SchaferAutismReport: Parents Battle School Districts for Special Support

[Guest guest]

----- Forwarded Message ----To: Schafer Autism Report Sent: Thu, May 19, 2011 10:57:29 PMSubject: Parents Battle School Districts for Special Support

Read this report online Large text, printer version

Thursday, May 19, 2011p Reader Supported

AUTISM CALENDAR DEADLINE

May 25 !For June 2011Submit listing here free!

EDUCATIONParents Battle School Districts for Special Support By Trey Bundy, NY Times

Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen Huerta, with his son Sebastian, 3, who has autism. Mr. Huerta and his wife took legal action against the San Francisco district over Sebastian's education. In October, after months of anxiety, Caroline Barwick and her husband, Huerta, celebrated the arrival of their son Sebastian’s third

birthday. It was the day the San Francisco Unified School District became legally responsible for addressing Sebastian’s severe autism. Ms. Barwick and Mr. Huerta met with school clinicians to discuss their son’s education and treatment. But the meeting did not go as they had hoped — the district offered Sebastian fewer than half of the therapeutic services recommended by three private doctors and did not offer a choice of schools. “You’re reeling from what’s already been a tragic diagnosis,†Ms. Barwick said, “then it’s almost like you’re slapped across the face." The couple took legal action against the district. Last week, an administrative law judge criticized the district for its handling of the case and ordered it to reimburse Sebastian’s parents for about $55,000 they spent on his therapy

and education during the dispute. Ms. Barwick and Mr. Huerta are part of a growing number of parents of special-needs children who are battling the school district over federally mandated support. The stakes are high. The district is facing a $25 million budget shortfall, and the types of intensive services in dispute can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars per child. There is not always agreement on what constitutes appropriate treatment. Disputes between the district and parents are initially addressed in Individualized Education Program meetings, and sometimes in hearings involving lawyers. Thirteen legal actions — called requests for due process — were filed against the district in the first three quarters of this fiscal year. There were just five during the same period last year. Some

For rest of today's SAR click here:www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.htm

Today's SAR newslist is human compiled and provided through the support of paid subscriptions. - THANK YOU -

$35 for 1 year - or free!www.sarnet.org

In This Issue:

•••••••••

EDUCATIONParents Battle School Districts for Special SupportRESEARCHGut Bacteria Linked to Behavior: That Anxiety May Be in Your Gut, Not in Your HeadTREATMENTAutism Spectrum DisordersRESOURCESUnanswered Questions From The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: A Review of Compensated Cases of Vaccine-Induced Brain InjuryAutism Friendly Summer Camps in MichiganSpecial-Needs Teens Find Jobs In ArizonaPEOPLESon of Autism Doctor Charged With Practicing Without A LicenseMich. Autism Center To Close After Director LeavesDeath of OK Autistic Boy Ruled Accidental

'Schafer Autism Report' Now an App on iPhone, iPad

DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW. . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.$35 for 1 year - or free!www.sarnet.org

Hundreds of Local Autism EventsWeb / EverywhereAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoWeb / EverywhereIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMainelandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriWeb / EverywhereMontanaNebraskaNevada New HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaWeb / EverywhereRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingWeb / Everywhere

Send your LETTER

Now's the perfect time to order your free Puzzle Piece kits and launch an autism awareness campaign in your community. When we raise the funding necessary, ARI will see that important research is done, including the large-scale, independent study of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children Click here.

SAR Back Issues

The Autism CommunitySupports the Schafer Autism Report

.. . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.$35 for 1 year - or free!www.sarnet.org

Biomedical Treatments for Autism Spectrum DisordersScientific References and Abstractswww.autismbiomed.com

Copyright Notice: The above items are copyright protected. They are for our readers' personal education or research purposes only and provided at their request. Articles may not be further reprinted or used commercially without consent from the copyright holders. To find the copyright holders, follow the referenced website link provided at the beginning of each item.

Lenny Schafer editor@... The Schafer Autism Report is a non-profit corporation

Vol. 15 No. 27 Unsubscribe here: www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm

_______________________________________________

SARnets mailing list

SARnets@...

http://lists.igc.org/mailman/listinfo/sarnets

You can unsubscribe send email:

http://www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm

--

You are subscribed as:

deniseslist@...