You have the right to attend your child’s IEP meetings.  In fact, federal regulations require the school to hold your IEP meetings at a “mutually agreed on time and place.”  Also, you must be notified early enough to ensure that you have an opportunity to attend.

In a recent unpublished opinion from California, a federal court overturned an IEP.  The school invited the parents to participate by speaker phone.  That wasn’t good enough.  The parents had the right to attend their child’s IEP meeting in person.  Because they weren’t present at the meeting, the IEP was invalid.

Is autism diagnosed too often as a way to access services?

This film trailer from Autistic-Like: Graham’s Story describes one family’s experience with a possible mis-diagnosis of autism  For more info, visit the film’s web site:

Students with ADHD who used medication improved their scores in both math and reading, according to a study published this week in Pediatrics.   The improvements were equivalent to about 0.19 grade levels in math and 0.29 grade levels in reading.

The report indicates that medication made less of a difference for students with an IEP (Individualized Education Program).  I wonder if this means that special education works, and may make medication less necessary.

Approximately 4.4 million (7.8%) children in the United States have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and 56% of affected children take prescription medications to treat the disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is strongly linked with low academic achievement.   This study suggests that children with ADHD may benefit academically from medication and special education.  You may request your school to conduct an educational evaluation to determine if your child qualifies for special education.

Any kid can tell you that recess is the best part of the day.  Now scientists agree.  A study in this month’s journal of Pediatrics found that providing young students with one or more recess of at least fifteen minutes in length was associated with better class behavior.

I have often represented children with attention deficit disorder.  Sometimes teachers “punish” children with ADD or ADHD by depriving their recess.

The new study would support an argument that fidgety children need even more recess, not less.  This research could be used by parents at IEP or 504 meetings.  For example, required recess could be written into a child’s behavior plan.

The popular press widely reported three test cases in vaccine court on February 12.  In those cases, the families failed to prove that autism for their children was caused by childhood vaccines.

If that’s all you read, you might think the pharmaceutical industry won forever.  Not quite, though.  Last week, the vaccine court awarded over $800K to a family with autism.  The vaccine court believed that their child’s autism (actually, PDD NOS) was caused by a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.  Read the details by clicking this link to the Huffington Post.

Our children in special education narrowly dodged a drastic cut in funding under the Economic Stimulus Bill.  Instead, the final passed version of the bill seems to increase funds for special education.

I’m still studying the final results, but here’s how it looks.  The Senate stimulus bill would have allowed school districts to use federal funds to supplant local funds.  That would have resulted in an overall decrease in already underfunded programs for children with disabilities.

The final version eliminated that provision.  Instead, the final law included $12.2 billion for IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Three families consulted me this week to prepare for their IEP meetings.  In each case, we emphasized the importance of preparing for the meeting.  Preparation can help you better advocate for your child to obtain special education services.

Here are some of the ways you can prepare for your child’s next IEP meeting:

• Designate in writing additional members of your IEP team.  Parents can designate members of the IEP team who have knowledge of your child or expertise regarding your child’s disabilities.
• Prepare a statement of parental concerns.  Bring copies for everyone at the IEP meeting.  Request your statement to be included with the IEP and the conference notes from the meeting.
• Review your child’s most recent educational evaluation.  If your evaluation is inadequate or out of date, make a written request for a re-evaluation.  If the re-evaluation is inadequate, you might be entitled to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense.

These are just a few of the many other ways you may prepare for your child’s IEP meeting.  Use the resource box at the right to contact me about your specific situation.

Watch this video to meet Quinn, posted by his mother.  Quinn is like any other child:  adorable, loved, and happy.  He is also autistic.  Thanks to his mom for sharing her beautiful child with us!

I’m back to blogging after a break for Thanksgiving.  During the break we enjoyed a visit from our daughter who is a freshman studying apparel design at Iowa State University.  Now, though, I’m thankful to be blogging again with you and meeting great clients.

I met two new clients today who remind me to be thankful for adults who love children.  The first client was rescuing an unrelated 16 year old boy who was thrown out by his mother.  This client has mentored the young boy since he was about nine years old.  I hope to help them by obtaining custody through a guardianship or through a private child in need of care petition.

The second new clients were parents of a high functioning autistic boy.  I was impressed with how knowledgeably and assertively these parents have advocated for their son.  Even so, they have been struggling with their son’s school district this year.  The district is failing to implement his IEP.  Some of the staff have been yelling at their son to the point of bringing him to tears.  We talked about filing a formal complaint about the staff’s discrimination through bullying which denies him access to a public education.  We might also request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense to remedy the inadequacies in the school district’s re-evaluation, especially regarding their son’s need for assistive technology.

I am thankful for these clients and all adults who love kids.  I am grateful for the opportunity to assist them in improving the lives of the children they serve.

Gov. Palin spoke last Friday in Pittsburgh about how she proposes to assist families raising children with special needs.  She proposed

• School choice for parents and caretakers of children with special needs;
• Portability of federal and state funds to follow the child to private placements;
• Full funding of IDEA (special education).

Some voters in the disability community aren’t persuaded.  As Governor of Alaska, she cut funding for special needs education by sixty two percent.  For a criticism of Palin’s speech, see this editorial published by commondreams.org.  To see a brief excerpt of Gov. Palin’s speech in her own words, watch this video: