Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how they operate! I would be incensed and would not stop until I had a new placement. I had the same problem when they replaced my son's itinerant teacher of the deaf. Luckily, she only saw him about an hour a day so it was not as significant a problem. She ended up being our worst nightmare and of all people, worked to sabotage him, we believe as payback. It doesn't matter what you think under the law. What matters is if you have documentation that your child needs speech role models....You need that written by a specialist, or better, by several specialists. Then get that into the IEP and then you have a basis for an inappropriate placement. What you " want " doesn't matter under the law. What she " needs " does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Jeane, I think you are totally justified in this. Your IEP says TC not sign only. It's great that she gets sign, but as your daughter is more oral and has some physical issues with signing, she needs a teacher who can hear and understand her. That would be a huge issue in my book more so then the teachers voice which your daughter may get used to. If your daughter can't communicate back to the teacher then how does that work? Not to mention they are supposed to work on speech all day and how can a deaf teacher work on a child's speech? I think this is a problem and one that your school needs to address. I would stress her limited ability to sign (what spacifically is it that makes it difficult for her? I have a son who is physically impaired and can't sign well at all, but it's his brother who is HI) because if she can't communicate to the teacher that is a problem. The next option you have is to put her in a normal classroom and ask for a signing aid. This way she gets the teachers speech and the aids sign, and the aid can help her with one on one stuff she needs help with. That in my opinion is not as favorable just because she isn't immersed in both, but it almost sounds like if you loose the fight with the school it is going to be one or the other. My son is currently in a class with children who are severely delayed, and all are non-verbal, non-signing. The teachers use sign with them, but they can't sign back. I am waiting for our OT report so I can bring it to the school and show them the only area my son is severely delayed in is speech and language, and I want him out of the severe delay class and into a TC class designed around communication. In a class like that while they work on speech for those who sign mostly and sign for those who speak mostly, every child is an individual and that's what I want. I actually am going to be fighting for them to give us permission to take him out of district to a different school where they provide all HI kids with an FM system and even children with communication disorders like CAPD and autism. I think though in order to comfort your daughter in regards to her teachers voice just explain that she sounds that way because she is not able to hear and that is how deaf people talk, and that it's ok. It would be rather hard for her to get good verbal input from teachers who may have some speech difficulty of their own, or pronunciation problems. Not that I have anything against the way deaf people talk, just that when teaching a young child who has a hearing impairment how to talk you need really good pronunciation so they understand. Trouble at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Jeane, I think you are totally justified in this. Your IEP says TC not sign only. It's great that she gets sign, but as your daughter is more oral and has some physical issues with signing, she needs a teacher who can hear and understand her. That would be a huge issue in my book more so then the teachers voice which your daughter may get used to. If your daughter can't communicate back to the teacher then how does that work? Not to mention they are supposed to work on speech all day and how can a deaf teacher work on a child's speech? I think this is a problem and one that your school needs to address. I would stress her limited ability to sign (what spacifically is it that makes it difficult for her? I have a son who is physically impaired and can't sign well at all, but it's his brother who is HI) because if she can't communicate to the teacher that is a problem. The next option you have is to put her in a normal classroom and ask for a signing aid. This way she gets the teachers speech and the aids sign, and the aid can help her with one on one stuff she needs help with. That in my opinion is not as favorable just because she isn't immersed in both, but it almost sounds like if you loose the fight with the school it is going to be one or the other. My son is currently in a class with children who are severely delayed, and all are non-verbal, non-signing. The teachers use sign with them, but they can't sign back. I am waiting for our OT report so I can bring it to the school and show them the only area my son is severely delayed in is speech and language, and I want him out of the severe delay class and into a TC class designed around communication. In a class like that while they work on speech for those who sign mostly and sign for those who speak mostly, every child is an individual and that's what I want. I actually am going to be fighting for them to give us permission to take him out of district to a different school where they provide all HI kids with an FM system and even children with communication disorders like CAPD and autism. I think though in order to comfort your daughter in regards to her teachers voice just explain that she sounds that way because she is not able to hear and that is how deaf people talk, and that it's ok. It would be rather hard for her to get good verbal input from teachers who may have some speech difficulty of their own, or pronunciation problems. Not that I have anything against the way deaf people talk, just that when teaching a young child who has a hearing impairment how to talk you need really good pronunciation so they understand. Trouble at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 << Would those of you with implanted kids be okay with this or am I justified in thinking that this is just craziness and they need to be called on the carpet. What do we do?