IDEA

[Guest guest]

Hi Theresa,

Complete copies of the IDEA may be found at a number of sites. My favorite

site for IDEA information is http://www.idonline.org .

I find it incredible that the department that she is working for would not

have a copy of the backbone legislation for advocating in the interest of

children with any kind of disability in an educational environment.

Take care.

Louis

-owneronelist

louisharkins_4@...

/subscribe/ and

/subscribe/ocdandhomeschooling

----Original Message Follows----

From: " Theresa " <pudding@...>

Reply-onelist

<onelist>

Subject: idea

Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 17:23:50 -0400

Hi list

Does anyone on this list know where we can find a complete copy of the IDEA

law on the Internet?My daughter needs this information before she

goes to work in the morning.She wants to be sure of what it says before she

goes to a meeting at the middle school concerning one of her clients.She

works for the Dept. of Disabilities and Special Needs.Any help will be

greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Theresa

[Guest guest]

Hi Theresa,

Your daughter has my deep admiration for trying to make the system work.

Far too often it seems that the agencies which should be advocating for our

children are bogged down in red tape and politics.

I hope all goes well tomorrow for both your daughter and the child she is

trying to help. Please keep us posted.

Take care.

Louis

-owneronelist

louisharkins_4@...

/subscribe/ and

/subscribe/ocdandhomeschooling

----Original Message Follows----

From: " Theresa " <pudding@...>

Reply-onelist

<onelist>

Subject: idea

Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 23:52:03 -0400

Thanks everyone for all the information.We found the bill in its entirety on

a website.My daughter is having a hard time with the school personnel where

this child is supposedly receiving services and she is trying to make sure

that she has all the facts before she goes to a meeting tomorrow.She asked

for information last week from the head of the Special Services Division and

there was quite an uproar,so she is trying to get this information on her

own.This may possibly end up as a court case and everyone here knows

everyone else.We have a buddy-buddy situation,unfortunately for the

child.(This child is autistic with some ocd traits)I could write a book on

everything that is going on,but that is why she couldn't get the information

from her office or the school.

Thanks again for the help.

Theresa

[Guest guest]

>From: " Louis Harkins " <louisharkins_4@...>

>>Far too often it seems that the agencies which should be advocating

>for our children are bogged down in red tape and politics.

I'll second that Louis!! I am having such a block at work and accessing

services for my kids. The red tape is often not in the best interest of the

people concerned. Tom is a great example - with us giving up costudy in

order to access service.

take care, wendy in canada

[Guest guest]

Kudos to your daughter for taking the challenge. Tell her to keep it up.

Terry in WI

idea

Hi

This is an update on my daughter's continued efforts on behalf of one of the

children her agency serves.There have been two meetings since this began.The

child was suspended from school because he was on the floor and might be a

hazard to the other children.(He is a big child and this is a middle school)The

assistant principle decided this.Yesterday-Thursday-the assistant principle was

told by the lead psychologist that he was not going to suspend this child again

because the child had no idea of what suspension meant.All he knew was that he

didn't go to school.My daughter confronted the special ed teacher(he's new to

this school) and told him if he wasn't going to implement the teaching

strategies that her agency,the autism advocate,and the speech therapist had made

available to him,that this child was going to lose every skill he had gained.The

teacher said he was willing to do this.Well,he hasn't even read any of the

material.There was another meeting today with the two assistant principles and

the same one said they were wasting their time and this child was just a bad

seed.This is getting to be too long.I'm going to try to condense and you will

have to use your imaginations or experience in dealing with school personnel.My

daughter,the autism adv.,and the speech teacher are setting up the

spec.ed.teacher's room into stations.The assistant principle is saying the child

needs to go on homebound inst.My daughter said were they willing to provide an

all day teacher to go to this child's house because anything else was

unacceptable, and he didn't answer.There is a lot more going on and all of the

assistant principal's comments are being documented. says the child is not

bad,he's just bored and acting out because he isn't being stimulated. There was

no transition period,even though his teacher from last year offered to do

it.It's a real mess,but hopefully the school will realize they have to

co-operate or it may become a federal case.There are more people coming in on

Monday to assess the situation.

Okay,this is enough about this. There is so much going on about this,that it

would take me all night to tell you.

Sorry

Theresa

[Guest guest]

Hi Theresa,

Thanks for the update. I think that many of us have experienced our own

version of this situation. I know that I would have appreciated an

advocate like your daughter when we were struggling with our older son's

school staff whose sole goal was to deny him grade level instruction in an

environment that he could tolerate.

Take care.

Louis

-owneronelist

louisharkins_4@...

/subscribe/ and

/subscribe/ocdandhomeschooling

[Guest guest]

I am urging everyone to complete the e-mail form at

http://www.specialkidsla.com/ideareauthorization.htm.

-if you feel it is working and you like it the way it is, please tell

them.

