YOUR PHONE NUMBER

[Guest guest]

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it would

work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

, several states have different types of options for assisting families who

need greater educational choices for their disabled children. I do know of a

few families who have been successful in working with their school districts,

but there are a LOT of kids on the spectrum who are not well-served in their

public school programs. Unfortunately, the tuition costs of specialized private

schools (or private schools offering specialized services and supports) are far

beyond the means of most families.

Some states offer a little bit of a tax credit to offset private school tuition.

However, other states actually have scholarship money available for families to

use to pay for their children's tuition in private programs. I'm not sure where

you live, but in the Houston area, there are several choices of private programs

for children with autism --the cost ranges from $1000-$5000 per month. That is

simply out of the reach of most families. Having an autism education

scholarship will make a greater range of choices available to families.

Having educational choice can mean the difference between having an adult who

wears diapers or an adult who can independently toilet, an individual who is

wholly dependent on others for care or an individual who has some level of

independence, an individual who is unhappy and violent because he can't express

his basic needs and one who has some autonomy in life.

Geraldine

Re: Autism education scholarships

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it would

work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

Yes but, most ABA based clinics are not schools, they are mental health

clinics and as such, would not be eligible for vouchers. Voucher programs

require that money goes to schools, or TEA certified alternative education

sites. There is only one ABA-based program in the Houston area that would

take vouchers under that condition.

S.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

, several states have different types of options for assisting families

who need greater educational choices for their disabled children. I do know

of a few families who have been successful in working with their school

districts, but there are a LOT of kids on the spectrum who are not

well-served in their public school programs. Unfortunately, the tuition

costs of specialized private schools (or private schools offering

specialized services and supports) are far beyond the means of most

families.

Some states offer a little bit of a tax credit to offset private school

tuition. However, other states actually have scholarship money available

for families to use to pay for their children's tuition in private programs.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the Houston area, there are several

choices of private programs for children with autism --the cost ranges from

$1000-$5000 per month. That is simply out of the reach of most families.

Having an autism education scholarship will make a greater range of choices

available to families.

Having educational choice can mean the difference between having an adult

who wears diapers or an adult who can independently toilet, an individual

who is wholly dependent on others for care or an individual who has some

level of independence, an individual who is unhappy and violent because he

can't express his basic needs and one who has some autonomy in life.

Geraldine

Re: Autism education scholarships

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it

would work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

How ironic that insurance companies categorize ABA programs as " educational " ,

and the educational system labels them as " mental health clinics " .

Aliza

Singleton wrote:

Yes but, most ABA based clinics are not schools, they are mental

health

clinics and as such, would not be eligible for vouchers. Voucher programs

require that money goes to schools, or TEA certified alternative education

sites. There is only one ABA-based program in the Houston area that would

take vouchers under that condition.

S.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

, several states have different types of options for assisting families

who need greater educational choices for their disabled children. I do know

of a few families who have been successful in working with their school

districts, but there are a LOT of kids on the spectrum who are not

well-served in their public school programs. Unfortunately, the tuition

costs of specialized private schools (or private schools offering

specialized services and supports) are far beyond the means of most

families.

Some states offer a little bit of a tax credit to offset private school

tuition. However, other states actually have scholarship money available

for families to use to pay for their children's tuition in private programs.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the Houston area, there are several

choices of private programs for children with autism --the cost ranges from

$1000-$5000 per month. That is simply out of the reach of most families.

Having an autism education scholarship will make a greater range of choices

available to families.

Having educational choice can mean the difference between having an adult

who wears diapers or an adult who can independently toilet, an individual

who is wholly dependent on others for care or an individual who has some

level of independence, an individual who is unhappy and violent because he

can't express his basic needs and one who has some autonomy in life.

Geraldine

Re: Autism education scholarships

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it

would work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

No, sorry not to be clear. The educational system does NOT label them as

mental health clinics. When they goes into business, they have to tell the

state what kind of business they have. The providers themselves CHOOSE to

become children's mental health clinics, in part, I'm guessing so that they

can collect insurance reimbursement and in other part because they have to

meet no minimum requirements for anything. Children's mental health clinics

currently do not fall under any agencies jurisdiction, unlike day care

centers, etc.

The problem is that ABA is interdisciplinary. When ABA is used in a

classroom, it's ducational. In my opinion, when it's one on one for more

than 1 hours a day, it's therapy that should be reimbursed by insurance and

NOT the education system IMO. I think trying to make the educational system

pay for this kind of one on one therapy is letting the insurance company off

the hook for something that they should have been paying for a long time

now.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

, several states have different types of options for assisting families

who need greater educational choices for their disabled children. I do know

of a few families who have been successful in working with their school

districts, but there are a LOT of kids on the spectrum who are not

well-served in their public school programs. Unfortunately, the tuition

costs of specialized private schools (or private schools offering

specialized services and supports) are far beyond the means of most

families.

