Rep. Zwiefel's Missouri Education Promise

I had a dream the other night that I had a special needs child. He was the light of my life, but even as a young child he was not “typical” and did things that other kids and parent thought were strange. I completely understood in my dream that it was about his special personality, and not about what other people expected him to be like. I also took to heart the idea that I was his advocate, and that was going to require all of my effort to help him get through life safely—but that it would be a joyful experience and completely worth it.

I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, I think that having a special needs child would be a great blessing. I think the idea that I could have that responsibility is exciting. I know that is would be challenging: a much more real and permanent responsibility than one evening’s dream. I’m sure it will be frustrating at times, and probably the most frustrating part would be when others didn’t understand.

Having that dream made me all the more aware of how important it is that Missouri pass HB 1886. This tuition tax credit would be the difference between finding the right place for a special needs child, where his or her proclivities and needs are understood, and being trapped somewhere where that child doesn’t have the help they need, a place where they are not understood. I read recently on Rep. Clint Zweifel’s (Florissant) website about his plan to give state-funded grants for preschoolers in poverty, and he seemed very proud of the opportunity to do that. He saw there was a need there, a need for extra financial support, and made a commitment in his place of authority to help. And, with the Missouri Education Promise Act he introduced, he makes a commitment to financially assist students in college.

HB 1886 seems like just the kind of legislation that aligns with his priorities. I hope that before this vote, he takes a look at the needs of the children this would help, and sees what their parents see: a child full of potential and deserving of full-fledged support.

The Glass Slipper Principle

I remember watching Cinderella with the kids I babysat for, and the enchantment of a glass slipper—one that would have to fit its bearer perfectly, since it couldn’t stretch to accommodate any other foot. Remember the ladies of the town trying to make their feet fit into that tiny shoe?



The glass slipper principle comes into play when we’re talking about something as precious as our children with Autism. Missouri needs to ensure that the programs available to them are the right ones for them. Children falling along a spectrum as diverse as Autism cannot be served by a broad, catch-all kind of education—it would leave too many behind.

That’s the impetus behind several new types of schools that AutismVox outlines in a great article:

One Size Does Not Fit All: Three Different Autism Schools
by Kristina Chew, PhD on May 25th, 2007
New schools for autistic children are opening in Arizona (in the Prescott area; see story) and in British Columbia (see story). The schools are quite different and suggest how, as we learn more about how best to educate autistic children and foster learning, new school models, different curricula, and teaching methodologies must be considered.
Parents of autistic children—Angela Levin in Arizona and Nicole Kaler and Dale Petersen in British Columbia—are the forces behind the two schools, both of which seek to serve different age groups: In Arizona, ASCEND, or Autism Spectrum Center for Educational and Neurological Development, will base its curriculum on ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and will teach both children diagnosed with autism and also children diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. In British Columbia, Harmony House will first house a preschool and then an elementary school for autistic children and non-autistic children; the preschool now has four spaces reserved for autistic children, out of fourteen total spaces, and the elementary school will have spaces for 10 autistic children (that is, it seems that the majority of the children in Harmony House will not be autistic).
As both schools are private, there is tuition, $23,000 per year for autistic children and $16,000 for per year for children with Asperger Syndrome at ASCEND, and $450 per month for three days of instruction per week at the Harmony House preschool. As a comparison, the new public autism center, the Developmental Learning Center, that is opening in New Jersey in June, costs $67,000 per year for a 42 week program for 37 hours a week. (And, I should also note, many private autism schools in New Jersey have even higher tuitions.) I am not sure if it is really possible to compare these tuition figures, as the three schools are very different, intend to serve different populations of children, and are of different sizes.
One thing that can be gained from the comparison is to note that there is more than one way to set up an autism school. I have a sense of the kind of training and supervision that aides, teachers, and other personnel receive here in New Jersey, and also of the work needed to make materials and keep records of students’ learning: It is no small effort. Even within New Jersey, there are many different autism schools based on different teaching methodologies, with different teacher to student ratios, and a parent has to make a lot of school visits, do their research, and carefully discern just where a child is, in order to choose the right kind of school. And when a parent has found such a school, a parent most definitely will work—like the Winkelmans against the Parma School District—-to get their child into the school placement that seems the best suited to foster a child’s learning.
One more question remains to be asked: Is your preference regarding autism education for a public program or for a private school (that a public school district pays for)? And what about home-schooling?

This principle is at the core of MO SB 993 and HB 1886, like a decree from a prince asking the one who fits this amazing shoe to come out of the shadows. The price tags on these services are hefty, but their value to our children is priceless.

