Special Education Law Blog

Autism Recovery? by Nicole Jorwic

"Recovery" from autism is an all-encompassing term. I have a 20-year old brother with autism. When Christopher was first diagnosed he had changed from a happy, engaged 2-year-old who had retreated to "his own world," without  eye contact, lashing out in frustration and losing all the words in his growing vocabulary. My family went through every treatment available, from floor-time and sessions with Stanley Greenspan in Bethesda, Maryland, Cranial-sacral therapy, sensory-integration therapy, Tomatis auditory training, Gluten-free diets and an in-home ABA therapy 40 hours a week. And while Chris is still non-verbal he is now very much a part of “this world.” Yes, there are still bouts of frustration and trouble with communication but the essence of Chris that is the "gentle giant" that we all know and love was slowly recovered through my parents’, Chris’ and his many therapists’ and doctors’ tireless efforts.

How Do Former Preemies Learn?

Education experts in the United Kingdom are starting a two-year study exploring what teaching methods are most effective for children who have special needs due to their premature births. Eighty percent of premature babies born today survive due to advances in medicine. Some are born before their brain development is complete. These children will face unique challenges and this study will begin to determine the best teaching methods for them to receive an educational benefit.

As a parent of a child who was a preemie (27 weeks and 800 grams) we have had to find our way with sheer instinct and some expert advice as to how our son learns best and understanding the fullness of his needs. There are so many things that appear separate from his physical challenges that are confounding, e.g. emotional immaturity, perseveration, seizures, sleep issues and moving ahead in math and reading. Perhaps this study will shed light on our son's life long quest to  learn.

 

Mandatory Flu Vaccine Upheld in W. Virginia School District

West Virginia is apparently only one of 2 states in the U.S. that to do not have a religious or medical exemption for vaccination of school children. The Federal District Court ruled in the case Workman v. Mingo County Schools that the school district could override a doctor's note, seeking an exemption from the H1N1 vaccine in that district. The vaccination is required as a condition of attending school.

Obviously the more potent issue is whether a court in West Virginia would rule differently if the issue was a preschooler seeking to be exempted from vaccination because of a concern regarding autism. Given the strict construction it would appear that parents in that position would be hard pressed to have the court uphold any exemption even where the concern is over autism.

In Illinois, where exemptions are recognized, I had a school district refuse a doctor's note because the particular doctor had established a reputation for a being an "autism mill." He wrote prescriptions so frequently his credibility and the basis for his medical opinion had become suspect. I filed suit for the parents and after significant time spent negotiating and wrangling in court, a compromise was reached and the child was permitted to go back to school without receiving vaccinations, with a note from another doctor. Issues relating to vaccinations are hot button topics for many school districts. Parents would be well-advised to establish the bona fides of their claim to an exemption claim, either medical or religious,  to avoid expensive and time-consuming battles with the school district.

Intense Early Intevention Highly Efffective for Toddlers with Autism by Nicole Jorwic

A ground-breaking study released today showed promising results for early intervention in toddlers with autism. Early intervention has generally been viewed as something for pre-school aged children as a way to prepare them for primary school. However this study indicates that early intervention for children, some as young as 18 months, is effective for improving IQ, language ability and social interaction; all critical precursor skills for inclusion and life outcomes.

 The study was published today in the journal Pediatrics, it examined an intervention method called the Early Start Denver Model. This intervention method combines ABA (applied behavioral analysis) teaching methods with developmental ‘relationship-based’ approaches. The experimental group received 20 hours a week of intervention from specialists as well as five hours a week of parent-delivered therapy.

 The five-year study took place at the University of Washington in Seattle, the study included 48 diverse 18-30 month old children with autism. The children who received the interventions improved in all areas. Their IQs went up by an average of 18 points and a nearly 18-point improvement in receptive language. This is compared to the control group, who were referred to community based programs for therapy, where the children’s IQs went up only 4 points and an 10-point improvement in receptive language. Seven of the children in the intervention group improved enough to change their diagnosis from autism to PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.)

Early intervention has been proven effective time and time again and this study extends that success to a younger age group. For the children who do show symptoms of autism at a young age, these interventions should prove effective. Given the recent reports that 1 in 100 children in the United States have autism, more timely and effective interventions will help these children succeed.

