tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post6236154808065119144..comments2014-04-20T23:58:37.209-07:00Comments on Disabling the Disability Labels - Advocacy for Us: What lessons are our children really learning? It is time to break the code of silence and the phony outcomes game!Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01031753523249900064noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-22872696246568734312011-05-22T09:13:58.543-07:002011-05-22T09:13:58.543-07:00Maria- There are many issues here. The USDOE h...Maria- There are many issues here. The USDOE has issued interpretation letters making clear that accommodations must be provided to students with disabilities in higher level classes as well as in regular classes. The bigger issue that you raise is compliance. This is a pervasive problem. Teachers are not allowed to refuse to implement services or accommodations that are written in the IEP. The first step is to build in as much direction as possible into the IEP so there is no confusion or ambiguity as to what the staff must do. It is also important to try to build in feedback loops, reporting measures and other ways of tracking implementation so that the teachers are aware that they are being monitored. This may make them more compliant or at least give you an earlier head's up if they are not cooperating or doing their job. Unfortunately, however, there are no "Special Ed Quality Control Police" (other than you), and implementation is a huge problem. It is even more difficult because it is hard to prove non-compliance and administrators tend to defend their staff. I always think it is best to move up the ladder, trying to work things out informally and collaboratively as much as possible. At the same, document the problems and your efforts to correct them. At some points, parents have to resort to the state complaint procedure, requests for due process or OCR complaints in order to get the attention of the administration. Even then, it can be difficult. An important additional strategy is to try to find internal allies within the staff that can both monitor, give you feedback and advocate for your child internally. That is often more effective. Also, if they are willing to speak publicly (a big if!), that also gives you more leverage if you have to complain. At a broader level, this is a systemic problem and reflects the general lack of quality and buy in of many schools and some of their staff. Absent strong support from the administration for appropriate service, the teachers are given the message that non-compliance is permissible.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01031753523249900064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-32911160923287925432011-05-22T04:56:53.738-07:002011-05-22T04:56:53.738-07:00I chanced upon this blog and this entry, and parti...I chanced upon this blog and this entry, and particularly this quote in your comment, "I also think that many schools and educators don't fully understand the emotional impact of poor teaching and/or indifferent treatment for the students, whether from other students or, worse, from staff members. The same is true in relation to parents. It is challenging to have a child with a disability. When the school is unresponsive or hostile, it creates a whole new level of stress, anger and trauma for many parents."<br />This is the position I find myself in now. I'm at a loss as to how to proceed.<br />My son was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor when he was 2. He is 14 years old now and a survivor of three years chemo. Because of his traumatic brain injury (TBI), he has profound learning disabilities, but is also intellectually gifted. To speak to him, you would never suspect any kind of LD. Without accommodations, you might not suspect giftedness in his school work. (It's apparent speaking to him that he is brilliant and this works against him--the "off the shelf" services do not apply to his needs.)<br />After a huge battle with the Dept. of Ed, he was funded to attend a special ed school from grades 2 to 8. While I think the structure was better than the alternative--mainstream--he was bored to tears the whole time and would come home to listen to books on tape, read (once he was able to), study up on his own interests, etc. His fund of knowledge on topics ranging from Apartheid to Physics to the Civil War to international politics surpasses most adults. <br />Finally for high school, I pulled him from the special ed school and he was accepted into an accelerated public high school program. He has an IEP which specifies several accommodations. Unfortunately, it's like pulling teeth to get the teachers to comply. Some are just too bumbling, but others are out and out hostile to him and to me. <br />It's been a battle with the teachers, the principal, the school district. Of course they are strapped for resources, but also so unfamiliar with this learning profile--they just assume (despite his neuro-psychologist coming to the school and explaining his profile and how his deficits can be addressed) that I am a hysterical narcissist who can't bear to see her son receive a C. I very much get the feeling they wish we would just disappear.<br />I have a PhD in Education and teach at the college level. I agree that teachers need better training and it's so true that the accommodations they need to implement for twice exceptional/LD students would benefit all the students. However, what do I do now: I'm at my rope's end trying to figure out how best to "crack" this school so someone "gets" it. What can I do to get them to comply with the IEP and provide my son the education he's entitled to? The alternative of going back to the special ed school is like sending him to intellectual prison. I feel like I need public relations firm/diplomatic corps so I don’t offend and alienate. <br />Thanks for any advice!