NEWS

Results of recent DOE audit. This audit could effect funding for our district. Please take the time to read through the report. CLICK HERE

THE MANOR HOUSE SCHOOL

My name is David Murphy. I am an Educational Director supporting the Autism community on Cape Cod. I am trying to connect with the special needs parent communities on the South Shore. I thought you may be able to help me. I am the Educational Director of a school in Dennis called The Manor House School of Cape Cod - www.themanorhouseschoolofcapecod.org

It's a private school founded with a mission of serving Autism children with significant communication, behavioral, and social deficits.

Can you help me get this school's information out to the parents that need it?

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HELP WANTED.....

The SEPAC is looking for parents that are willing to join the Site Boards and represent our organization. If you are interested in volunteering for this important position, please contact a board member.

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KUDO's to Casey Bortolotti who was very involved in running the Autism walk this year. The group is very lucky to have Casey and her family! So is the SEPAC!!!

NEW RULING - PRIVATE SCHOOL

The court ruled 6-3 Monday in favor of a teenage boy from Oregon whose
parents sought to force their local public school district to pay the $5,200
a month it cost to send their son to a private school.
Federal law calls for school districts to reimburse students or their
families for education costs when public schools do not have services that
address or fulfill the students' needs. Under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, the nation's special education students are
entitled to a "free and appropriate public education."
Schools have argued that parents of special education students should have
given public special education programs a chance before seeking
reimbursement for private school tuition. But advocacy groups and parents of
some special education students contend that forcing them to try public
schools first could force children, especially poor ones, to spend time in
an undesirable situation before getting the help they need.
In the case before the Supreme Court, the family of a teenage Oregon boy
diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sued the school
district, saying the school did not properly address the student's learning
problems. The family is seeking reimbursement for the student's tuition,
which cost $5,200-a-month. The family paid a total of $65,000 in private
tuition.
In its appeal, the Forest Grove School District said students should be
forced to at least give public special education programs a try before
seeking reimbursement for private tuition.
Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion that the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a school district to
pay for private special ed services if the public school doesn't have
appropriate services.
"We conclude that IDEA authorizes reimbursement for the cost of special
education services when a school district fails to provide a FAPE and the
private-school placement is appropriate, regardless of whether the child
previously received special education or related services through the public
school," Stevens said.
C 2009 The Associated Press

DID YOU KNOW... IMPORTANT INFO FROM A MOM...

I just wanted to share some things I've learned recently that may be relevant to some of your kids.

My son has severe autism, secondary to mitochondrial disease, and my daughter has LD and panic disorder, secondary to mitochondrial disease (prior to going on the mito cocktail, she met criteria for NVLD). Their mitochondrial disease is an oxidative phosphorylation disorder, or oxphos.

Dr. John Shoffner, one of the leading mito. gurus (and the one who did the muscle biopsy that confirmed my daughter's diagnosis), now states
that up to 20% of children with autism show mito symptoms, and he was co-author on a recent study that showed 65% of those they studied with mito symptoms had underlying mito dysfunction.

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Massachusetts Mental Health Parity Expanded:
A new law, effective July 1, 2009, adds eating disorders, PTSD, substance abuse and autism to the list of "biologically-based" mental disorders that must be covered to the same extent as physical illnesses. The law still only applies to plans which are regulated by Massachusetts mandated benefit laws. More info here www.spedchildmass.com/mental_health "Mental Health and Insurance."
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MASS PAC IS NOW A PART OF THE FEDERATION!

The mission of the Federation for Children with Special Needs is to work
together on behalf of children with special needs and their families. I am
very excited about the possibility of our working together to help families
in this new way, through MassPAC. I hope you are, too! My colleagues and I
at the Federation can't wait to meet you all, to hear your stories, and to
help you find solutions. Please, let's shift the focus away from each other
and instead turn our attention to working collaboratively and making a
difference.

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After much deliberation the SPEDWatch Board of Directors has voted to eliminate the SPEDWatch membership fee, effective immediately. This means that anyone can join us, and that is the intent. Please read the press release at this link http://www.spedwatch.org/files/FREE_MEMBERSHIP.pdf for more information.

