(No subject)

[Guest guest]

nope im in very rural iowa. shawna

[Guest guest]

(no subject)

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

This summer, the ABC TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition called us

(Abilitations Inc.) to help with an episode.

If you are not familiar with the series, they basically choose a needy family

every week and a team of designers comes in and totally renovates their home in

7 days.

They filmed an episode this summer with a family that has a son with autism,

and Abilitations was called to help provide equipment.

My colleague Sue Wilkinson and I ended up spending the week in Detroit where

this episode was filmed, so we got to be on the set and 1 on 1 with the show

star Ty Pennington and the rest of the design crew.

We basically helped design a Sensory Room in the basement for this young man

with autism.

The show is set to air Sunday Nov. 7 @ 8pm on ABC, and will be a 2 hour special!

I should have some kind of on camera appearance, and then they will show a lot

of our equipment hopefully! This is going to be great for disability awareness

for autism and for the hearing impaired, as both the parents in the episode are

deaf.

It is supposed to be one of their best shows to date, so please spread the word,

and watch.

[Guest guest]

(no subject)

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/6th/035396p.pdf

I've enclosed a link to a recently decided (12/16/04) case issued by the

6th Circuit Court of Appeals (Tennessee), which found in favor of the

family of a child with autism, for the following reasons:

* The school district predetermined that its " eclectic " approach

to instructing children with autism was appropriate for the student,

pursuant to an unofficial policy of refusing to provide ABA services.

Even though the parents had been present at each IEP meeting and

forcefully advocated for ABA services, the Court found that the district

" had pre-decided not to offer Zachary intensive ABA services regardless

of any evidence concerning Zachary's individual needs and the

effectiveness of his private program. This predetermination amounted to

a procedural violation of the IDEA. Because it effectively deprived

Zachary's parents of meaningful participation in the IEP process, the

predetermination caused substantive harm and therefore deprived Zachary

of a FAPE. " The Court went on to state that simply because the parents

had been active participants in the IEP meetings did not mean that their

participation was " meaningful, " given the district's predetermination

opposing ABA programs.

* The absence of a general ed teacher at certain IEP meetings was

a significant procedural violation as " it was clear that whether or not

it would be appropriate for Zachary to participate in the regular

education setting would be a subject of the meeting. " While the absence

of the general ed teacher from some meetings did not adversely affect

some of the decisionmaking, at other times, it was critical, since " the

input provided by a regular education teacher is vitally important in

considering the extent to which a disabled student may be integrated

into a regular education classroom and how the student's individual

needs might be met within that classroom..The absence of the unique

perspective that could have been provided .therefore had a real impact

on the decision-making process. "

* While the court acknowledged that a district is not obligated to

provide the optimal educational services to a child, when deciding

between different methodologies, " there is a point at which the

difference in outcomes between two methods can be so great that

provision of the lesser program could amount to denial of a FAPE. " The

Court noted that, " [a]t the very least, the intent of Congress appears

to have been to require a program providing a meaningful educational

benefit towards the goal of self-sufficiency is a realistic goal for a

particular child. " The Court concluded that with this goal in mind,

" courts should heed the congressional admonishment not to set unduly low

expectations for disabled children. "

* The Court disposed of the district's " cost " objection noting

that, although districts may consider cost in devising a program that

provides FAPE, this case was " precisely the sort of situation where

judicial intervention is necessary to fulfill congressional intent and

serve the public interest. Left to its own devices, a school system is

likely to choose the educational option that will help it balance its

budget, even if the end result of the system's indifference to a child's

individual potential is a greater expense to society as a whole. "

[Guest guest]

(no subject)

>I have attached a recent published article which documents an approach

> to improving the special education child which is far effective than

> currently employed intervention models (up to 77x as effective at a

> significant reduction in cost). For more information you can visit our

> website

> Chp-neurotherapy.com

> K. Thornton, PHD

>

>

[Guest guest]

All yours Ang, I haven't trademarked it yet:)

>

> If you are willing to be called part of the " Herd " don't be

surprised

> when you learn you are actually in a slaughterhouse. .

>

> Can I use this quote?  Are they your words?  They are very

profound.  Something I'd use as a signature line.

>