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A Child With Autism Apologizes to Her Parents, But the California School System Administrators Should be Apologetic Instead
Sadly, special education in California schools today offers little clear direction, policies or guidelines for parents and children like Jessica. The system I now am intimately familiar with is perplexing, inconsistent, frustrating and seems to respond only to threats and lawyers. John McLaurin
          
No child left behind -- but mine
- John R. McLaurin
Wednesday, January 12, 2005

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As my 15-year-old daughter gave my wife an affectionate hug the other day, she said quietly, "I'm sorry." It was an apology that nearly broke our hearts and spoke volumes about the tragic state of affairs that describes special education in California's public schools.

What Jessica apologized for was being born with "autism spectrum disorder. " She is a beautiful, bright teenager. As a child, her development was slow, her behavior puzzling. My wife and I took her to psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, speech therapists and other specialists. What they told us was that she suffers from a variety of ailments, including Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and nonverbal-learning disorder. Jessica is politely referred to by school district officials as a "special needs" child.

Sadly, special education in California schools today offers little clear direction, policies or guidelines for parents and children like Jessica. The system I now am intimately familiar with is perplexing, inconsistent, frustrating and seems to respond only to threats and lawyers.

For those parents without the means, skills or inclination to be aggressive advocates for their child's well being, the system is a disaster. For Jessica, this broken education system has meant classes with students from several different grades and with an extraordinarily broad range of disabilities.

Her current placement is a combination class of grades 9-12. Over the years, she has had classmates with severe physical disabilities, students who are nonverbal and nonresponsive, or with behavioral problems and learning disabilities like Jessica. She has been taught by teachers with little or no experience or training in special education but who are consistently overworked and understaffed.

Every special-education child in public schools in California is entitled to an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Over the years, my wife and I have participated in several IEP meetings with our local school district to draft educational goals and objectives for the coming year. These meetings can become fairly contentious. Too often, parents are forced to hire attorneys and pursue mediation or hearings just to ensure school districts implement the IEPs to which their children are entitled. It is a costly and frustrating process.

I have heard school officials complain that "special needs" parents are quick to file for hearings and force school districts to hire lawyers. My view is somewhat different: Parents hire lawyers or advocates because they have no other option. When IEPs aren't implemented, when services aren't provided, when phone calls and letters aren't answered, it results in days, weeks and months of lost opportunities for our children. During this time, the gap between our children and their peers grows wider. And the financial impact on families forced to hire lawyers is severe.

I can only imagine how parents cope with this system when they don't have the financial resources to get advice, may not fully understand the law or do not read or speak English well. The special-education process, at that point, can actually work against the interests of their children.

Local officials blame the state for lack of funding, the state blames the federal government, the federal government blames the administration and the administration blames everybody else in the system. It is a circular and convenient argument with no one stepping forward to take responsibility.

California must develop consistent, fair and effective policies for special education. Otherwise the system will continue to drift in a bureaucratic sea where policies and programs are developed on an ad-hoc basis by those parents fortunate enough or determined enough to be able to afford legal counsel and who have the time and energy to fight for their children.

My daughter has nothing to apologize for. She has nothing to be ashamed about. The same can't be said about our state's special-education system.

John R. McLaurin lives in San Ramon.

 
© 2003 The E-Accountability Foundation