<br />MariaMaria Jerskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564253944645827201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-76641770535002658022011-05-21T07:39:46.177-07:002011-05-21T07:39:46.177-07:00Starfish- I agree with all of your comments. Ho...Starfish- I agree with all of your comments. However, there are many explanations even beyond those you mention. The key point is that the administrators and teachers lack critical knowledge and are not provided or do not seek out training and information that is current about disabilities, new information about well known disabilities or about best practice in diagnosis and intervention. For teachers, some of this is not by choice, but by lack of opportunity and resources. For administrators and school systems, however, it is not just a lack of knowledge, but sometimes a desire to avoid expanding the scope of information, as that carries with it the need to do more and spend more. (The more disabilities we recognize and the more we know about best practice, the more we and our staff will need to do). Right now, the push is to reduce the numbers of kids eligible for services, reduce the level of service and reduce the degree of individualization. Many of the examples I gave involve kids that are especially vulnerable to this because their disabilities are less obvious and do not fit neatly in the "off the shelf" services that are generally available.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01031753523249900064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-47711382191597675572011-05-20T22:46:29.770-07:002011-05-20T22:46:29.770-07:00Ah, Jen...so many of us find ourselves there. I un...Ah, Jen...so many of us find ourselves there. I un/homeschooled for eight years. Undoing the damage to him caused me great loneliness and financial hardship...years without a job or updated training, and dwindling 401K. But I think I won :) as at age 16 and at uni locally, he's finally being heard, being included, and while he's still ASD, ADHD, EFD...he's happy and successful. <br /><br />Matt, there is a deeper problem than meets the eye. Even SPED administrators don't seem to understand what they don't understand. Many cannot even, for instance, define what Executive Function Disorder means, how it affects organization, and the limits of remediation. And I've yet to meet one who can name more than three ways that weak theory of minds presents. And many of the supports in place for ASD, EFD, and ADHD are simply an act of dragging a dead horse around the track --constant repetition of what doesn't work because...we are used to throwing things that don't work into the pot and choosing from those to justify our programs. <br /><br />For instance, you wrote, "Isn’t it likely that Sally has learned that she can escape the work that is difficult for her if she acts out, because then she is removed from the work?"<br /><br />It could also be that Sally is anxious enough to not be able to learn and/or not be able to attend to behavior, because lots of kids like Sally are overwhelmed in groups. But that she's learned escapist behavior is what is thought of most often, and then (typically) the blame is put on the child and the parents. All Sally has learned is how to fail and the meaning of ostracism.Lorrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251310750139178931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-42996650585951953142011-05-20T06:06:04.340-07:002011-05-20T06:06:04.340-07:00I am always torn about these issues. There are m...I am always torn about these issues. There are many good teachers out there, but the system seems totally dysfunctional and often hostile to kids and parents. Some schools embrace parent involvement, but manysee the parents as the enemy and become defensive and shut down in the face of legitimate parent effort to address concerns. Some teachers are great....some are just punching the clock and some do real harm. There needs to be better training, supervision, accountability and support for all. Even the good teachers are often put in impossible positions. I also think that many schools and educators don't fully understand the emotional impact of poor teaching and/or indifferent treatment for the students, whether from other students or, worse, from staff members. The same is true in relation to parents. It is challenging to have a child with a disability. When the school is unresponsive or hostile, it creates a whole new level of stress, anger and trauma for many parents.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01031753523249900064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-46525872160235908052011-05-20T05:25:41.821-07:002011-05-20T05:25:41.821-07:00I have to say this is exactly why we wound up home...I have to say this is exactly why we wound up homeschooling. I didn't want to--I'd still rather be working--but when my 7 year old was thinking about suicide because of the way he was being treated in school and we had to fight administration and teachers EVERY step of the way to get him protection and help, it was and is the right thing to do. Took me more than two years as a homeschooler to undo the damage to his self-esteem and confidence that one ignorant teacher did in one semester. I believe in education for all, but I don't believe this system works at all...Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08862786008973984880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-91866767875344362392011-05-19T22:39:36.379-07:002011-05-19T22:39:36.379-07:00That certainly is the way it goes. As an advocate ...That certainly is the way it goes. As an advocate and as a parent I've seen some incompetence, lots of bias, outright negligence, and I've watched parents and students attempt to convice and administrator of what the needs are when the administrator's job is to actively not be convinced. <br /><br />Riding dead horses seems to be an educational hobby these days. <br /><br />Tweet/Maine2ELorrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06251310750139178931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438898708436869288.post-22466343901221829822011-05-19T06:38:15.984-07:002011-05-19T06:38:15.984-07:00Our compliments on this extremely thoughtful post ...Our compliments on this extremely thoughtful post -- from your fans at 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter.J Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02495687018142286601noreply@blogger.com