>> Jeane, Although does not have a CI, he does have enough benefit from his aids that he could have been a strictly oral child. We initially chose to put him in a school for Deaf/HOH kids using TC because his loss was diagnosed so late that his language skills were almost 3 years delayed. While I credit the school and the TC method for bringing up-to-speed enough to mainstream this year, I do NOT believe that it would have been this successful if he had not had the constant speech model of his teacher and the classroom aide--who were not Deaf themselves. I think you are fully justified in your concerns. Although none of the kids in ' classroom could have been considered good speech models, the teachers and staff at the school filled in the gap. If just having good role models at home would have been sufficient, my son would not have been as delayed as he was. He still needed the consistent correction, auditory training, and " re-trying " method (at this particular school) on a daily basis. I'm wondering how Emma can receive such correction if the teacher cannot hear the errors? When you spent all that time working this out last year, was there a signed IEP put in place? If so, how does it read on this issue? Carol - mom to , 7.9, mod to profound, LVAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 >I'm wondering how Emma can receive such correction if the teacher cannot hear the errors? That's my point. I certainly think deaf teachers have their place, I just don't think it is teaching TC. I do know a man who was deafened as a young adult. He teaches a class of young normally hearing children. He lost his hearing in an accedent when he was around 18 years old and has really really good speech because of that but not just that his lip reading skills are amazing. He does wonderfully. I wouldn't have a problem putting in a class with him teaching TC because he speaks as good as any of us without a typical deaf voice, and an aid could listen out for any verbal mistakes the kids could be missing and work with them on that. But you really really need a good oral model as a teacher. Re: Trouble at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 >I'm wondering how Emma can receive such correction if the teacher cannot hear the errors? That's my point. I certainly think deaf teachers have their place, I just don't think it is teaching TC. I do know a man who was deafened as a young adult. He teaches a class of young normally hearing children. He lost his hearing in an accedent when he was around 18 years old and has really really good speech because of that but not just that his lip reading skills are amazing. He does wonderfully. I wouldn't have a problem putting in a class with him teaching TC because he speaks as good as any of us without a typical deaf voice, and an aid could listen out for any verbal mistakes the kids could be missing and work with them on that. But you really really need a good oral model as a teacher. Re: Trouble at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 >I'm wondering how Emma can receive such correction if the teacher cannot hear the errors? That's my point. I certainly think deaf teachers have their place, I just don't think it is teaching TC. I do know a man who was deafened as a young adult. He teaches a class of young normally hearing children. He lost his hearing in an accedent when he was around 18 years old and has really really good speech because of that but not just that his lip reading skills are amazing. He does wonderfully. I wouldn't have a problem putting in a class with him teaching TC because he speaks as good as any of us without a typical deaf voice, and an aid could listen out for any verbal mistakes the kids could be missing and work with them on that. But you really really need a good oral model as a teacher. Re: Trouble at school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Actually, my child was " mainstreamed " in a language impaired program at Lutherville Elementary, a magnet school for math and science until he entered Kindergarten. It was an excellent placement with high functioning kids as language role models with most of them only having articulation issues. The teacher signed as needed. He really did well in that program and all went well until he was mainstreamed into kindergarten with no supports because they insisted he could " hear " because every morning they said, " Hi , how are you? " and every time he said, " Hi, fine! " I told them to ask him if his shoes were red and I could assure them he'd say, " Hi, fine! " He was " thrown out " of this school illegally after first grade because we " complained too much " because his teacher refused to follow the IEP and brutalized him. In my opinion, the individuals responsible for Deaf Education in our county are some of the most reprehensible people you could possibly imagine. was brutalized by them and some of his teachers in a systematic approach to pay us back through our child. They tried to force us into Villa Cresta but what we saw there were very poor role models and kids who