Not asking for a hand-out

I am a divorced Mother living in a rural Missouri that has very limited ability to help teach my special needs child. Though services may be recommended to me, and even recommended for my son's IEP, they are not available out here in rural MO. I fight tooth-and-nail to get support in the classroom or an aid or sign-language instruction. But the fact of the matter is I will never win some of those battles and get necessary support services written into my boy's IEP because the services required by my son are simply not available through the public school and to get them in place would be extremely costly to the didstrict. I get it.

I support the tuition tax credit bills being reviewed by our MO senate and house right now. I call upon other Missourians to do the same. I couldn't take off work to go to the capitol on 2-13. I fight sleep in order just to write these few words. I made calls to my representatives and I am writing to my local papers. I am not asking for a hand-out. I am asking for unnecessary obstacles be removed. My son's future is at stake.

The bills being discussed right now in the Senate (SB 770 and SB993) and House (HB 1886) would not remove public dollars from the tax base nor would they harm public schools. They are insightful legislation written by people affected by special needs like myself. They would NOT destroy the public school nor are they any different from other tax credit bills. They simply allow non-for-profit agencies to exist to collect private donations and distribute the money on a first-come, first-serve basis to people like me. Though they are not perfect, they are certainly a step in the right direction in state that is known to be one of the worst in this country at serving special needs education. The success of my son will NOT be a threat to other Missourians.

Catch-Up

In my regular surfing and researching, I found this statement in an article "Few Tenn. teachers have autism training" :

"School districts are trying desperately to get people trained," said Linda Copas, director of behavioral and autism services for the state Department of Education. "We haven't had a curriculum addressing this disability in universities and colleges. There's been no legislation how to deal with this certain disability. This disability is so common, but school systems don't have guidance on this. It's taking a long time to catch up."
This is what's going on in our state and all across the country. It's scary to think what will happen if we don't take a direct preventative approach. We need legislation and we need educators who can help these children learn. We are learning soooo much about children with autism. It's possible that Mozart and Einstein had autism~think of the possibilities of liberating the potential of some of these brilliant little minds. Think of the tragedy if we don't too. And all the while time passes and more and more children enter society with this particular disability.

At the top of the wish list for helping families dealing with autism should be parents' rights to choose their child's education. That means we have to make some allowances~in the public education system and in our public policies~see the 2 posts just before this one for more on that. Truly, the societal benefits would be great!

Opponents' Reasoning is Invalid for Special Needs Scholarship Program

There is no surprise several teachers unions and school boards are against the bills that would allow for scholarships for special needs children. To me, it is a no-brainer! Special needs children require a variety of special services and there is no way every district can provide those services in the public schools. Therefore, those children will be left without getting the education, services, and attention they need. The Scholarship Tax Credit Program would provide scholarships to special needs children to use at other public schools or accepting private schools. The money will all be collected privately, and donors will have added incentives to give from tax credits for up to 80% of their donation. Public funds will not be given to these students so the old argument of using public money for religious schools is invalid.
The Special School District (SSD) in St. Louis was present at the hearings in Jefferson City last week testifying against the bills. While they were discussing the several points they had about how they could educate these students, one senator strongly pointed out the special school district does not cover all of Missouri. Even if they could provide for every special needs child in St. Louis (which they cannot), it still would not help the other children around the state. I felt as though they were only concerned with their district and were not even trying to look outside the box. I am not trying to say I feel they are entirely bad, I just think they need to be open to the idea, an idea that has the potential to help many more students.
The SSD has a few other arguments I would like to confront. According to their http://www.ssd.k12.mo.us/sb993.html website:
“Private schools accepting scholarship money would not be required to guarantee that the quality of educational and related services to be provided to students would exceed the quality provided by the public schools and would not be subject to the strict accreditation standards of Missouri's public schools."
As I read the rest of the complaints, this one was repeated many times in various ways. First off, the program only allows for choice. The parents are in no way forced to use these options, or even consider them. If they are happy with their current school, then they would have no reason to leave. Secondly, if there are such strong standards for special education programs, why did we hear parents from all around the state crying, begging, and pleading for choice? Why were they so unhappy with the education their children were getting? Obviously, not every public school is doing that great of a job. Additionally, if a parent chose to use this program and decided it was not any better, or was worse, they can easily put their child back where they were.

“The Missouri Constitution prohibits using public money to support or maintain religious organizations or private schools.”
As I already mentioned, it will not be using public funds. Private donors will be the funders for this program.
“The fact that there is no deadline for notifying a public school that the student is leaving or that the student is transferring into another public school is troubling. It creates a significant hardship on the public schools, as it will be difficult to plan programs, hire staff, and maintain class sizes, without sufficient advance notice.
Shouldn't this be about the children getting an education not about what may or may not happen? I thought our main goal here was to educate the children not make every one's job easier.
The arguments against the bills are just not string enough to convince me the program is a bad idea. In fact, I think most of their arguments do not even make sense or apply to this situation. I hope these bills pass and we can give more hope to those parents who are fighting for their child!