-if your child has been helped by IDEA, please thank them.

-if you have suggestions on how it could be improved, please give

them your ideas.

-if you feel it is burdensome, please let them know.

Our children's right to a free, appropriate, public education is

governed by this law. Parent participation in the IEP process was

strengthened in the 1997 reauthorization, as was access to the

general curriculum. What will the 2002 reauthorization include?

Education Secretary Rod Paige is in favor of more funding for IDEA,

but first he feels it must be fixed. Researchers at Harvard have

testified to Congress that too many minorities are being classified

as having learning disabilities. Various members of Congress want to

make it easier to suspend or expel kids for discipline issues.

Numbers count. It is important that the Dept of Education hear from

as many parents as possible. Everyone has something to say. The

letter is preformatted to make responding as easy as possible.

[Guest guest]

Subj: IDEA

Date: 11/20/01 8:06:39 AM Central Standard Time

From: Crownova@...

Vpar3auadv@...

I am urging everyone to complete the e-mail form at

http://www.specialkidsla.com/ideareauthorization.htm.

-if you feel it is working and you like it the way it is, please tell

them.

-if your child has been helped by IDEA, please thank them.

-if you have suggestions on how it could be improved, please give

them your ideas.

-if you feel it is burdensome, please let them know.

Our children's right to a free, appropriate, public education is

governed by this law. Parent participation in the IEP process was

strengthened in the 1997 reauthorization, as was access to the

general curriculum. What will the 2002 reauthorization include?

Education Secretary Rod Paige is in favor of more funding for IDEA,

but first he feels it must be fixed. Researchers at Harvard have

testified to Congress that too many minorities are being classified

as having learning disabilities. Various members of Congress want to

make it easier to suspend or expel kids for discipline issues.

Numbers count. It is important that the Dept of Education hear from

as many parents as possible. Everyone has something to say. The

letter is preformatted to make responding as easy as possible.

*********************************************************************************************

Sorry everyone! I apologize for the cross-posting and the fact that the email didn't go through last time. However, IDEA is important to us all, and I felt that as many people as possible should be given the opportunity to respond.

Thank you,

Vickie N.

[Guest guest]

Idea

We received this action alert from Liz Bauer about potential US House of

Representatives action on the reauthorization of IDEA. We need to get the

word out for students, parents and advocates to contact their Congress

members and tell them why the bill is proposed should be rejected.

Congressional activity is scheduled in TWO DAYS. We must act fast. The

alert from the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems

[NAPAS] is encapsulated below. You have our permission to pass this as far

and wide and on as many list serves as possible so that our voices are heard

before they enact bad law. The bill was only introduce! d on Marc

Here are a few things that the proposed IDEA bill would do:

Extend IEPs to 3-years and delete short term objective;

Give schools unilateral power to transfer students to alternative settings

for violating school rules;

Eliminate Manifestation Determination reviews;

Eliminate requirement for functional behavior assessments;

Eliminate requirements for positive behavior support plans;

Add one-month waiting period before any parent complaint could go to due

process regardless of the problem or issue;

Creates option of " voluntary binding arbitration " which would not provide

any appeal path for parents or students;

Please be sure to read the entire email for details. Michigan residents

should contact Congressman Kildee, Ehlers, Upton and./or Hoekstra and let

them know that this bill is loaded with problems and will decimate special

education as we know it.

Thanks,

Tricia and Calvin

NAPAS National Association of Protection & Advocacy Systems

ACTION ALERT

March 25, 2002

Critical IDEA Protections Threatened by House Reauthorization Bill Action

Needed Immediately!!!!!!!!!

BACKGROUND

House Republicans introduced their bill to reauthorize the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act on March 19th. This bill (H.R. 1350) places free

and appropriate public education opportunities for children with

disabilities in jeopardy and severely limits the due process rights of

parents. It is a legislative proposal that was developed largely without

the input of family organizations or disability advocates.

The leaders of the House Education and Workforce Committee are planning to

" mark-up " this bill on THURSDAY, MARCH 27th - IN TWO DAYS!! A mark-up is

when Members of the Committee debate the merits of the bill and make

changes. After a bill is marked-up, it is voted on by the Committee and the

next step is House floor action. A one-week turnaround does not allow

parents or advocates sufficient time to read and comment on a bill that will

have a major impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their

families.

This bill is full of problems. A few of the most critical are listed below.

The bill would Allow IEPs to be written for three years rather than one year

periods; it removes short term objectives which provide parents with useful

information about the student's progress on important academic and

non-academic goals.

It would decimate the current IDEA discipline provisions; it would give

schools the unilateral ability to send children with disabilities to Interim

Alternate Educational Settings for simple violations of the school code;

students receive fewer services in these settings and it would result in

schools filled with students with disabilities; there is no clear " return "

to the regular classroom; there would be no more Manifestation Determination

Review (where the decision is made whether or not a behavior is related to

the child's disability); there would be no more functional behavioral

assessments or behavioral intervention plans;.

