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Mother of disabled boy stages unusual protest

http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000829flagpole1.asp

Ties self to school flagpole to press treatment demands

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

By Joe Smydo, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

For " Max " Lesneski, a day at school is like watching a long

foreign film, without understanding the language and without

subtitles. That's the picture painted by his mother, Deanna, who

tied herself to a flagpole yesterday at Blaine-Buffalo Elementary

School to demand a qualified sign-language interpreter and other

services for Max, 7, who has Down syndrome and a hearing disability.

It wasn't what officials of the McGuffey School District in

western Washington County wanted on the first day of the school year.

Between 9:30 and 10 a.m., after Max had an asthma attack in school,

his mother got a jump rope and lawn chair out of the car, tied

herself to the flagpole in front of the building and sat down for

the day. Under overcast skies, she gathered around her a cellular

telephone, sign language dictionary and umbrella.

" I just hope a lightning strike doesn't come, since I have a

metal pole here, " said Lesneski, 47, of Buffalo.

Around noon, school officials asked Lesneski to end the protest,

saying they feared half-day kindergarten students arriving for class

would be traumatized by the spectacle. It was the kindergarten

students' " first day of school, ever, in their lives, " Sheryl Fleck,

the district's director of special education, said later. She said

she didn't want the bright-eyed youngsters to wonder why a woman was

tied to the flagpole and think to themselves, " Are they going to do

that to me? "

But Lesneski, who said she has a form of muscular dystrophy and walks

with difficulty, refused to budge.

" I plan on spending the night, " she said.

By afternoon, several representatives of Tri-County Patriots for

Independent Living, a disability rights organization in Washington,

had joined the protest. The contingent planned to spend the night at

the school, too, said Lorence Jr., a civil rights specialist

with the organization. Lesneski said she had grown frustrated with

previous, low-key attempts to force the school district into

compliance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the

national special-education law.

Max, a second-grader, cannot communicate with his teachers or peers

because of the hearing disability, his mother said from the seat she

did not leave all day, not even to use the restroom. " He can't say,

'I'm sick, take me home; help me; I have to go to the bathroom,' "

Lesneski said, adding Max wet himself last school year because of

the problem communicating.

Max knows sign language, but the school won't provide a qualified

interpreter, she said. Nor, she said, will school officials program

a speech synthesizer that he could use to speak for him. Fleck and

Dennis Makel, school district solicitor, said the staff members

working with Max have been trained in sign language. But Lesneski

said they aren't proficient.

Also, Lesneski said school officials told her they won't administer

Max's medications this year -- and that's what sparked the protest.

When Max had the asthma attack, she said, he tried to use the inhaler

himself. Lesneski said a school employee called to tell her what had

happened, prompting her to drive to the school. She said the protest

was an impulse move.

Makel and Fleck contradicted Lesneski's account, saying the district

will give Max his medicines. The district has failed to meet Max's

needs in other ways, too -- for example, by failing to provide

adequate summer school and not modifying a computer for his use, his

mother said.

But district officials maintain they're meeting Max's needs and

don't understand why his mother decided to protest.

" We really have been doing everything possible to accommodate this

child, " Fleck said.

In February, the Lesneskis and the district reached a 13-point

agreement for Max's education. In it, the district agreed to provide

" asthma treatment " and to " make reasonable efforts to ensure that an

aide who is proficient in signing is with Max. " In March, the

Lesneskis took the district to federal court, claiming it had

violated the agreement. The couple wanted a judge to order the

district to implement the agreement. The parties met with U.S.

District Judge Cindrich, but Cindrich never issued an order

against the district, Makel said.

Lesneski said school officials told her they had no immediate plans

to have her arrested but wouldn't let her retake her seat if she

left the flagpole for any reason. She said she would fend off

nature's urges by abstaining from food and drink. Meanwhile, she said

her attorney, Suwak, today planned to present school officials

with a proposal for resolving the dispute.

Other McGuffey students with Down syndrome are educated outside of

the district, but Lesneski said she wants Max to attend classes in

his home district, where she and Max's four older siblings went to

school. Lesneski said she saw Max at the end of the school day, as

he headed home to his dad, siblings and in-home attendant.

" He was on the bus, waving, " Lesneski said. " He looked sad. "

Post-Gazette staff writer Bill Heltzel contributed to this report.

****I just had a call from the Tri Patriots for Independent Living in the

Western part of the state. Kathleen Kleinman called and said Dee needs

support. Kathy is specifically looking for volunteers to stay with Dee

during the night, as they fear for her safety. You may reach Kathleen on

her cell phone. 412-860-3715. She is looking for any ideas, volunteers,

legal/special education advice, etc.

Kathleen also said you may forward this plea to anyone who may be able

to help them help Dee.

Hi PALS,

I am back from two weeks in Ireland! Refreshed and renewed. I am just

getting caught up with tons of mail, calls and e-mail.

