Re: ,Important infor. on advocating

November 29, 2009

,

I have never paid for an Advocate...there are a couple in our area and they do it free...although I gave them gas money, bought them lunch and whenever I could gave them a few bucks...

There are many out there but there are not a lot....

Now, I work in a school...and beleive me...You Have More Rights than you realize...go to the advocacy site...

You may not want to beleive me....and the schools are not going to let you know this....but believe me once you know and understand IDEA and No Child Left Behind....you can advocate yourself. You are a manager....you can do it. Ask me anything...if I don't know it ...I will find it out.

Remember...an IEP is a LEGAL BINDING CONTRACT!!!!! If your child doesn't have one...get one...put it in writing that your want your child tested...they have 90 days to comply. And, in the IEP, they must accommodate your child with Specifically Designed teaching tools...and this doesn't mean...modification for the whole class or several students...it means modification geared for YOUR CHILD AND ONLY YOUR CHILD!!!!! Modifications on a test MUST BE MODIFIED FOR YOUR CHILD'S NEEDS ...NO ONE ELSE. If an IEP states he gets a study guide...that doesn't mean the whole class gets one...and if they do...your child's study guide must be modified for him/her specifically...specifically for their learning disabilities.

And, it doesn't matter how many children are in the classroom. If accommodations are not followed...they are breaking the LAW.

jan

Janice Rushen

& nbsp;

"I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope"

From: <video228@...> Sent: Sat, November 28, 2009 7:06:36 PMSubject: ( ) Re: how many people out there "just cant afford an advocate ?"

i love your idea about bringing another parent with experience as a third party.as for spending money on an advocate or attorney being well spent. i would never argue with that. i feel they work very hard for our children. through our local autism support group we were also given the opportunity to speak to an advocate that was more than willing to give us info for amunition dring the IEP for no cost. we just plain couldnt afford either the advocate or the attorney.there arent any harities that cover this in our area, and get this ! the attorneys for the state that we contacted "WORK TO PROTECT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS !!!". how do you like that one ? we do have a state agency that gives us info so we can educate ourselves, but there is soooo much to learn and the school administrators are shrewd.they know how to work around what we are really supposed to get.i am a sales manager by career, so i know when im being snowed.i have been

trained all of my life to read peoples emotions and actions.im not stupid , and i know when im being lied to or brushed off.and when we have our IEP's i feel like standing up and saying "dont pee down my back and tell me its raining !".but thank you for the info. i deffinitely agree it would be money well spent if it were available.>> I consider the money I spent on an advocate & a lawyer money well spent because the end result was that my son finally got the services he needed and his entire life changed for the better. Although it did cause me to rack up a huge credit card bill. > > I found the advocate and then the lawyer thru a recommendation at a local support group. I've since

found a state agency that will provide excellent free advocacy services. If you need an advocate, but can't afford one, ask around. If you can't find help from a state agency or a charity, maybe you can ask a parent with an older child with special needs to sit in the IEP meetings with you. I have learned so much from the parents who have been there and have done that already. In my experience, just having a third party attend the meeting, especially with a tape recorder, seemed to bring up the level of professionalism at the meetings. It really helped that my advocate was friendly, but also firm.>

November 29, 2009

Jan,

thank you very much for your information and offer for help.

it is truly appreciated more than you can imagine.

everyone in this support group is truly a blessing to people like me.

we asked for an IEP last year. they wited until the end of the year.

i knew about the 90 day thing, so when they said " we will wait until next year

because it is so late in the year " i absolutely refused and said i wanted it

anyway.

they said they had just hired a new woman for the town to sit in on the IEPs and

moderate.

the funny thing is we found out he woman was actually forced upon the town by

our state because our towns school system is so bad in providing for special

needs children.

during the IEP the woman listened and then piped in on the principle and (ahem)

school councelor (which is just about as useless as ice cubes in antartica). the

woman told them that the sensory diet my daughter was given was absolutely

unacceptable. she was not being given any time out of the room and was being

overwelmed by constant bombardment. she also said that because they were making

my daughter sit out during gym (because she couldnt stand being in an echoing

gym listening to all of the squeaking of sneakers, and also didnt like any sort

of competition) that they " must " find something else for her to do. my wife and

i left with an actual sense of accomplishment feeling " finally " there is someone

there for " my childs sake " .

after all of that was said at the end of this year, wouldnt you know it? this

year at our IEP (we wanted to make sure my daughter was getting what she was

promised) that woman was missing.

when i asked where she was they said " the town ended up not needing her and she

left and went to another town " .

im sure the town just didnt like what she was saying and made sure they got rid

of her.

just a little story.

but once again, i truly appreciate your kind advice.

I have been learning little by little how to advocate for my child.

the school doesnt like when i show up for an IEP because they know they have a

fight on their hands.

they were so sneaky that a couple of weeks ago, right after my wife dropped my

daughter off at school the principle aproached her and said " are you ready for

our IEP meeting? " .

my wife said " what IEP? " . the principle said " were sure we told you of it. it

was scheduled today at this time. everyone is waiting in the room. " so my wife

went in and did the IEP without me. " THEY MADE SURE I COULDNT ATTEND IT ! "

> >

> > I consider the money I spent on an advocate & a lawyer money well spent

because the end result was that my son finally got the services he needed and

his entire life changed for the better. Although it did cause me to rack up a

huge credit card bill.

> >

> > I found the advocate and then the lawyer thru a recommendation at a local

support group. I've since found a state agency that will provide excellent free

advocacy services. If you need an advocate, but can't afford one, ask around. If

you can't find help from a state agency or a charity, maybe you can ask a parent

with an older child with special needs to sit in the IEP meetings with you. I

have learned so much from the parents who have been there and have done that

already. In my experience, just having a third party attend the meeting,

especially with a tape recorder, seemed to bring up the level of professionalism

at the meetings. It really helped that my advocate was friendly, but also firm.

> >

>

November 29, 2009

Jan,

thank you so much for your information.

it is very much appreciated.

we kind of figured they were in the wrong here.

when i found out about my wife being put in that situation i was livid and i did

confront the principle.

i told her the next time we have an IEP, the person that will be entering the

room with me carrying the suitcase will either be my attorney or a

representative form the states department of education.

i also told her that his first words as he was putting his large suitcase on the

table will be " okay, who today, here in this room is going to lose their job

today and/or go to prison for missappropriation of state funds that are meant to

go toward this childs education , but are being directed elsewhere? " .

her eyes grew so big she looked like a giant squid.

i think she got my message.

i also told her " the lioness may protect her cubs, but the male lion has the

loudest roar.

now she refers to me as " mr vincent " instead of robert.

> > >

> > > I consider the money I spent on an advocate & a lawyer money well spent

because the end result was that my son finally got the services he needed and

his entire life changed for the better. Although it did cause me to rack up a

huge credit card bill.

> > >

> > > I found the advocate and then the lawyer thru a recommendation at a local