Nourishment

Many people pass off autistic children as odd, having little or no potential of living any sort of ordinary, let alone extraordinary, life. When it comes to education, these people seem to think that only the most primordial needs should be met. Those that are educators make sure the children are “happy,” and “pass” from grade to grade with their peers, simply so that they might not feel different or, more often than not, so they can get them “out of their hair.”
I have worked as a teacher’s assistant at two different schools with autistic children.
I have worked with autistic children at a school where the educators, like those described above, did not care much for their jobs or their students, and have seen the first-hand result of a creative and wonderful child being deprived of the education she needed, her unmotivated teachers giving just enough of themselves for her to be pacified, “to pass.”
I have also worked at a school for children with autism, but also with potential; potential that was nourished by their engaged teachers. These educators genuinely cared for the students and their place in the world. The reciprocal relationship between teacher and child was visible throughout the school. Like rain and sun feeding seeds in a garden, these children blossomed and grew until what was once just potential, a seed, became realized in the numerous successes throughout the school. And though a seed, when nourished, may grow into a beautiful flower, it will never compare to the brilliance and splendor of any of these children.
"A skilled and imaginative teacher prepared to enjoy and be challenged by the child seems repeatedly to have been a deciding factor in the success and educational placement of high-functioning, autistic children.” Newson, E., Dawson, M., & Everard, P. (1982). The natural history of able autistic people: Their management and functioning in a social context. Nottingham, England: University of Nottingham Child Development Unit.

Tax Plan Could Aid Private Schools
By Virginia Young and David Hunn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Feb. 14--JEFFERSON CITY -- Using tax credits for private schools -- a political lightning rod in Missouri for years -- gained a new group of supporters Wednesday: parents of autistic children.
The families are pushing bills that would provide scholarships for children with disabilities. The money would help cover tuition at private schools or public schools away from a family's home.

At a packed Senate hearing, several mothers recounted their efforts to find services for children diagnosed with autism or an associated disorder. Shari Kaminsky of Kirkwood said her 12-year-old severely autistic son is learning to read, thanks to a private school that costs the family dearly -- $32,000 a year.


There is a saying that the true test of a free society is not how it treats its richest citizens but how it treats its poorest. Now, many of the families who testified are not in poverty, but they have been severely economically burdened by the sheer cost associated with having a special needs child, anything from healthcare bills for a correct diagnosis (that is a requisite for an IEP or public schools) to the cost of getting an education. These families cannot walk into their neighborhood school and enroll their child as most parents do—the process is much more complicated for a student with disabilities of any kind, and it seems unreasonable to assume that every school district has the means to educate every kind of special needs student.

Many argue that the Cooperating school districts of St. Louis as meant to do just that: provide a broad range of services for special needs students. This is a great option for many parents, but not all. Having a son with severe autism caused Shari Kaminsky to seek out a private school that is truly able to work with him, and she pays for that level of expertise. For parents of children with autism, this expertise is the difference between a child stagnating or even regressing, and that child learning despite difficulties. What parent could deny a child that chance? What society could deny parents the right to make that choice?

That’s to say nothing of students outside of the special school district’s reach. This bill simply reaches out to those parents and says “Missouri supports you and your child”. By not passing this bill, as the special school district wants, we are, in effect, saying “Missouri cares more about status quo in our education system than actually serving your needs.”

Public school were made to serve all students, but it is a logical fallacy to assume that because they intend to, that they do serve all students. And they do a good job in many instances, but when we, as a state, offer only that option to parents whose children require a level of specialized treatment or care it says: since your child, because of his or her special needs, does not fit into our educational paradigm, it’s not our problem. The burden is on you, the parent, if your child needs something we can’t offer.

A tuition tax credit, detailed in this bill, gives that alternative to parents. Missouri should realize that this reflects on our values: it shows that we believe in educating all children. It’s time to admit that public education is not a perfect answer for every precious, important and deserving child that lives in this state, and that denying any of them the right to get the best education is denying them the right to succeed.

Snowflake

I am a parent with a child who has autism and I live in St. Louis County. I am tired of hearing how well the special schools serve all special needs and how all the resources are out there. Mary Armstrong,of the St. Louis Public Schools, claims that parents don't know what is out there and implies that the parents are ignorant and unable to make the best choices for their child. This is only one of her misguided arguments as to why we parents must allow our children to remain trapped in an inept system because they are the ones who can make the best choices for our childrne. Her attitude is reflected throuhout the public education system~both in the city and the county. As a parent, I find this insulting to all the families who are trapped and suffering in the public special schools system.