It would establish a due process option of " voluntary binding arbitration "

and, while on the surface this option might seem like a good idea, the

problem is that parents don't always know all of their rights and options;

if a parent selects voluntary binding arbitration, he or she loses all

rights to appeal; if an arbitrator makes a bad decision, it can be very

hard to overturn.

It would make parents wait one month before any complaint they raise could

go to due process, regardless of the problem or issue.

It would establish a system of pre-referral interventions -- which may be a

good idea -- however, it would divert already scarce funds away from

IDEA-eligible students to provide services for non-IDEA eligible students.

ACTION NEEDED: It would be best to work in coalition with parents, parent

organizations, and disability organizations to get these important messages

across.

Contact the Leaders and Members of the House Education and the Workforce

Committee AND the Members of the Education Reform Subcommittee and urge them

to delay action on H.R. 1350 (see list below).

Tell them that they should not rush to act on the bill without the support

of the families and advocates of the more than six million children with

disabilities who rely on IDEA for their future. Families and advocates do

not support this bill. (Some legislators have been told that we do agree

with the bill, they need to hear clearly that we do not.)

Tell them that the outcome of any IDEA action should not only protect but

also strengthen the educational services and supports available to children

with all types of disabilities. This bill does not do that.

Tell them that the outcome should protect and strengthen the procedural

safeguards that are in place to help ensure that children get the services

they need AND should protect and strengthen the due process protections for

these children and their families. This bill does not do that.

Use personal stories of IDEA successes!!!!

Please let Kathy McGinley at NAPAS know what your Members say -

Kathy@... or 202-408-9514.

House Education and Workforce Committee

Education Reform Subcommittee Members in Bold

Repblicans

Boehner (OH), Chairman Full Cmte.

Petri (WI)

Hoekstra (MI)

McKeon (CA)

Castle (DE), Chairman Education Reform Subcommittee

Sam (TX)

Jim Greenwood (PA)

Norwood (GA)

Fred Upton (MI)

Vernon Ehlers (MI)

Jim DeMint (SC)

ny Isakson (GA)

Judy Biggert (IL)

Todd Platts (PA)

Tiberi (OH)

Ric Keller (FL)

Tom Osborne (NE)

Joe (SC)

Tom Cole (OK)

Jon Porter (NV)

Tom Cole (OK)

Kline (MN)

(TX)

Marilyn Musgrave (CO)

Marsha Blackburn (TN)

Phil Gingrey (GA)

Max Burns (GA)

Democrats

(CA), Ranking Member Full Cmte.

Dale Kildee (MI)

Cass Ballenger (NC)

Major Owens (NY)

Payne (NJ)

s (NJ)

Lynn Woolsey (CA), Ranking Member, Education Reform Subcommittee

Hinojosa (TX)

Carolyn McCarthy (NY)

Tierney (MA)

Ron Kind (WI)

Dennis Kucinich (OH)

Wu (OR)

Rush Holt (NJ)

(CA)

Betty McCollum (MN)

Danny (IL)

Ed Case (HI)

Grijalva (AZ)

Majette (GA)

Van Hollen (MD)

Tim (OH)

Tim Bishop (NY)

[Guest guest]

Idea

We received this action alert from Liz Bauer about potential US House of

Representatives action on the reauthorization of IDEA. We need to get the

word out for students, parents and advocates to contact their Congress

members and tell them why the bill is proposed should be rejected.

Congressional activity is scheduled in TWO DAYS. We must act fast. The

alert from the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems

[NAPAS] is encapsulated below. You have our permission to pass this as far

and wide and on as many list serves as possible so that our voices are heard

before they enact bad law. The bill was only introduce! d on Marc

Here are a few things that the proposed IDEA bill would do:

Extend IEPs to 3-years and delete short term objective;

Give schools unilateral power to transfer students to alternative settings

for violating school rules;

Eliminate Manifestation Determination reviews;

Eliminate requirement for functional behavior assessments;

Eliminate requirements for positive behavior support plans;

Add one-month waiting period before any parent complaint could go to due

process regardless of the problem or issue;

Creates option of " voluntary binding arbitration " which would not provide

any appeal path for parents or students;

Please be sure to read the entire email for details. Michigan residents

should contact Congressman Kildee, Ehlers, Upton and./or Hoekstra and let

them know that this bill is loaded with problems and will decimate special

education as we know it.

Thanks,

Tricia and Calvin

NAPAS National Association of Protection & Advocacy Systems

ACTION ALERT

March 25, 2002

Critical IDEA Protections Threatened by House Reauthorization Bill Action

Needed Immediately!!!!!!!!!

