People with autism as individuals

This is of one of my favorite of Singularity's installations. He had opened one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out the hard-boiled egg slicer, which he embellished with clips that are supposed to be used to reclose plastic bags. Did you know that an egg slicer can also be played like a miniature harp? I am always fascinated with his personal vision.  

Singularity has an IEP (individual education plan), which is our school district's commitment to individualizing his education. The "off the shelf" public education doesn't meet all of his needs, so it needs to be individualized. It should be like buying a garment off the rack and having it tailored to fit you perfectly. 

At the beginning of our special education adventure, we found the IEP process quite mystifying. I was fortunate that our SELPA (in California this stands for Special Education Local Plan Areas, which are the administrative units set up to ensure compliance with state and federal special education laws) offered training for volunteers to act as resource parents. I took this training, and it has been immensely helpful.

We have had exceptionally good fortune to live in a small town with excellent schools that have wonderful, committed, creative teaching staff and other professionals. The principal at Singularity's school sets a highly inclusive tone, and it always brings a tear to my eye when she talks about what a privilege it is for her school to host our district's special day classroom. Our experience of the IEP process has never been anything but collaborative and cordial. This is not to say that we have never issues with the services Singularity receives, but we have always been able to work things out. 

Others have not been so fortunate. I recently received an email from a mom with a kid with special needs who needed some advice on how to handle a situation at her child's school. Her child is fully included in the general education classroom, and he has an IEP. A month into the school year, she found out that his teacher had not read the IEP. Not only that, but the teacher has been crumpling up the child's work in front of him. The child feels humiliated, understandably. My friend met with the teacher to discuss the issues collaboratively, but the teacher continued her inappropriate methods. 

I am shouting here, because it makes me furious, outraged, incensed, livid, irate to hear that this is happening.

This situation underscores the importance of knowing our rights under the law. The law of which I am speaking is IDEA, the federal  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This is the law which mandates that all children must be provided with a "free and appropriate" public education, that they are entitled to "highly qualified" teachers, and that they receive an IEP.

School districts can really take advantage of parents who are not aware of their rights, so I believe that it is important for autism parents to make it clear to the IEP team that they are well-informed.

Here is the advice I sent to my friend:

If <his> teacher has not even read the IEP, the school district is out of compliance with the IEP. I think that you should immediately write a letter to the school district (I'd suggest the head of Special Education, the Superintendent, and the President of the School Board, with copies to the principal and teacher) so that you can (1) document the conversations you have had with the teacher and what <your son> has reported to you, (2) insist that they come into compliance with the IEP immediately, (3) place <your son> with a different teacher who is more effective in working with students with accomodations, (4) discipline <your son's> current teacher for the negligent and harmful methods she is using in her classroom, and (5) do some form of training for the entire teaching staff of the school to acquaint them with their responsibilities under the IDEA laws. Also, I think that you should tell them that if they do not comply immediately with requests (2) and (3), you are going to file a "due process" complaint.

Of course, you will probably not get all of what you ask for, but this would certainly light a fire under the school district. You made a valiant attempt at setting a cooperative tone with the teacher, to no avail, and in my opinion it is time to really throw the book at them. There is an excellent guide to due process on the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) website: 

My friend wrote back and told me that she would be quoting me. I am not sure how things have turned out for my friend, but her school district will know that she means business. I suspect that they will quickly accede to her most important demands, so as to avoid a potentially expensive legal process.

Disclaimer: I do not intend to use this blog as a polemic, and the irate tone of this post is just a reflection of my emotional reaction to my friend's issue. It just really made my blood boil! Please stay tuned (such an archaic turn of phrase these days) for more good-humored reflections on autism parenting.