Some states offer a little bit of a tax credit to offset private school

tuition. However, other states actually have scholarship money available

for families to use to pay for their children's tuition in private programs.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the Houston area, there are several

choices of private programs for children with autism --the cost ranges from

$1000-$5000 per month. That is simply out of the reach of most families.

Having an autism education scholarship will make a greater range of choices

available to families.

Having educational choice can mean the difference between having an adult

who wears diapers or an adult who can independently toilet, an individual

who is wholly dependent on others for care or an individual who has some

level of independence, an individual who is unhappy and violent because he

can't express his basic needs and one who has some autonomy in life.

Geraldine

Re: Autism education scholarships

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it

would work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

Remember legislation has NOT been written yet. So we are speculating

on what the scholarship will cover or not cover in TX. All of the

scholarship bills that have been passed in the different states are

VERY different. Ohio Autism Scholarships pays for the families home

ABA programs...

Liz

tscillian@...

[Guest guest]

Oh, I agree with you, just saying that both institutions try to get the other to

pay for what both should be providing.

Singleton wrote: No, sorry not to

be clear. The educational system does NOT label them as

mental health clinics. When they goes into business, they have to tell the

state what kind of business they have. The providers themselves CHOOSE to

become children's mental health clinics, in part, I'm guessing so that they

can collect insurance reimbursement and in other part because they have to

meet no minimum requirements for anything. Children's mental health clinics

currently do not fall under any agencies jurisdiction, unlike day care

centers, etc.

The problem is that ABA is interdisciplinary. When ABA is used in a

classroom, it's ducational. In my opinion, when it's one on one for more

than 1 hours a day, it's therapy that should be reimbursed by insurance and

NOT the education system IMO. I think trying to make the educational system

pay for this kind of one on one therapy is letting the insurance company off

the hook for something that they should have been paying for a long time

now.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

, several states have different types of options for assisting families

who need greater educational choices for their disabled children. I do know

of a few families who have been successful in working with their school

districts, but there are a LOT of kids on the spectrum who are not

well-served in their public school programs. Unfortunately, the tuition

costs of specialized private schools (or private schools offering

specialized services and supports) are far beyond the means of most

families.

Some states offer a little bit of a tax credit to offset private school

tuition. However, other states actually have scholarship money available

for families to use to pay for their children's tuition in private programs.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the Houston area, there are several

choices of private programs for children with autism --the cost ranges from

$1000-$5000 per month. That is simply out of the reach of most families.

Having an autism education scholarship will make a greater range of choices

available to families.

Having educational choice can mean the difference between having an adult

who wears diapers or an adult who can independently toilet, an individual

who is wholly dependent on others for care or an individual who has some

level of independence, an individual who is unhappy and violent because he

can't express his basic needs and one who has some autonomy in life.

Geraldine

Re: Autism education scholarships

This is probably a stupid question but what good would an autism education

scholarship be for most of our kids? I guess I do not understand how it

would work and benefit individuals.

C.

[Guest guest]

If we do manage to get vouchers I have a few questions. Who would be

eligible? What schools would be eligible and in what cities in Texas?

Austin only has 2 private schools that take children with autism and

they only go up to age 8 what then? Unless you as a parent are ready to

homeschool public school is the only choice in Austin for older

students. Has anyone seen a middle school classroom for children with

autism that seems acceptable? I'm looking for good ones to point to that

are public just in case my district says we can't do that blah blah blah....

I'd also be willing to look at private schools in Austin if there are

any? This is my year for research we don't start middle school until

next fall. Thanks everyone! Trina __

[Guest guest]

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

[Guest guest]

I live in Baytown too and I take my son to Texas Children's Hospital to Dr.

Chapeski. I have been happy with her so far. Also, I am not sure if your son

gets speech therepy or occupational therapy, but I know a company that is good

and will actually come out to your house during after school hours if you need

that info. And lastly, I am not sure if you are familiar with the Baytown

Special Rodeo, but it is taking place Sept.9th and is a lot of fun for kids with

special needs. The web site is specialrodeo.com. It is free too.

" V. Mohammed " wrote:

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

---------------------------------

How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

If you are willing to go as far as Katy for a psychiatrist, I would recommend

Dr. Vela on Kingsland Blvd.