BACKGROUND

House Republicans introduced their bill to reauthorize the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act on March 19th. This bill (H.R. 1350) places free

and appropriate public education opportunities for children with

disabilities in jeopardy and severely limits the due process rights of

parents. It is a legislative proposal that was developed largely without

the input of family organizations or disability advocates.

The leaders of the House Education and Workforce Committee are planning to

" mark-up " this bill on THURSDAY, MARCH 27th - IN TWO DAYS!! A mark-up is

when Members of the Committee debate the merits of the bill and make

changes. After a bill is marked-up, it is voted on by the Committee and the

next step is House floor action. A one-week turnaround does not allow

parents or advocates sufficient time to read and comment on a bill that will

have a major impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their

families.

This bill is full of problems. A few of the most critical are listed below.

The bill would Allow IEPs to be written for three years rather than one year

periods; it removes short term objectives which provide parents with useful

information about the student's progress on important academic and

non-academic goals.

It would decimate the current IDEA discipline provisions; it would give

schools the unilateral ability to send children with disabilities to Interim

Alternate Educational Settings for simple violations of the school code;

students receive fewer services in these settings and it would result in

schools filled with students with disabilities; there is no clear " return "

to the regular classroom; there would be no more Manifestation Determination

Review (where the decision is made whether or not a behavior is related to

the child's disability); there would be no more functional behavioral

assessments or behavioral intervention plans;.

It would establish a due process option of " voluntary binding arbitration "

and, while on the surface this option might seem like a good idea, the

problem is that parents don't always know all of their rights and options;

if a parent selects voluntary binding arbitration, he or she loses all

rights to appeal; if an arbitrator makes a bad decision, it can be very

hard to overturn.

It would make parents wait one month before any complaint they raise could

go to due process, regardless of the problem or issue.

It would establish a system of pre-referral interventions -- which may be a

good idea -- however, it would divert already scarce funds away from

IDEA-eligible students to provide services for non-IDEA eligible students.

ACTION NEEDED: It would be best to work in coalition with parents, parent

organizations, and disability organizations to get these important messages

across.

Contact the Leaders and Members of the House Education and the Workforce

Committee AND the Members of the Education Reform Subcommittee and urge them

to delay action on H.R. 1350 (see list below).

Tell them that they should not rush to act on the bill without the support

of the families and advocates of the more than six million children with

disabilities who rely on IDEA for their future. Families and advocates do

not support this bill. (Some legislators have been told that we do agree

with the bill, they need to hear clearly that we do not.)

Tell them that the outcome of any IDEA action should not only protect but

also strengthen the educational services and supports available to children

with all types of disabilities. This bill does not do that.

Tell them that the outcome should protect and strengthen the procedural

safeguards that are in place to help ensure that children get the services

they need AND should protect and strengthen the due process protections for

these children and their families. This bill does not do that.

Use personal stories of IDEA successes!!!!

Please let Kathy McGinley at NAPAS know what your Members say -

Kathy@... or 202-408-9514.

House Education and Workforce Committee

Education Reform Subcommittee Members in Bold

Repblicans

Boehner (OH), Chairman Full Cmte.

Petri (WI)

Hoekstra (MI)

McKeon (CA)

Castle (DE), Chairman Education Reform Subcommittee

Sam (TX)

Jim Greenwood (PA)

Norwood (GA)

Fred Upton (MI)

Vernon Ehlers (MI)

Jim DeMint (SC)

ny Isakson (GA)

Judy Biggert (IL)

Todd Platts (PA)

Tiberi (OH)

Ric Keller (FL)

Tom Osborne (NE)

Joe (SC)

Tom Cole (OK)

Jon Porter (NV)

Tom Cole (OK)

Kline (MN)

(TX)

Marilyn Musgrave (CO)

Marsha Blackburn (TN)

Phil Gingrey (GA)

Max Burns (GA)

Democrats

(CA), Ranking Member Full Cmte.

Dale Kildee (MI)

Cass Ballenger (NC)

Major Owens (NY)

Payne (NJ)

s (NJ)

Lynn Woolsey (CA), Ranking Member, Education Reform Subcommittee

Hinojosa (TX)

Carolyn McCarthy (NY)

Tierney (MA)

Ron Kind (WI)

Dennis Kucinich (OH)

Wu (OR)

Rush Holt (NJ)

(CA)

Betty McCollum (MN)

Danny (IL)

Ed Case (HI)

Grijalva (AZ)

Majette (GA)

Van Hollen (MD)

Tim (OH)

Tim Bishop (NY)

[Guest guest]

I think we need to craft an article that summarizes the stories of several persons (with their permission) and then submit this to a publication like the NY Times Magazine. If you read their back issues you can see they cover a myriad of issues and hyperaldosteronism, if well written, might well get published.

I am happy to help but have not written for this type of a magazine before and expect the competition would be very tough. Suggest we start with a general article on how badly BP is currently measured in the practice of medicine today. I know it is the most frequent medical error and likely results in more deaths and disability than all other medical errors.