Since I have been off the list, I do not know if you all know that Dee

Lesneski has tied herself to the flag pole of her son's school in

protest of her son's improperly implemented IEP. I met Dee a number of

years ago and found her to be a committed and energetic advocate for

children with disabilities. Do read the story below.

I just had a call from the Tri Patriots for Independent Living in the

Western part of the state. Kathleen Kleinman called and said Dee needs

support. Kathy is specifically looking for volunteers to stay with Dee

during the night, as they fear for her safety. You may reach Kathleen on

her cell phone. 412-860-3715. She is looking for any ideas, volunteers,

legal/special education advice, etc.

Kathleen also said you may forward this plea to anyone who may be able

to help them help Dee.

My best to each of you,

Sue

Mother of disabled boy stages unusual protest

http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000829flagpole1.asp

Ties self to school flagpole to press treatment demands

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

By Joe Smydo, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

For " Max " Lesneski, a day at school is like watching a long

foreign film, without understanding the language and without

subtitles. That's the picture painted by his mother, Deanna, who

tied herself to a flagpole yesterday at Blaine-Buffalo Elementary

School to demand a qualified sign-language interpreter and other

services for Max, 7, who has Down syndrome and a hearing disability.

It wasn't what officials of the McGuffey School District in

western Washington County wanted on the first day of the school year.

Between 9:30 and 10 a.m., after Max had an asthma attack in school,

his mother got a jump rope and lawn chair out of the car, tied

herself to the flagpole in front of the building and sat down for

the day. Under overcast skies, she gathered around her a cellular

telephone, sign language dictionary and umbrella.

" I just hope a lightning strike doesn't come, since I have a

metal pole here, " said Lesneski, 47, of Buffalo.

Around noon, school officials asked Lesneski to end the protest,

saying they feared half-day kindergarten students arriving for class

would be traumatized by the spectacle. It was the kindergarten

students' " first day of school, ever, in their lives, " Sheryl Fleck,

the district's director of special education, said later. She said

she didn't want the bright-eyed youngsters to wonder why a woman was

tied to the flagpole and think to themselves, " Are they going to do

that to me? "

But Lesneski, who said she has a form of muscular dystrophy and walks

with difficulty, refused to budge.

" I plan on spending the night, " she said.

By afternoon, several representatives of Tri-County Patriots for

Independent Living, a disability rights organization in Washington,

had joined the protest. The contingent planned to spend the night at

the school, too, said Lorence Jr., a civil rights specialist

with the organization. Lesneski said she had grown frustrated with

previous, low-key attempts to force the school district into

compliance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the

national special-education law.

Max, a second-grader, cannot communicate with his teachers or peers

because of the hearing disability, his mother said from the seat she

did not leave all day, not even to use the restroom. " He can't say,

'I'm sick, take me home; help me; I have to go to the bathroom,' "

Lesneski said, adding Max wet himself last school year because of

the problem communicating.

Max knows sign language, but the school won't provide a qualified

interpreter, she said. Nor, she said, will school officials program

a speech synthesizer that he could use to speak for him. Fleck and

Dennis Makel, school district solicitor, said the staff members

working with Max have been trained in sign language. But Lesneski

said they aren't proficient.

Also, Lesneski said school officials told her they won't administer

Max's medications this year -- and that's what sparked the protest.

When Max had the asthma attack, she said, he tried to use the inhaler

himself. Lesneski said a school employee called to tell her what had

happened, prompting her to drive to the school. She said the protest

was an impulse move.

Makel and Fleck contradicted Lesneski's account, saying the district

will give Max his medicines. The district has failed to meet Max's

needs in other ways, too -- for example, by failing to provide

adequate summer school and not modifying a computer for his use, his

mother said.

But district officials maintain they're meeting Max's needs and

don't understand why his mother decided to protest.

" We really have been doing everything possible to accommodate this

child, " Fleck said.

In February, the Lesneskis and the district reached a 13-point

agreement for Max's education. In it, the district agreed to provide

" asthma treatment " and to " make reasonable efforts to ensure that an

aide who is proficient in signing is with Max. " In March, the

Lesneskis took the district to federal court, claiming it had

violated the agreement. The couple wanted a judge to order the

district to implement the agreement. The parties met with U.S.

District Judge Cindrich, but Cindrich never issued an order

against the district, Makel said.

Lesneski said school officials told her they had no immediate plans

to have her arrested but wouldn't let her retake her seat if she

left the flagpole for any reason. She said she would fend off

nature's urges by abstaining from food and drink. Meanwhile, she said

her attorney, Suwak, today planned to present school officials

with a proposal for resolving the dispute.

Other McGuffey students with Down syndrome are educated outside of

the district, but Lesneski said she wants Max to attend classes in

his home district, where she and Max's four older siblings went to

school. Lesneski said she saw Max at the end of the school day, as

he headed home to his dad, siblings and in-home attendant.

" He was on the bus, waving, " Lesneski said. " He looked sad. "

Post-Gazette staff writer Bill Heltzel contributed to this report.

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