Study on the Autism Scholarship Program

[Guest guest]

Dear Friend of ASO:

The ASO has been contacted by a non-profit research organization based in Ohio that is doing a study on the Ohio Autism Scholarship program. They would like to speak to a variety of people in regard to the scholarship program. Specifically:

- people who have used the scholarship and are very satisfied

- people who have used the scholarship but are not satisfied

- people who used the scholarship, but, for whatever reason are no longer using it

- people who have not used the scholarship (specifically why)

They only need a couple from each category. If you would be interested in providing information regarding the scholarship from one of the 4 perspectives, please email me at byavorcik@.... Please put AUTISM SCHOLARSHIP in the subject line and please identify which of the above categories you fall into.

Additionally this group will be contacting ODE-Office for Exceptional Children, school districts, private providers, etc.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Barbara C. YavorcikCo-PresidentAutism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASO@...home: byavorcik@...web: www.autismohio.orgSee what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.

[Guest guest]

In response to Sandee's question about this "study" trolling for parent interviews, wasn't the below posting about this same study? As I mentioned before, we responded and when my husband spoke to the interviewer, it was obvious he had an agenda and he was only looking for negative input on the scholarship program.

-----Original Message----- From: byavorcik@... Sent: Nov 11, 2007 5:48 PM undisclosed-recipients@null, null@null Subject: [ ] Study on the Autism Scholarship Program

Dear Friend of ASO:

The ASO has been contacted by a non-profit research organization based in Ohio that is doing a study on the Ohio Autism Scholarship program. They would like to speak to a variety of people in regard to the scholarship program. Specifically:

- people who have used the scholarship and are very satisfied

- people who have used the scholarship but are not satisfied

- people who used the scholarship, but, for whatever reason are no longer using it

- people who have not used the scholarship (specifically why)

They only need a couple from each category. If you would be interested in providing information regarding the scholarship from one of the 4 perspectives, please email me at byavorcikaol. Please put AUTISM SCHOLARSHIP in the subject line and please identify which of the above categories you fall into.

Additionally this group will be contacting ODE-Office for Exceptional Children, school districts, private providers, etc.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Barbara C. YavorcikCo-PresidentAutism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASOautismohio (DOT) orghome: byavorcikaolweb: www.autismohio.org

See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.

[Guest guest]

I was told I would be contacted for my input, and I never was.

I'm going to jump into the fray here....if not for the Autism

Scholarship, I don't know where my kids would be. It probably saved

my oldest son's life. I realize that sounds dramatic, but he has

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from being secluded and restrained at

school without our knowledge or consent -- for about 2 months. He

couldn't tell us what was happening, and the school HAD to know

that. So, they thought I wouldn't notice?.....well, I did. And I

kept on them...kept asking questions, until I finally saw the time-

out room they would put him in when he was melting down due to the

school environment being too overwhelming. Gee....they never TELL

you in the student handbook that your kid could be stuck in a

glorified closet and restrained. No, somehow, that's left out of the

information. The Scholarship saved us. No, it's not perfect. Yes,

it costs a lot of extra money and the socialization aspect suffers.

But my child's safety is worth EVERYTHING. Yes, things have changed

financially for us -- and not for the better -- since going on the

scholarship. But it all comes down to where do you want to spend the

money? My son has a disorder that is common to war veterans, thanks

to what he suffered at school. I didn't have time to wait and fight

these people to have a court MAYBE (but likely not) rule in our favor

and force them to do the right thing. He's finally recovering from

his PTSD, but unfortunately, it's the gift that keeps on

giving....when he gets stressed, it flares up. The psych said it

probably will never completely go away. As for my other son -- well,

he has all kinds of medical problems including seizures on top of his

Autism. Physical stressors -- like restraint, for instance, could

cause great physical harm to him. I can't take that chance.

On one hand, I have to say, this whole mess is not entirely the

schools' fault. Insurance companies are to blame as well. Have any

of you been told that therapies aren't covered under private

insurance because of IDEA? We have. 1 in every 150 is only a number

to these folks...but it's very real to all of us. And what these

companies are NOT taking into consideration is that Autism does not

shorten life expectancy. These children will grow up and be adults

with Autism. There will be a lot of them. If they haven't been

properly cared for while young and teachable, what do they honestly

think is going to happen when these children grow up? I've asked

some insurance company folks that....they didn't know what to say.

Color me surprised....