May your pressure be low!

Clarence E. Grim, B.S., M.S., M.D.

Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

(sharedcareinc.com)

Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col. WI

Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

and the Physiology and History of Survival During

Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

Fran,

With all due respect, the next time when you get angry about something

that unintentionally offends you, please consider how your reaction to

it may harm others and even yourself. Have you considered that people

who read your comment will be less likely to be open about their own

personal stories since big brother FOX News might be watching?

While this is a " public forum " to a degree, I suspect a number of us

would not want some of our rather personal stories being explicitly

shared with the news media without our permission.

Keep in mind that the secondary symptoms of hyperaldosteronism are

rather broad. Along with the physiologic issues, there can also be

rather disturbing (to both the individual and 3rd parties) and

sometimes severe psychiatric problems that folks would rather not air

without explicit permission on television news.

ly, I find " all that crap " on TV merely a bit annoying because it

is not directed at me...it just happens to be on my TV set. What

angers me (and I'm not easily angered) is when someone decides they

have the right to expose my personal comments to the news media

because it will assuage their anger and, perhaps, do some public good.

-J

>

> Hi All,

>

> I get angry at all the crap I see on the news about diet and exercise

> accompanied by film clips of overweight people walking down the

> street. Sometimes I fire off an angry message to the news and try to

> introduce them to the problems of hormones runing wild. Of course they

> don't pay attention to the ravings of a lunatic. In the message I sent

> to Fox News the other day, I told them about this group and gave them a

> link to this web site and suggested that they assign a person to

> monitor it. Of course, I doubt they will do that. However, I thought

> that if a bunch of us wrote in, it may get their attention enough to

> check into it. If anyone wants to e-mail them, the address is:

> comments@... I figure it is worth a try, what we need is to

> get our story to the media and I hope some of you will join me in

> trying.

>

> Fran

>

> Fran

>

[Guest guest]

J

Sorry for being so ignorant. I am one of those people with this

illness who goes into a rage over every little thing. Obviously my

idea was incredibly stupid!

Fran

> >

> > Hi All,

> >

> > I get angry at all the crap I see on the news about diet and

exercise

> > accompanied by film clips of overweight people walking down the

> > street. Sometimes I fire off an angry message to the news and

try to

> > introduce them to the problems of hormones runing wild. Of

course they

> > don't pay attention to the ravings of a lunatic. In the message

I sent

> > to Fox News the other day, I told them about this group and gave

them a

> > link to this web site and suggested that they assign a person to

> > monitor it. Of course, I doubt they will do that. However, I

thought

> > that if a bunch of us wrote in, it may get their attention enough

to

> > check into it. If anyone wants to e-mail them, the address is:

> > comments@ I figure it is worth a try, what we need is to

> > get our story to the media and I hope some of you will join me in

> > trying.

> >

> > Fran

> >

> > Fran

> >

>

[Guest guest]

J

Sorry for being so ignorant. I am one of those people with this

illness who goes into a rage over every little thing. Obviously my

idea was incredibly stupid!

Fran

> >

> > Hi All,

> >

> > I get angry at all the crap I see on the news about diet and

exercise

> > accompanied by film clips of overweight people walking down the

> > street. Sometimes I fire off an angry message to the news and

try to

> > introduce them to the problems of hormones runing wild. Of

course they

> > don't pay attention to the ravings of a lunatic. In the message

I sent

> > to Fox News the other day, I told them about this group and gave

them a

> > link to this web site and suggested that they assign a person to

> > monitor it. Of course, I doubt they will do that. However, I

thought

> > that if a bunch of us wrote in, it may get their attention enough

to

> > check into it. If anyone wants to e-mail them, the address is:

> > comments@ I figure it is worth a try, what we need is to

> > get our story to the media and I hope some of you will join me in

> > trying.

> >

> > Fran

> >

> > Fran

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Dr. Grim,

The point I want to get out is that a lot of doctors are incredibly

careless about treating their patients. I have read posts in blaming

managed care because doctors ignore test results. It is not managed

care, it is the mindset of doctors. Is is possible for a doctor to

go somewhere (by internet or phone) to research a patients

symptoms? Obviously not because they never do it. I have excellent

insurance and I can go anywhere to any doctor without referrels but

is does me no good. I had one doctor that told me PVCs were normal

and that everyone had them. He also ignored a weight gain of 10

pounds in 10 days. Earlier when I pointed out to him that both my K

and sodium levels were both on the bottom number of the range, he

said they were OK because they were within range. A couple of months

later, I pointed out that my sodium level was BELOW normal range but

he said it wasn't low enough to be a problem If he had the brains to

realize that there was a problem, I might not be in this condition

today. My current doctor knows my bp has been out of control for 7

years but doesn't even listen to my heart. He is only good for

writing RX when I need them. There have been other ignorant doctors

in-between.