 Among the significant aspects of this study is the level of intensity (20 hours plus 5 hours of parent time per week) required to achieve results for students. Many EI programs and for that matter Early Childhood programs have far less than 20 hours of intensity but schools feel that this level is sufficient to provide a FAPE. This study should be one more basis to argue for greater intensity with methods that have a scientific basis.

The Transformative Effects of Special Education Advocacy by Pam A. Labellarte

 

Over the years I have worked with lots of moms; supporting, training and building good advocacy for their child with special needs. The remarkable thing to see is once the advocacy skills take hold, are the transformative effect it has on the Mom at the IEP meeting and in other areas of her life. Becoming an effective advocate taps into that basic parental instinct to preserve and promote your child’s best interest. (I speak about Moms, but there have also been some Dads too!)

Putting Real “Life” Into Life Skills by Pam A. Labellarte

As parents one of our key roles is that of preparing our children to have the tools to  become successful adults. Since our children each have a different set of gifts and challenges, the preparation for each of them can vary greatly.  And the definition of a successful life can vary even more.

So I began searching for answers to the question, “Where did the concept of teaching life skills to children with disabilities originate?” “Who defined which “life skills” are critical to promote “independent living” for adults with disabilities?” Don’t get me wrong, I am the parent of three children, the youngest, a daughter with Down syndrome. I truly believe that the development of certain life skills is critical, in order for adults with disabilities to participate in the community and life.  In fact, I wish all high school students would receive more intense instruction in budgeting, understanding basic expenses (like car insurance) balancing their checkbook, and developing the skills to be productive employees.

 

The premise of the IEP is to address the individual needs of the student, yet many students with disabilities are expected to master skills, which may not even be considered a priority by their peers who do not have a disability. In her article “Life Skills Don’t Bring Happiness” Colleen F. Tomko [see Download LifeSkills] addresses this topic with wit and wisdom.  It would do us all well to consider where we place our energies as we prepare our children with disabilities for adulthood.

Common Psychiatric Drugs Linked to Weight Gain and Possible Elevated Cardiac Risks

Some of the most common psychiatric drugs, Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa, have been linked with significant weight gain in children. These drugs have also been linked with elevated levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and diabetes and possible long term cardiac risk.  Schools often pressure parents to have students begin taking these powerful drugs. Legally under IDEIA schools should not be having this conversation. Practically, this conversation should only take place between the family and their physician. These medications can be an important part in addressing the symptoms of disability, but decisions about their use must weigh the significant short term and long term risks.

New Federal Hate Crimes Law Includes Disability

The Federal Hate Crimes Bill has been revised and signed into law. Among important changes to the law is that crimes that are related to a person's disability can be considered hate crimes.  It will be interested to see if this new law will act as deterrent to repeated acts of bullying, harassment and violence directed at individuals with disabilities. Given the the recent round of staff on student violence that has been reported in the press, this law is very timely.

Support COPAA's Work Protecting Rights of Students with Disabilities

I do not usually use the blog to encourage contributions to an organization but COPAA (described below) is the bulwark that is protecting students' rights on a national and local level. Please read the following and consider donating and joining COPAA as it is open to parents, advocates and attorneys.

Moving Children Around A Failure in Chicago

Arne Duncan's, former head of Chicago Public Schools and now U.S. Secretary of Education, strategy in Chicago was to move children out of underperforming schools to other schools.  The only problem is that the "other schools" were also underperfoming. No surprise that this variant on NCLB of moving children around  has not been effective for students. It did however make for good press allowing Mr. Duncan to become Secretary of Education Duncan.

I am a President Obama supporter on most issues, but picking Arne Duncan was not a smart move. Chicago's schools are and have been systematically broken and lot of that responsibility lies with Mr. Duncan's lack of effective leadership (see e.g. Download AccessLiving_Ren_2010) [Click for background information on Renaissance 2010 a Duncan lead proposal]. Now we are getting the same on the national level:

"A Chicago-style strategy is a feature of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s push for the nation to turn around its lowest-performing schools. Mr. Duncan was the chief executive officer of the Chicago public schools from 2001 until December 2008, when President Barack Obama nominated him as education secretary. School closings are one element of the so-called “turnaround” plans Mr. Duncan has promoted as secretary, which also include measures that would replace principals and teachers in persistently failing schools."

I have very low expectations of anything effective coming from Mr. Duncan's leadership on a national level. We need to move him out and someone with real ability into this role.