Our strength is in our numbers. The larger a group we are, the stronger we become. The stronger we become the more power we have at our disposal to change the special education system. We have the Governor's attention at present. (See http://www.spedwatch.org/files/Governor_Meeting_2009.pdf ) We are doing well. With a larger membership we will do even better.

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CURRENT PROJECTS/EVENTS

Manning the office on Tuesdays

Site board representatives

Grant writing

DISABILITY AWARENESS

WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR PREPARING FOR AN IEP meeting ?

Are you wondering if your child may need some extra services?

If so, the best thing for you to do is request an evaluation. This must be done in writing. Once received the school will send you a permission slip to sign. After the permission is returned the evaluation will be completed for areas of “suspected disability”. The school will invite you to a meeting to discuss the evaluation and services if they are needed.

If you have services but think things may be changing with your child…

You can request a new or additional evaluations. With some tools and evaluations it’s recommended that you wait a year to re-test. Otherwise, you may not get the correct results.

The school will schedule a complete evaluation every three years on a child with an IEP.

If you are unsure of when your next three year re-evaluation is, check your IEP it will tell you the date.

Is it time for your team meeting?

Here are some important steps to take before your meeting.

Find copies of the last evaluations your child has had. Review the evaluations and highlight any recommendations that have been made. You should include recommendations from any doctors, therapists and teachers.

Review your current IEP. Are all the recommendations addressed in accommodations or goals? If not, do you feel it is still an issue? If so, put it on a list to talk about with the team. If you don’t have an IEP, put it on a list.

Find a copy of your child's last progress report. Progress reports are received at each report card. Review the progress report to see how far your child has gotten on their goals. If the year is half over, you want the goals to be meet by 50%. If your child is behind on a goal, put it on a list to talk about.

It’s a good idea to save copies of your child’s work. These may be helpful to bring to the meeting. Also review any communication logs you use with your child’s teacher, are you happy?

Next, google your child’s disability and the word IEP. IE: Bipolar IEP, ADHD IEP, Anxiety IEP. This will find samples of IEP’s for the disability. Review the sample, are there accommodations that you feel would help your child? Is so, put them on a list.

The first page of the IEP is for you to voice your child's strengths, your concerns and the vision you have for your child. In Norton, some schools send home a colored form for you to use to list this information. If you’d like to begin early, just take a look at the page on your current IEP. Be as thorough and specific on this form as you can. This is a very important part of the IEP. It lets everyone know what you feel about your child. All of these issues should include everything, do not limit your answers to academics. Include “life of the school” IE: GYM, recess, lunch, sports and after school activities. Also include life skills, can your elementary school child cross the street? Is he/she able to get dressed, get along with other children? Can your high school child write a check? Navigate the grocery store? Ride a bus or make it through an interview? Your vision should be for one or more years.

You will receive an invitation to the meeting. Make sure the time is good for you. If you can not make it, the school will make accommodations for you. The invitation will include a list of team members who will attend the meeting. All team members must be present unless written permission is given to have the meeting without them. It’s a good idea for you to bring someone with you to the meeting. Consider someone to take minutes for you while you talk. You may want to consider day care providers, therapists, case workers or anyone else you feel would have important information about your child. Let the school know who will be attending.

The school should send you copies of any important documents to review for the meeting at least two days before your meeting. If you do not receive the information, call.

AT THE MEETING:

Most schools begin the meeting by letting the parent talk and review the information you are providing about your concerns and vision. If they do not ask you to do this, bring it up.

Next each teacher or evaluator will give a report about your child. Feel free to ask questions. You should make sure all current goals and your concerns are addressed.

Once everyone has spoken and recommendations have been discussed, the IEP should be created. Most schools will present a draft IEP to save time and energy. Review the entire IEP and ensure that all area’s you have discussed at included.

If the meeting is over and you have not finished reviewing the IEP, set a day for a follow-up meeting.

Once you feel the all the issues are addressed, adjourn the meeting.

You will receive a copy of the IEP in a few days. Go over the document and ensure that all items you discussed are included. If you have questions, contact the chair. Many times, issues can easily be taken care of and the IEP changed before it is signed.

If you are requesting a service that the school is not willing to provide, sign the IEP and reject a portion. Write a note explaining why you are rejecting a part of the IEP. Be very specific. Once you do this, the school will report it to DOE and DOE will send you a notice with some options available to you.

"Helping Parents Help Their Kids"