Writing an article to the NY times is useless. If they have

published several articles on hyperaldosteronism what good did they

do? Did they do anything to improve medical recognition of the

condition? If a patient does research and decides maybe aldosterone

is their problem, it does no good if the doctor they go to tells them

they don't have PA.

Fran

>

> I think we need to craft an article that summarizes the stories of

several

> persons (with their permission) and then submit this to a

publication like the

> NY Times Magazine. If you read their back issues you can see they

cover a

> myriad of issues and hyperaldosteronism, if well written, might

well get

> published.

>

> I am happy to help but have not written for this type of a magazine

before

> and expect the competition would be very tough. Suggest we start

with a

> general article on how badly BP is currently measured in the

practice of medicine

> today. I know it is the most frequent medical error and likely

results in more

> deaths and disability than all other medical errors.

>

>

>

> May your pressure be low!

>

> Clarence E. Grim, B.S., M.S., M.D.

> Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

> (sharedcareinc.com)

> Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col.

WI

> Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

>

> Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

> and the Physiology and History of Survival During

> Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

>

>

>

> **************************************

> AOL now offers free email to everyone.

> Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

>

[Guest guest]

Fran,

The idea itself was not stupid, nor are you, as there needs to be a

better understanding of PA out there given how common it appears to

be. Your illness was speaking on your behalf...that's all. I've been

there myself. Before my diagnosis of PA last year, a psychiatrist had

dx'ed me with " Intermittent Explosive Disorder " and was treating me

for it with Cymbalta which was a magic pill for me.

In other words, with the PA untreated and no psych meds I'd go into

rages that would stop just short of physical violence with little

provocation or none at all. Beyond the rages, there was a great deal

of generalized anxiety which would cause me to speak (or send emails)

without thinking. When the psychiatrist learned of my PA dx, he told

me that most likely the rages and anxiety were a direct result of the

PA and that I'd probably be able to get off the meds post surgery.

He was absolutely correct. The secondary psych issues evaporated

immediately following my adrenalectomy, and I was able to stop the

psych drugs over a 5 day period with no ill effect.

I have no idea whether aldosterone blocker medications help with the

psych issues, but I suspect some of the bilateral disease folks on

board here can comment on that as well as Dr. Grim.

Best wishes,

J

> > >

> > > Hi All,

> > >

> > > I get angry at all the crap I see on the news about diet and

> exercise

> > > accompanied by film clips of overweight people walking down the

> > > street. Sometimes I fire off an angry message to the news and

> try to

> > > introduce them to the problems of hormones runing wild. Of

> course they

> > > don't pay attention to the ravings of a lunatic. In the message

> I sent

> > > to Fox News the other day, I told them about this group and gave

> them a

> > > link to this web site and suggested that they assign a person to

> > > monitor it. Of course, I doubt they will do that. However, I

> thought

> > > that if a bunch of us wrote in, it may get their attention enough

> to

> > > check into it. If anyone wants to e-mail them, the address is:

> > > comments@ I figure it is worth a try, what we need is to

> > > get our story to the media and I hope some of you will join me in

> > > trying.

> > >

> > > Fran

> > >

> > > Fran

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

As I note in article in the files one problem is that the usual meds dont work in PA and as the doses are pushed up the side effects increase. I have also seen this in the old days with renal artery stenosis in which the mental problems like not being able to balance the check book disappeared after the correction of the renal artery stenosis and the cure of the HTN and stopping of the meds.

But again there is not systematic data on this issue, ie changes in mental funcioning during the develolpment of PA and its realtionship to the drugs that dont work in this disease and the regression after the removal of a unilateral source.

In a message dated 3/5/07 1:44:26 PM, datawrhsdoc@... writes:

Fran,

The idea itself was not stupid, nor are you, as there needs to be a

better understanding of PA out there given how common it appears to

be. Your illness was speaking on your behalf...that' be. Your illnes

there myself. Before my diagnosis of PA last year, a psychiatrist had

dx'ed me with "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" and was treating me

for it with Cymbalta which was a magic pill for me.

In other words, with the PA untreated and no psych meds I'd go into

rages that would stop just short of physical violence with little

provocation or none at all. Beyond the rages, there was a great deal

of generalized anxiety which would cause me to speak (or send emails)

without thinking. When the psychiatrist learned of my PA dx, he told

me that most likely the rages and anxiety were a direct result of the

PA and that I'd probably be able to get off the meds post surgery.

He was absolutely correct. The secondary psych issues evaporated

immediately following my adrenalectomy, and I was able to stop the

psych drugs over a 5 day period with no ill effect.

I have no idea whether aldosterone blocker medications help with the

psych issues, but I suspect some of the bilateral disease folks on

board here can comment on that as well as Dr. Grim.

