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I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to say that Hatrack parents continue to impress me. dread priate romany, Belle, and Kayla, y'all are such great advocates for your kids (Please note that I am not saying that they are the only great advocates for their kids on this board - there are many others. Icarus and Cor come to mind, for example. I have just read dpr, Belle, and Kayla's posts on this thread and I am also already familiar with their struggles with their children's conditions.)
It takes so much strength and hard work to be an effective advocate for a child with any kind of health condition or disability and I have seen so many parents who couldn't or wouldn't do it.
Also, let me add my voice in expressing admiration for Sara Sasse's generosity on this board.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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As a teacher, I always tell parents, honestly, to keep pushing to get the child's needs met. You think the school is on your side? Not if there is a cap to the special ed. budget. Push, push, push. I have been slapped on the hand for suggesting this, but I do it anyway. If it were my child in trouble, I would want a teacher to be honest, so I am.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Good for you, Elizabeth. I used to do the same when I worked in education and child care.
quote:You think the school is on your side? Not if there is a cap to the special ed. budget
This is so, so true. Gifted students, too, tend to get shafted. I can't count the number of times I've heard, "They'll do well no matter what." It makes me so angry.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Right? Kids with a lot of brains and a lot of time on their hands will not be fine. They'll be in trouble. And then they'll be mad about it. You couldn't help me when I wanted it but now you want to yell at me for entertaining myself? Not interested.
Personally, I'm a big advocate for showing the public school system we're fed up with them by putting as many kids in charter, private, and home schools as we can. I was really hoping the baptists would advocate it, too, but they decided not to.
quote: If Baptist parents were to comply with the resolution, the public school system probably would collapse, said Pinckney
I don't know about that. The public school system would still be getting the same tax dollars but have fewer students to spend it on. Education might improve. To me, it seems like the biggest problems are the micromanagement of the teachers and the needlessly complicated beaurocracy. Throwing more money at them won't fix that.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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I think denial often plays into parents not advocating. There was a little girl in my nursery a few years ago, and it was so obvious to us that she was on the autism spectrum...but the few people who gently suggested to her parents that she be evaluated were not so gently rebuffed. Some parents will go to any lengths to convince them selves there is nothing wrong.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Her ped called me today. All her blood panels came back normal, but as it's obvious she still has something going on, we are doing a food diary and will probably do a fecal occult when we go back in two weeks.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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"I think denial often plays into parents not advocating."
Sometimes. However, I can sadly but honestly sat that parents with power get more for their kids. By power I mean knowledge and language, and often lawyers. It is amazing how quickly needs are met when educational advocates step in. You have to pay for them, though, and many parents are unable to. (If the school is found to be negligent, it has to pay for the lawyer, and they usually win, but parents do not know this.)
I was furious this year when I met with the mom of a student who was an organizational nightmare. I always had to put him at a desk near open space because his stuff would spill out into a five foot radius. Well, I found out that,last year, he was so violent and aggressive that she had to call the police a few times. She worked at a hospital, and they got him a full psych eval and found that he was depressed. They put him on Zoloft, and the outbursts stopped. She was assured by his fourth grade teacher that this info would be related to the fifth grade teachers. Not. I was livid.
I am not an advocate of vouchers as I think they will bankrupt the public school system. I am for schools being accountable to children, which is really not as hard as people think.
[ January 07, 2005, 07:49 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I just want to add my little hurrah to those who've expressed appreciation for the community here. I'm really impressed. There is hope for the world after all.
Posts: 270 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Elizabeth... that is a terrible situation. Both you and the student suffer when you don't get that type of information.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Whoa, I must have posted that from Porter's computer! I didn't realize till just now that it posted under his ID. Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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