Regards,

Aliza

angela miller wrote:

I live in Baytown too and I take my son to Texas Children's Hospital

to Dr. Chapeski. I have been happy with her so far. Also, I am not sure if your

son gets speech therepy or occupational therapy, but I know a company that is

good and will actually come out to your house during after school hours if you

need that info. And lastly, I am not sure if you are familiar with the Baytown

Special Rodeo, but it is taking place Sept.9th and is a lot of fun for kids with

special needs. The web site is specialrodeo.com. It is free too.

" V. Mohammed " wrote:

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

---------------------------------

How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

Please share the speech and OT people that come to the house! thanks, lisa

RE: Re: Autism education scholarships

I live in Baytown too and I take my son to Texas Children's Hospital to Dr.

Chapeski. I have been happy with her so far. Also, I am not sure if your son

gets speech therepy or occupational therapy, but I know a company that is good

and will actually come out to your house during after school hours if you need

that info. And lastly, I am not sure if you are familiar with the Baytown

Special Rodeo, but it is taking place Sept.9th and is a lot of fun for kids with

special needs. The web site is specialrodeo.com. It is free too.

" V. Mohammed " wrote:

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

---------------------------------

How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

Hi Aliza. Why exactly would you recommend her? thanks,lisa

RE: Re: Autism education scholarships

Hi ,

If you are willing to go as far as Katy for a psychiatrist, I would recommend

Dr. Vela on Kingsland Blvd.

Regards,

Aliza

angela miller wrote:

I live in Baytown too and I take my son to Texas Children's Hospital to Dr.

Chapeski. I have been happy with her so far. Also, I am not sure if your son

gets speech therepy or occupational therapy, but I know a company that is good

and will actually come out to your house during after school hours if you need

that info. And lastly, I am not sure if you are familiar with the Baytown

Special Rodeo, but it is taking place Sept.9th and is a lot of fun for kids with

special needs. The web site is specialrodeo.com. It is free too.

" V. Mohammed " wrote:

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

---------------------------------

How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

First of all, because she listens. She meets with you and your child; not a

nurse, and not a PA. She works with you to develop a treatment strategy for

your child. I've seen two other psychiatrists in the past two years. One of

them had his nurse do the entire intake and met with us for about two minutes.

The other one would not return our calls even though we were new patients and I

had concerns about the medication we had just started giving our daughter.

Aliza

" Dr. Graham-Garza " wrote:

Hi Aliza. Why exactly would you recommend her? thanks,lisa

RE: Re: Autism education scholarships

Hi ,

If you are willing to go as far as Katy for a psychiatrist, I would recommend

Dr. Vela on Kingsland Blvd.

Regards,

Aliza

angela miller wrote:

I live in Baytown too and I take my son to Texas Children's Hospital to Dr.

Chapeski. I have been happy with her so far. Also, I am not sure if your son

gets speech therepy or occupational therapy, but I know a company that is good

and will actually come out to your house during after school hours if you need

that info. And lastly, I am not sure if you are familiar with the Baytown

Special Rodeo, but it is taking place Sept.9th and is a lot of fun for kids with

special needs. The web site is specialrodeo.com. It is free too.

" V. Mohammed " wrote:

can anyone recommend a psychiatrist/neurologist in the Southwest Area,

preferably Sugarland. My son's is in Baytown and its becoming quite a trek

for us to go there.

thanks

---------------------------------

How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.

[Guest guest]

That you Trina for bringing up the REAL practical problem with vouchers.

There just aren't many places to use them for the majority of folks out

there.

S.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

If we do manage to get vouchers I have a few questions. Who would be

eligible? What schools would be eligible and in what cities in Texas?

Austin only has 2 private schools that take children with autism and

they only go up to age 8 what then? Unless you as a parent are ready to

homeschool public school is the only choice in Austin for older

students. Has anyone seen a middle school classroom for children with

autism that seems acceptable? I'm looking for good ones to point to that

are public just in case my district says we can't do that blah blah blah....

I'd also be willing to look at private schools in Austin if there are

any? This is my year for research we don't start middle school until

next fall. Thanks everyone! Trina __

Texas Autism Advocacy

www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

Texas Disability Network

Calendar of Events

www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

[Guest guest]

Whoa Nellie! The bill is not even on the drafting board yet.

The private schools are not currently there in great number because demand

is not there. Fund scholarships> this creates more demand> 'suppliers' will

build more schools to meet that demand. The best schools will survive; that

is Economics 101.

Scholarships are worth pursuing, even if it only works for 25% of us. One

thing scholarships will do is create competition, so public schools will

have to improve or people will leave and take their money. If public school

is doing it correctly, they have no worries.