Best wishes,

J

> > >

> > > Hi All,

> > >

> > > I get angry at all the crap I see on the news about diet and

> exercise

> > > accompanied by film clips of overweight people walking down the

> > > street. Sometimes I fire off an angry message to the news and

> try to

> > > introduce them to the problems of hormones runing wild. Of

> course they

> > > don't pay attention to the ravings of a lunatic. In the message

> I sent

> > > to Fox News the other day, I told them about this group and gave

> them a

> > > link to this web site and suggested that they assign a person to

> > > monitor it. Of course, I doubt they will do that. However, I

> thought

> > > that if a bunch of us wrote in, it may get their attention enough

> to

> > > check into it. If anyone wants to e-mail them, the address is:

> > > comments@ I figure it is worth a try, what we need is to

> > > get our story to the media and I hope some of you will join me in

> > > trying.

> > >

> > > Fran

> > >

> > > Fran

> > >

> >

>

May your pressure be low!

Clarence E. Grim, B.S., M.S., M.D.

Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

(sharedcareinc.com)

Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col. WI

Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

and the Physiology and History of Survival During

Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

Only way to say one does not have PA is to test for it. Unless they know some tricks I do not.

In a message dated 3/5/07 1:27:16 PM, frand2@... writes:

Dr. Grim,

The point I want to get out is that a lot of doctors are incredibly

careless about treating their patients. I have read posts in blaming

managed care because doctors ignore test results. It is not managed

care, it is the mindset of doctors. Is is possible for a doctor to

go somewhere (by internet or phone) to research a patients

symptoms?

Yes but many do not.

Obviously not because they never do it. I have excellent

insurance and I can go anywhere to any doctor without referrels but

is does me no good. I had one doctor that told me PVCs were normal

and that everyone had them. He also ignored a weight gain of 10

pounds in 10 days. Earlier when I pointed out to him that both my K

and sodium levels were both on the bottom number of the range, he

said they were OK because they were within range. A couple of months

later, I pointed out that my sodium level was BELOW normal range but

he said it wasn't low enough to be a problem If he had the brains to

realize that there was a problem, I might not be in this condition

today. My current doctor knows my bp has been out of control for 7

years but doesn't even listen to my heart. He is only good for

writing RX when I need them. There have been other ignorant doctors

in-between.

Writing an article to the NY times is useless. If they have

published several articles on hyperaldosteronism what good did they

do? Did they do anything to improve medical recognition of the

condition? If a patient does research and decides maybe aldosterone

is their problem, it does no good if the doctor they go to tells them

they don't have PA.

Fran

>

> I think we need to craft an article that summarizes the stories of

several

> persons (with their permission) and then submit this to a

publication like the

> NY Times Magazine. If you read their back issues you can see they

cover a

> myriad of issues and hyperaldosteronism, if well written, might

well get

> published.

>

> I am happy to help but have not written for this type of a magazine

before

> and expect the competition would be very tough. Suggest we start

with a

> general article on how badly BP is currently measured in the

practice of medicine

> today. I know it is the most frequent medical error and likely

results in more

> deaths and disability than all other medical errors.

>

>

>

> May your pressure be low!

>

> Clarence E. Grim, B.S., M.S., M.D.

> Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

> (sharedcareinc. (sh

> Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col.

WI

> Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

>

> Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

> and the Physiology and History of Survival During

> Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

>

>

>

> ************ ******** ******** *******

> AOL now offers free email to everyone.

> Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.http

>

May your pressure be low!

Clarence E. Grim, B.S., M.S., M.D.

Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

(sharedcareinc.com)

Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col. WI

Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

and the Physiology and History of Survival During

Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.

[Guest guest]

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc.

a national voice for special education rights and advocacy

PO Box 6767 , Towson MD 21285 www.copaa.org<http://www.copaa.org/>

email: protectidea@...<mailto:protectidea@...>

Call your Congressional Representative on Tuesday, May 6!

Ask Congress to Support the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act, H.R. 4188!

Help Parents Recover Expert Witness Fees and Level the Playing Field!

202-224-3121

PLEASE CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ON TUESDAY, MAY 6, AND ASK THEM

TO CO-SPONSOR THE IDEA FAIRNESS RESTORATION ACT, H.R. 4188. This bill will

allow parents who prevail in due process or litigation under IDEA recover their

expert witness fees.

Few parents can afford the thousands of dollars needed to pay for expert

testimony that is often necessary to prevail in IDEA cases. But school

districts can use tax dollars to employ and pay for psychologists and other paid

experts. Parents have fewer resources and yet must bear a greater financial

burden. H.R. 4188 is necessary to restore Congress' original intent and allow

parents to recover their expert witness fees. Introduced by Congressman Chris

Van Hollen (land) and Pete Sessions (Texas), it will help level the playing

field for the parents of millions of children with disabilities.

