Finally!! Got a return call after calling everyone under the sun and leaving voicemails in my sweetest nicest voice, repeating my message TWICE and my phone numbers THREE times on each voice mail I left...
With budget cuts and such going around they have plans to turn Fletcher Miller (FM) into a school for more medically fragile students (wheelchair users who need actual medical interventions during the day such as trach's and things). I do believe them -- I am aware of the cuts and the effect it is having on the special needs poopulation...
Therefore Harley was denied at the committee. The reason she took an extra week to call me back is because he was denied at the first meeting so she took information from the interviews she had with the staff at his current school on Friday and took it back to the committee the following week. Still my request that he attend FM is denied.
HOWEVER they have another program specifically for the autistic spectrum kiddos called the Challenge Program. Now this is where I start to get upset...I asked her where it was located - she could NOT tell me even the name of the school! I asked if it was a middle/high school or if it was a middle school - meaning he'd have to transition again (and new peers too) after just 7th and 8th grade there...Again - she did NOT know since she couldn't remember the name of the school.
They have offered for me to spend a day observing at FM (why? to prove their point? I mean they've already denied his attendance there!)...yet have NOT offered for me to see this other program; so you know me, I asked -- All they can tell me about this other program is it is one they are opening this coming year and that they already have a teacher hired for it. They do not have it set up, know where it's located, have the teacher available for interview (until the beginning of next year--when it's too late!), any information on how the program runs...Umm, no I don't think this is a placement for my son then!!
The committee did agree with me though that the current placement listed for next year on his current IEP is NOT the right setting for him -- that he would never survive in that type of environment educational, emotionally, and sensorily (is that a word?) -- But they have not shared with me what schools might be more appropriate!! I am so frustrated...
why do I always have to play the games that aren't any fun?
Now I once was offered a job as an advocate at ARC but decided staying home with my children and concentrating strictly on their educational needs was probably enough work for me. But I am considering calling them to get them involved in this.
ETA: Darn it! I thought I had found information about this program on the school district website board minutes but it was only a copy of the budget and didn't have any other information in it...I'm still looking for it and if I find it I'll put a link here if anyone is interested in following along....
2 comments:
Hi Tracy,
I don't know how much help I could be as the autistic children in our school system are either fully integrated in the regular education classroom or they are in a Life Skills program, depending upon the degree of their autism. It sounds to me that the school system does not have any placements for kids like Harley and they're trying to cover their butts by saying that they're creating this program. I'm confused...there's ONE teacher??? Remember, every child who is Special Ed is entitled to a Free APPROPRIATE Public Education. Appropriate is the key word here. If they are unable to do this, then you have a case here. We have an instance of a student whose parents did not feel he was getting the education that he was entitled to and she sued the school system. Her son now has one special ed teacher whose assigned only to him. He also has his own tutor and nurse specifically assigned to him. Okay, I'm just going on and on and I have no idea if I've been of any help. Let me just shut up now LOL
Magie
Tracy, Emily had an autistic boy in her class when we lived at the coast. They hardly have any special ed classes in the whole county let alone the area we lived in. The school wanted to put him in a class with severe disabilities, Like you had mentioned in you post. They don't really work at teaching students anything they just veg he was in this program before and they had to reteach him alot of things. His parents threatened to sue the school stating he had a right to an education and if they didn't have a class specific for his condition, then they would have to make accommodations. Like Magie mentioned, the school system gave him a special ed teacher with psychology back ground who was assigned to just him. He did really well after that. Sorry that was a bit of a ramble.
It really sucks that they are giving you such a run around. I hope they straighten it out for you soon.
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