The actual wording and implementation is critical for any bill. A few years

ago Autism scholarship were bandied about but were utterly worthless because

the amount was way too low (about $2500 per school year) and the stipulation

was that the receiving school could not ask for more. What kind of

education, even for atypical child could you obtain for $2500?

Don't poo-poo this idea just because you can't see how it would benefit you.

There are plenty of people that would benefit if it is written correctly.

Disclosure: my children are 15 and 12 and I homeschool. They will not

benefit much, if any, from an Autism scholarship, but I will support CHOICE

for everyone.

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of

Singleton

Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 8:16 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: RE: Re: Autism education scholarships

That you Trina for bringing up the REAL practical problem with vouchers.

There just aren't many places to use them for the majority of folks out

there.

S.

Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

If we do manage to get vouchers I have a few questions. Who would be

eligible? What schools would be eligible and in what cities in Texas?

Austin only has 2 private schools that take children with autism and

they only go up to age 8 what then? Unless you as a parent are ready to

homeschool public school is the only choice in Austin for older

students. Has anyone seen a middle school classroom for children with

autism that seems acceptable? I'm looking for good ones to point to that

are public just in case my district says we can't do that blah blah blah....

I'd also be willing to look at private schools in Austin if there are

any? This is my year for research we don't start middle school until

next fall. Thanks everyone! Trina __

[Guest guest]

Point taken. My concern isn't just for me though. How are you going to

" sell " this bill if most schools with the kind of ratios our children

need are in the 35k range? Are we going to ask that the vouchers cover

the full amount of the private school of our choice? Half? I think we

would need to prove that private schools offer better education or more

" individualized " education before we start asking for the govt to fund

them.

I think if my school district saw a school that went from k-12 and that

I was going to take my 15k a year from their pocketbook they might sit

up and notice. I still think you could run a school with certified

teachers, a BCBA or two and college interns and some aides that doesn't

have to cost 35k a year I just haven't seen it yet. Will we see it when

the money is there? Will there be schools nearby to everyone who needs

them? Will schools simply step up to the plate and eliminate the need

for the private school in the first place? Hmmmm..

I'm for the vouchers absolutely but they need to have teeth...Trina

[Guest guest]

Hi Trina,

I can guarantee that no one is going to be satisfied by any bill that is

written. : ( We all have individual children, with individual needs, and

no bill can possible cover everything. Having said that, do we just give up

and keep our few options? No, we at least have to try to make a difference.

If one therapy could make a huge difference in 25% of the kids, would anyone

say it is not good enough to at least try? I hope not.

If my children were given 35K annually for education, it would be a huge

waste. They could receive a good education for well under 20K. I would

like to see a needs-based approach, where children who need the more

intensive interventions (and more costly) receive more funds (that is how it

currently works in public anyway). But if the whole thing is going to be

under funded, the scholarship detractors will have us parents all at each

other's throats. For the scholarships to work at all, they have to be truly

useful. We can't allow any proposed scholarships to be watered down to the

point they are ineffective. The dollar amount has to be meaningful and it

can't have unreasonable stipulations placed on it. I think homeschoolsers

should also be eligible to receive stipends to cover therapy, curriculum,

etc.as long as it is a legitimate expense. We will all need to be involved

to guide the process because we all have unique perspectives.

Will there be schools nearby everyone who needs one? Nope. Texas is way

too big geographically speaking. The metropolitan areas will still be the

better location due to economies of scale.

Will public schools simply step up to the plate and eliminate the need for

private? Some will, some won't. It depends on how the bill is written and

how the school district feels about competition. Theoretically those that

aren't good enough to compete will " get out of the business " .

A final thought: just as one IEP would not serve all our children, neither

can one system. Parents need choices. Who better than a parent to decide

what is best for their child?

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of and Trina

Sherman

Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 7:41 AM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Re: Autism education scholarships

Point taken. My concern isn't just for me though. How are you going to

" sell " this bill if most schools with the kind of ratios our children

need are in the 35k range? Are we going to ask that the vouchers cover

the full amount of the private school of our choice? Half? I think we

would need to prove that private schools offer better education or more

" individualized " education before we start asking for the govt to fund

them.

I think if my school district saw a school that went from k-12 and that

I was going to take my 15k a year from their pocketbook they might sit

up and notice. I still think you could run a school with certified

teachers, a BCBA or two and college interns and some aides that doesn't

have to cost 35k a year I just haven't seen it yet. Will we see it when

the money is there? Will there be schools nearby to everyone who needs

them? Will schools simply step up to the plate and eliminate the need

for the private school in the first place? Hmmmm..

I'm for the vouchers absolutely but they need to have teeth...Trina