Over 100 disability organizations, including the Consortium of Citizens with

Disabilities, Arc, Easter Seals, the Council of Parent Attorneys & Advocates,

Inc., National Disability Rights Network, National Down Syndrome Society,

National Down Syndrome Congress, Learning Disabilities Association, National

Center for Learning Disabilities, CHADD, and others support H.R. 4188. But we

need your help to get it passed.

Call Congress on Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Ask them to Cosponsor H.R. 4188

On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, please call your Congressional Representatives

(202-224-3121) and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 4188, the IDEA Fairness

Restoration Act. Have friends and family members call. It will only take 2-3

minutes.

If you do not know who your Congressional Representative is, go to

http://www.house.gov<http://www.house.gov/> and put your zip code into the box

in the upper left corner. (You usually only need your five digit zip code.)

You can also use http://www.congress.org<http://www.congress.org/> to look up

Representatives and phone numbers. PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES INSTEAD OF

USING EMAIL. Congress needs to hear our voices and hear from as many parents

and child advocates as possible!

It helps if you ask for the Education Aide, but you can also talk to the person

who answers the phone. You can leave a voicemail message. Tell them you are a

constituent and would like the Congressperson to co-sponsor H.R. 4188, the IDEA

Fairness Restoration Act.

Please make a phone call on May 6, even if you've made one before. If you can't

call on May 6, it's okay to call afterwards.

H.R. 4188 is sponsored by 20 representatives, but more cosponsors are needed to

help build support for the bill. Please call your Congressperson on May 6 and

ask them to join the list of co-sponsors. The following are already sponsors:

Neil Abercrombie (HI), Baker (LA), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Ginny

Brown-Waite (FL), Dan Burton (IN), Steve Cohen (TN), Danny (IL),

DeFazio (OR), (TX), Honda (CA), Ray LaHood (IL), Zoe

Lofgren (CA), Moran (VA), Grace Napolitano (CA), Payne (NJ), Janice

Schakowsky (IL), Pete Sessions (TX), Pete Stark (CA), Van Hollen (MD), and

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL). We thank them for their support! Let's add

more!

Why It's Important to Cosponsor the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act (H.R. 4188).

The IDEA Fairness Restoration Act would override the Supreme Court's decision in

Arlington Central School District v. (2006) and allow parents who prevail

in due process or litigation to be reimbursed for their expert witness fees.

When prevailing parents cannot recover expert costs, the playing field is

neither level nor fair, and children are denied a free appropriate public

education and other fundamental IDEA rights.

* Hiring qualified medical, technical, and other expert witnesses can cost

many thousands of dollars. Few parents can afford this high cost, putting due

process out of reach for most parents, who struggle to afford what their

children with disabilities need.

* School districts use tax dollars to pay for psychologists and other paid

experts. Parents have fewer resources and yet must bear a greater financial

burden. Approximately 36% of children with disabilities live in families earning

less than $25,000 a year; over 2/3 earn less than $50,000 a year.

* Congress intended for parents to recover their expert witness fees in the

Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986. Allowing parents to recoup their

expert fees simply restores Congress' original intent.

* If due process is not affordable, the IEP process becomes even more

one-sided and unfair. School personnel control the IEP process and often vastly

outnumber parents. When the right to due process is meaningful, it helps ensure

that school districts provide appropriate educations to children with

disabilities.

* Most parents turn to due process and litigation only as a last resort. In

2003, the GAO reported that there were only 5 hearings per 10,000 special

education students. But when parents are forced into due process, they should

be able to afford expert witnesses.

Want more detailed information?

Download COPAA's complete brochure on the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act and

enabling parents to recover expert fees,

http://www.copaa.org/pdf/Brochure.pdf

There is also a Spanish language version, http://www.copaa.org/pdf/MSSpanish.pdf

(Lea aqui en Espanol: y los derechos de los padres para recuperar el

costo de los expertos: http://www.copaa.org/pdf/MSSpanish.pdf )

You can read H.R. 4188 here: http://www.copaa.org/news/IRFAct.html

You can read letters from over 100 disability organizations supporting H.R. 4188

here:

http://www.copaa.org/news/organizations.html

For more information about H.R. 4188 and this alert, please contact Bob Berlow

and Jess of COPAA at protectidea@...<mailto:protectidea@...>

Together, we can make the difference and restore a balanced playing field for

children with disabilities.

Let Congress hear your voice on May 6! Ask your Representative to cosponsor

H.R. 4188, the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act. Call Congress, 202-224-3121.

COPAA-News is an opt-in communication from the Council of Parent Attorneys and

Advocates. To stop receiving COPAA-News, send e-mail to

COPAA-News-unsubscribe-request@... Read archives at

http://listserv.icors.org/archives/copaa-news.html

Stengle, M.Ed.

Cell 484-868-0443

Work 610-265-4700 Ex 211

Di

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not, and ye shall not be

condemned. Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

Luke 6:37