couldn't read and had multiple learning disabilities. He was out of the system for three years, since we finally won a special ed placement out of county due to their refusal to make accommodations. That actually ended up being a misrepresented placement as well, as most of the children at The Lab School were dyslexic and was reading by the time he was two. So, then he was home tutored by the county for two years until he started going nuts from lack of social interaction. He started at Cockeysville Middle School last year and it has been a dream come true. He has a CART reporter that we fought long and hard to get and the school left all of the previous baggage behind. Even when we filed multiple state complaints against the school system, per my request, they stayed out of it because, as I told them, my problem was with special ed not making appropriate accommodations, not their support. This is the first school where the entire staff is rooting for and even truly cares about us. He has made a few good friends, and fortunately, picks really nice kids. He still struggles with attentional issues but the teachers keep a tight rein on him and work with us to get homework done and get him to school on time. They don't wait for a team to address issues. One day, I was just going in to school to ask them to help me get to do his homework as he was completely noncompliant. As I walked in, the Principal said, " Mrs. Semesky, so glad to see you. We were just talking this morning that we needed to call you regarding the fact that is not doing his homework. I checked in and they had already implemented a behavior modification plan and told me what they had done. He has a study hall instead of a foreign language since he takes Japanese at night at Towson University, and he had started playing on the computers in the library instead of working. So, they pulled him into the office and made him work there. After he pulled his E's back up to B's they alllowed him to go back to the library. He found he couldn't focus and actually went the the Assistant Principal and asked if he could please work in the office again because he could focus better. We were all really proud of him for that. For those who watched The Charmed Ones, his AP looks and acts just like Pru and she brooks no nonsense from any kids. Boy, she has him shaking in his boots when she wants to but even then, always tells him how proud she is and sends him off with an attaboy, even after giving him lunch detention. Anyway, the best thing that happened was that at this new school, we requested that the deaf educators keep as far away from him as possible. We let teachers who love kids, teach him like any other kid. They have bought a second fm system so that the one they bought for home use stays here and the one for school use stays there and when one or the other is broken, we still have a back up. They have a system in place for repairing it. His school is the most ethnically diverse school in the entire county and, though it is in one of the most affluent parts of our county, has a large Section 8 population, a large block of Indian, Chinese, Jamaican, Filipino and other nationalities. The teachers are the best I have experienced in the 12 years my daughter spent in the system and those that has. They are a parent's dream. He has all male teachers this year except for his art teacher. They teach the kids like they're in college in terms of their teaching style and all of these kids keep up. He's in all Gifted and Talented classes and likes school. My only wish is that all of the money they spend on a CART reporter should go to help other kids as well. I wish there were other kids with hearing impairments and/or Central Auditory Processing Disorder that could also benefit from the CART who could be in the class so that the money spent services more children. Well, a long answer to a short question. I have heard that Harford County is a nightmare for all parents with kids with special ed needs. It's one of the few counties I haven't done advocacy work for directly, though I did advise one parent to move as she ended up in a living hell. The trick in this State is to file State complaint after state complaint. Become the squeaky wheel and they shut you up by giving you at least part of the services you need. \ Re: Trouble at school > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how they > operate! " > > , > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the program. > > Angel > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 one word " lawyer " Re: Trouble at school > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how they > operate! " > > , > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the program. > > Angel > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 one word " lawyer " Re: Trouble at school > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how they > operate! " > > , > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the program. > > Angel > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 As I am reading this post, I'm struck by the differences and striking similarites we've experienced. The teachers who are bound for hell (in our opinion) are regular and special ed educators who did not want to bother with our son and made things hard for him and us out of spite. They did not want to acknowledge that Ian needed services from a TOD and people trained to work with HOH/deaf kids and they tried to block/impair those services at every turn. They stated that they felt we were using his hearing loss as an excuse to make things easy on our son. (Ha! Had we wanted to make things easy, we could have left him in the special ed program where he was just too bright for the level and content and didn't need to work at all.) And they fought against being educated themselves. Even after the IEP ordered they be trained in classroom strategies, they refused to use them. We have the makings of similar lawsuits and our district knows it. The deaf educators have been Ian's educational (and emotional?) salvation. They were the first people to care about him and understand his needs. The first people, besides us, to actually advocate for his needs at the CSE meetings. Since he's been in the middle school the regular educators have also been marvelous and supportive. The trouble we had was in the elementary school and it was a waking nightmare. The middle school educators have willingly attended the training sessions, and meet on a bi-monthly basis with the TOD to discuss Ian and the curriculum. In their opinion (stated openly at the IEP/504 meetings) the presence of the TOD makes their lives easier. Our daughter is younger than our son and as a result there is a letter in her file insisting that she never have any of the same classroom teachers my son had. So far things have gone well for her (knocking on wood). She's a 4th grader now and the worst probelms she's had have been with the queen-bee-girls and learning to navigate the world of girl-politics. Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Not right now. They eventually got themselves in so much legal trouble that instead of being slapped with a multimillion dollar lawsuit they actually began providing services he needs. If we litigate now, they'll start fighting again and payback is brutal as they heap it all where it is the most effective...on your child. They'll pull his CART and force us to spend all of our time trying to fight for services instead of watching and helping him grow into a successful adult. The payback even impacted my daughter in her highschool although she was years ahead of him. She's out of the system now. They know we mean business. Two state complaints last year. Still one pending as they owe us $7,000 for payments we made for agreed upon services that they were to reimburse us for and haven't. We are currently getting what we need. If they stop, we pull out the big guns...defamation of character, slander, harrassment, wilful negligence, ADA violations, IDEA violations, sanctions for malpractice on the part of their psychologist and audiologists, to name a few. We've got so many cases against them that they'd have to hire new attorneys to defend against them. They know it and we know it. That's enough for now. I believe in hell and I know a very large group of alleged educators heading there! Re: Trouble at school > > > > > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how > they > > operate! " > > > > , > > > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa > Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in > Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, > just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the > program. > > > > Angel > > > > > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Not right now. They eventually got themselves in so much legal trouble that instead of being slapped with a multimillion dollar lawsuit they actually began providing services he needs. If we litigate now, they'll start fighting again and payback is brutal as they heap it all where it is the most effective...on your child. They'll pull his CART and force us to spend all of our time trying to fight for services instead of watching and helping him grow into a successful adult. The payback even impacted my daughter in her highschool although she was years ahead of him. She's out of the system now. They know we mean business. Two state complaints last year. Still one pending as they owe us $7,000 for payments we made for agreed upon services that they were to reimburse us for and haven't. We are currently getting what we need. If they stop, we pull out the big guns...defamation of character, slander, harrassment, wilful negligence, ADA violations, IDEA violations, sanctions for malpractice on the part of their psychologist and audiologists, to name a few. We've got so many cases against them that they'd have to hire new attorneys to defend against them. They know it and we know it. That's enough for now. I believe in hell and I know a very large group of alleged educators heading there! Re: Trouble at school > > > > > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how > they > > operate! " > > > > , > > > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa > Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in > Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, > just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the > program. > > > > Angel > > > > > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 7, 2004 Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 Not right now. They eventually got themselves in so much legal trouble that instead of being slapped with a multimillion dollar lawsuit they actually began providing services he needs. If we litigate now, they'll start fighting again and payback is brutal as they heap it all where it is the most effective...on your child. They'll pull his CART and force us to spend all of our time trying to fight for services instead of watching and helping him grow into a successful adult. The payback even impacted my daughter in her highschool although she was years ahead of him. She's out of the system now. They know we mean business. Two state complaints last year. Still one pending as they owe us $7,000 for payments we made for agreed upon services that they were to reimburse us for and haven't. We are