Advocates-Joy Goodman-Span

February 20, 2001

I spoke to Joy Goodman a few times & found her very personable &

knowledgable. I look foward to meeting her at Wednesdays meeting.

The last time I spoke to her she asked me for money saying it would go to

support ARC -a good cause. In my opinion ARC should be supporting us

families-and that those who have extra money to support charities should

support ARC- not families who are already often financially devastated by

their children's expenses or have given up jobs or careers to stay home.

I have been using SPAN which is free of charge. They will not go to court or

to IEP meetings with you but they will give lots of good advice for free. If

they don't know a question they will ask the director of SPAN who is a lawyer

and extremely knowledgeable. So far I have never had to pay for anything and

have gotten everything I asked for. I do not have ABA at home yet but my

board sounds like they are considering it and I am taking the proper steps so

I see no need to pay now. If I do need to go to court I would first try the

NJ Advocates office which is also free. Joy Goodman would be my first

choice if I did have to pay.

Joan-Mom to -11 years old in May-epilepsy, adhd, autistic behaviors,

mild cp, speech & learning problems, high functioning & sometimes charming.

Co-options Coordinator-Bergen, Hudson, Passaic Counties-north NJ

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February 20, 2001

Joan-

Your note sounds a little misleading and a little insulting to Joy. I

can't imagine Joy just asking for money to support the Arc. I think she told

you what her fee is (from what I understand is sliding scale at this point)

and like most professionals believe they should be paid for their time and

the services they provide. The Arc is supporting the families - try

consulting a lawyer for advice on how to deal with your school system and see

what the cost is. In addition, remember who is providing space to Mosaic

tomorrow night at no cost to us although the lights will be on and a staff

member will be in attendance. Joy is also not asking to be paid to attend

tomorrow night's meeting. Please keep in mind that they also offered us a

second meeting space for the daytime meeting which we rejected.

Yes, in a perfect world it would be wonderful if the families who could

afford it could support everyone else. Unfortunately, the only people who

are aware of the Arc and other organizations like it are the families that

need the services. Most of these families are already strapped for money and

people that lead more comfortable lives would prefer to provide extra

services for their kids.

Its great that you are happy with the services that have been provided at

no cost. But please give out a fair message. Most of us are willing to pay

for help and because Joy Goodman or another professional is asking for money

is not a terrible thing. They deserve to be compensated for their time like

anyone else. And in defense of the Arc - both my kids went through early

intervention at the Child Center in Paramus which is part of the Arc. I

never paid for anything in the four years I was involved with them. I

attended an IEP seminar last year that was very helpful and free. Perhaps

part of the fee from parents has gone to these programs. And finally, in the

time I've known Joy Goodman I have never found her to be all that concerned

about money, in fact from what I can remember I paid for maybe 3 or 4 hours

of her time and yet in return have received hours of free advice. Believe

me, she could make much more money working privately.

Barb

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