I plan to try and call the person who wrote the article in the PD. I

have written letters to the editor, I have written to specific

columnists, and I have even e-mailed local TV stations about the

problem of aversive interventions in our schools when I have found an

affiliate of theirs in another state ran an expose on it in their

area. But no one wants to touch the story. If people knew what

happened to some of our special needs kids in school -- and, I hate

to say it, but especially those with Autism -- they would be

shocked. I asked my US Rep if he thought it was fair that my kid in

public school with Autism would have more protections under the law

if he were a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. He didn't know what to say

either. I hope that some of you -- especially Sandee, since the

media knows you! -- has some luck getting through to these folks. I

have tried to open up dialogue with these folks about the problems

our children face in school from the use of aversives, and no one

will contact me in return. Maybe they're afraid to tackle it? I

don't know. I do know that without the Scholarship, my son could

have eventually been seriously harmed physically -- or worse --

because of the restraint he endured at school. I asked my US Rep

what is it going to take for people to wake up to what REALLY happens

to these kids...is it going to take an Ohio child to die because of

the use of restraint? That's what happened in Michigan...except it

took two boys to die from aversive interventions used at school

before laws were enacted. Right now there is NOTHING in Ohio law

that specifically regulates the use of aversive interventions in

SCHOOL settings....there is for hospitals, prisons, group homes --

but not schools.

Scary, huh....If any of you make any headway with the news folks

about this, I'd be happy to help if I can.

To see that this happens all over the US, check out these sites....

http://familiesagainstrestraintandseclusion.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_ar

chive.html

http://www.tash.org/publications/inthenameoftreatment.pdf

[Guest guest]

What school district do you live in?spshaft05 <SBShaft@...> wrote: I was told I would be contacted for my input, and I never was. I'm going to jump into the fray here....if not for the Autism Scholarship, I don't know where my kids would be. It probably saved my oldest son's life. I realize that sounds dramatic, but he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from being secluded and restrained at school without our knowledge or consent -- for about 2 months. He couldn't tell us what was happening, and the school

HAD to know that. So, they thought I wouldn't notice?.....well, I did. And I kept on them...kept asking questions, until I finally saw the time-out room they would put him in when he was melting down due to the school environment being too overwhelming. Gee....they never TELL you in the student handbook that your kid could be stuck in a glorified closet and restrained. No, somehow, that's left out of the information. The Scholarship saved us. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it costs a lot of extra money and the socialization aspect suffers. But my child's safety is worth EVERYTHING. Yes, things have changed financially for us -- and not for the better -- since going on the scholarship. But it all comes down to where do you want to spend the money? My son has a disorder that is common to war veterans, thanks to what he suffered at school. I didn't have time to wait and fight these people to have a court MAYBE (but

likely not) rule in our favor and force them to do the right thing. He's finally recovering from his PTSD, but unfortunately, it's the gift that keeps on giving....when he gets stressed, it flares up. The psych said it probably will never completely go away. As for my other son -- well, he has all kinds of medical problems including seizures on top of his Autism. Physical stressors -- like restraint, for instance, could cause great physical harm to him. I can't take that chance. On one hand, I have to say, this whole mess is not entirely the schools' fault. Insurance companies are to blame as well. Have any of you been told that therapies aren't covered under private insurance because of IDEA? We have. 1 in every 150 is only a number to these folks...but it's very real to all of us. And what these companies are NOT taking into consideration is that Autism does not shorten life expectancy. These children will grow

up and be adults with Autism. There will be a lot of them. If they haven't been properly cared for while young and teachable, what do they honestly think is going to happen when these children grow up? I've asked some insurance company folks that....they didn't know what to say. Color me surprised....I plan to try and call the person who wrote the article in the PD. I have written letters to the editor, I have written to specific columnists, and I have even e-mailed local TV stations about the problem of aversive interventions in our schools when I have found an affiliate of theirs in another state ran an expose on it in their area. But no one wants to touch the story. If people knew what happened to some of our special needs kids in school -- and, I hate to say it, but especially those with Autism -- they would be shocked. I asked my US Rep if he thought it was fair that my kid in public school with

Autism would have more protections under the law if he were a detainee in Guantanamo Bay. He didn't know what to say either. I hope that some of you -- especially Sandee, since the media knows you! -- has some luck getting through to these folks. I have tried to open up dialogue with these folks about the problems our children face in school from the use of aversives, and no one will contact me in return. Maybe they're afraid to tackle it? I don't know. I do know that without the Scholarship, my son could have eventually been seriously harmed physically -- or worse -- because of the restraint he endured at school. I asked my US Rep what is it going to take for people to wake up to what REALLY happens to these kids...is it going to take an Ohio child to die because of the use of restraint? That's what happened in Michigan...except it took two boys to die from aversive interventions used at school before laws were

enacted. Right now there is NOTHING in Ohio law that specifically regulates the use of aversive interventions in SCHOOL settings....there is for hospitals, prisons, group homes -- but not schools. Scary, huh....If any of you make any headway with the news folks about this, I'd be happy to help if I can. To see that this happens all over the US, check out these sites....http://familiesagainstrestraintandseclusion.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.htmlhttp://www.tash.org/publications/inthenameoftreatment.pdf

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