currently getting what we need. If they stop, we pull out the big guns...defamation of character, slander, harrassment, wilful negligence, ADA violations, IDEA violations, sanctions for malpractice on the part of their psychologist and audiologists, to name a few. We've got so many cases against them that they'd have to hire new attorneys to defend against them. They know it and we know it. That's enough for now. I believe in hell and I know a very large group of alleged educators heading there! Re: Trouble at school > > > > > > " Jeesh, it sounds like you live in Baltimore County. That's exactly how > they > > operate! " > > > > , > > > > I noticed you mentioned Baltimore County. Did your child go to Villa > Cresta for the 3-5 year old program? I am really interested as I live in > Harford County and they offer no HOH or Deaf classes for this age group, > just a multi-disability class. I'm just looking for parent feedback on the > program. > > > > Angel > > > > > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 > AgBell used to have some cases on their website but I couldn't find them.< I have links to many on their website from here: http://www.listen-up.org/rights/guidance.htm Quotes from Dept. of Ed.: Deaf Students Education Services; Policy Guidance - It is worth noting that this document is specifically mentioned in IDEA '97 as being fully supported: http://www.listen-up.org/rights/policy.htm (the document on my website) http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/hq9806.html (DOE's website) " Because deafness is a low incidence disability, there is not widespread understanding of its educational implications, even among special educators. This lack of knowledge and skills in our education system contributes to the already substantial barriers to deaf students in receiving appropriate educational services. " a.. " The Secretary believes it is important that State and local education agencies, in developing an IEP for a child who is deaf, take into consideration such factors as: 1. Communication needs and the child's and family's preferred mode of communication; 2. Linguistic needs; 3. Severity of hearing loss and potential for using residual hearing; 4. Academic level; and 5. Social, emotional, and cultural needs, including opportunities for peer interactions and communication. " a.. " Any setting, including a regular classroom, that prevents a child who is deaf from receiving an appropriate education that meets his or her needs, including communication needs, is not the LRE for that individual child. " a.. " This overriding rule regarding placement is that placement decisions must be made on an individual basis. As in previous policy guidance, the Secretary emphasizes that placement decisions may not be based on category of disability, the configuration of the delivery system, the availability of educational or related services, availability of space, or administrative convenience. " a.. " States and school districts also are advised that the potential harmful effect of the placement on the deaf child or the quality of services he or she needs must be considered in determining the LRE " a.. Hugs, a.. Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 > Ok, now I am more frightened than ever. Don't be frightened. What you should do is take this as a warning to have all your ducks in a row. I used to approach JD's IEPs this way: 1. Document that he needs something, including letters from professionals and any testing in this area. 2. Document that the IDEA says he has a right to receive that service (or whatever else I'm asking for). 3. Document court cases or Department of Education letters/memos/rulings that say he has a right to it I have been known to walk into an IEP meeting with a full printout of the IDEA. This last meeting was the most interesting, however. It was right after we had moved and I didn't have time to sort anything out so I just took in everything (including copies of past IEPs), and put them in a suitcase with wheels and took them in that way. It happened to have my logo on it (since I had just been to an AVI conference) and that's when they asked if I visited that site often (and JD told them I AM Listen-Up). ;-) > I don't have the option of moving right now and I don't know > how to approach this mess of a school system... > I sort of feel hopeless as this point though. Don't feel hopeless. Sometimes a school will surprise you. You may have to point out that the I in IEP stands for Individual. One thing I would definately take with me is copies of court rulings in this area. I've given the link in an earlier message. This also bears repeating: " Any setting, including a regular classroom, that prevents a child who is deaf from receiving an appropriate education that meets his or her needs, including communication needs, is not the LRE for that individual child. " I do know that if JD was in this situation, he would not be able to understand a thing the teacher voiced. JD (who is oral only) simply cannot understand anyone if they have the typical speech patterns that are typically considered as " deaf speech " . That's why he decided to take ASL as a second language this year - he wants to be able to communicate with them, but he just can't understand them when they talk. Hugs, Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Are you guys in land? If so I have a friend in Woodbine that is having heck with the school there as well for her child with auditory neuropathy that just got a CI last year. She has had mega issues with them before and they seem worse now that he has the CI. The school insisted he was MR and unable to learn and that the CI was a waste. He is doing well with it and growing but they are battling over cued speech and such issues now. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 That's Carroll County, isn't it? First and only time I advocated there has been about 4-5 years ago and they rolled over and played dead. Had a guy going into 9th grade reading at the first grade level who was hoh. They promoted him along. He was incredibly bright but had auditory processing problems in conjunction w/ his hearing loss. They were providing no services and afterwards they couldn't do enough. Luckily for us, he was classified as a minority which gave us much more clout due to potential allegations of discrimination. I'll be happy to help her out if I can find the time. Only took two team meetings a few years ago, but not sure who is running things there now. The State is still being watched carefully by the Feds so they don't need any extra headaches now so it's a great political time to hit any county hard. It all plays into the equation. Just to make sure you understand I'm not trying to conjure up business, I do this for free and it usually ends up costing me money by the time I'm through. My problem is that I have a business that I run and my dad nearly died right after Xmas and I had to live there for weeks and then mega flus hit us too so I'm VERY far behind and customers are complaining and I've had to drop most of my sales and my house is in complete chaos including the flood that hit it this weekend which we've spent three days shop vaccing. So, I'll do what I can. I know when it's too much and when to turn it over to attorneys. I'm a good sounding board until then. One thing though, I can't afford anyone asking for help unless they want to listen and follow my advice. I don't mean at first, but if I offer a strategy and go to a team meeting, I need them to be on board or else find someone else to do it. There's a certain way that the direction of the meeting has to go in order to accomplish given objectives. They really need to know what they want and it has to be realistically attainable under the law. Further, they have to be willing to get the specialists behind them. My worst parents are those who expect me to go to a meeting and get something " they " want, not what the specialists say their child needs. Yes they may know what the child needs, but, under the law, what they want doesn't matter. What matters is what they can prove the child needs and it is important that this proof come from experts as diversified and reknowned as possible who are willing to go to due process to fight if necessary.Without realistic expectations and the willingness to do what is necessary to win, I waste my time and I can't afford to do that. I know specialists who will do assessments and fight like crazy for your child. They cost money, though often we can secure reimbursement through the school system. It's truly complicated and you've got to be willing to do what it takes and understand that there is a possibility that retaliation may happen. You have to be willing to document everything in writing as needed, often on a daily basis. You have to be willing to file a State Complaint and possible complaints with the US Dept of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Ultimately, you may have to either hire an attorney, consider moving or just plain give up and take what you can get. I've had alot of luck, but even a team of three professional advocates and I hit a wall in County a few years ago due to their philosophy of forcing parents to litigate to get anything. They have done cost-benefit analysis and have found that they save money by forcing parents to litigate and for every million they spend in litigation, it actually saves them much more in services. Because they have insurance against litigation, if a parent litigates, often it doesn't cost them , but is paid by their insurance company. So, they end up saving the cost of providing the service and don't have to pay much to do so. A large, sophisticated county knows this and will sometimes even bring in outside specialists to litigate against the parents for them. That is why I go the complaint route as much as possible. It takes longer, but eventually, they get kicked under the table enough and they start listening. Re: Trouble at school > Are you guys in land? If so I have a friend in Woodbine that is > having heck with the school there as well for her child with auditory > neuropathy that just got a CI last year. She has had mega issues > with them before and they seem worse now that he has the CI. The > school insisted he was MR and unable to learn and that the CI was a > waste. He is doing well with it and growing but they are battling > over cued speech and such issues now. > > Elaine > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 I think whether an individual is MR or a genius, it is none of the school's business whether that individual is implanted or not. I think a CI is a personal, family issue and not an educational issue. What am I missing here? It seems the school is making an issue out of what shouldn't be the issue. tish ed he was MR and unable to learn and that the CI was a > waste. > > Elaine > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 > I think whether an individual is MR or a genius, it is none of the school's > business whether that individual is implanted or not. > > > > > > Yes,. that is very true and part of the ongoing issue with them. They seem to think they own the child and have a say in what is done for him at home. I bleieve the family is now dealing with a lawyer over ongoing issues. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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