I have met many parents with special needs kids. I spoke with one Mother, from the county, who has moved her family TWICE and she says, rightly so, that the schools purposely do not tell parents of the resources available. She was told that an IEP is not a legal enforceable document (NOT TRUE). She was also told by the Kirkwood Special School District that she was not allowed to show up unannounced at school~that she must tell them in advance. THIS IS ILLEGAL!! This Mother could write a book on all the horror stories that just ONE of her 2 special needs child has endured~not to mention her family's suffering.

People in the city think that the county schools and the families served by them are priviledged and have all the necessary resources available to serve our special children. While it is true that SOME children have been truly advanced, NOT ALL have been helped. It takes little effort to find that numerous families have completely uprooted and moved to new zip codes (or lied about their zip codes) in order to serve just ONE of thier children. The effects on the families~the other typically developing children, and the heart-wrenching choices parents must make to serve one child at the emotional expense of another are unthinkable.

I know of a Mother whose first autistic son was exceptionally served by Kirkwood Special Schools, but her 2nd son was failed miserably because they were not trained to deal with his different special need. In the private setting she is paying personally $32K a year for, her 2nd son is finally flourishing. How fortunate for her that she can afford Giant Steps for her child. The Special School District used to send children they couldn't help to Giant Steps AND they supported the tuition. No child has been placed in the last few years and Giant Steps is at risk of closing.

To quote yet another Mother whose family has suffered at the hands of Special School Districts unable to address ALL special needs, these special needs children are 'as unique as snowflakes'. I love this analogy. To add to that, they can be as delicate as a snowflake too. Under the right circumstances, these children can flourish~but when trapped and underserved, they can melt away, draining a family's personal, emotional and financial resources, causing financial drain on the economy in many ways. Over the lifetime of just one child who isn't helped~Autism can cost as much as $3 million in real and indirect costs (Time off work, a parent quitting their job to stay home with a child, medical bills, disability payments, food stamps, public support, DIVORCE at 90%!!, etc...).

When identified at an early age, children with special needs~particularly children with autism, can be advanced greatly. To not find them early and intervene with proven methods, is indeed a costly injustice~for the individual family and for the community.

As a community and as a state, we need to look to alternative methods of educating, early intervention, support, and research. Autism in particular is being diagnosed at an epidemic rate in our country. 10 years ago, 1 in 10,000 kids was diagnosed with Autism. Now it's 1 in 144. There is a reason and we need to find it. There are solutions and we need to enact and support them. We also need to support the parents who are EXPERTS at understanding the needs of their own special little snowflakes!

Missouri Special Needs Legislation - Part One

Legislative hearings were held on February 13 for SB 993 and HB 1886 - bills that would create a scholarship tax credit program for special needs children in Missouri. These hearings gave the public an opportunity to hear comments from legislators and to testify either in support or in opposition of these bills.

The Senate hearing was held at 1 p.m. in a packed out room - it literally was standing room only, I know, I stood for the entire hearing. The Senators had a limited amount of time and allowed proponents and opponents to testify alternately. There were four people who spoke for each side and two people who testified for informational purposes only - neither in support or in opposition to the legislation.

The House hearing was held at 3 p.m. also in a packed out room - this time I arrived early enough to grab a seat. The House did not have a time limit and consequently heard testimony for nearly four hours! There were 15 people, mostly parents, who testified in support of the legislation and 10 people, mostly public school staff, who testified in opposition. There were also a few people who testified for informational purposes.

At the end of the day, HB 1886 passed out of committee and is ready for the next step in the legislative process. The Senate committee did not vote on SB 993 but plans to do so at their next committee meeting next week. The really amazing thing here is that both committees were held on the same day - that doesn't ususally happen and because it did, a lot of parents and supporters were able to attend.

Here's what I noticed.
1. The parents who testified were compassionate, compelling, and able to clearly express their frustrations and challenges. They answered questions and some even had their children attend with them, who it has to be said, were very well-behaved. There were several parents in attendance who did not testify but all were able to show their support, especially by wearing a red heart-shaped sticker that said "Have a Heart." For those parents who did testify, many had a similar story to tell. They had to remove their child from School A to School B in order to receive the services they desperately needed. Often these moves were at great personal, emotional, and financial expense. One mother moved out of state for 2 years because Missouri could not provide the services her child needed, while her husband remained in their Missouri home and they only saw each other on weekends and other brief visits.

2. The opposition seemed to stumble over their words and all seemed to be using the same playbook - their arguments were all the same and when they were challenged by the legislators on the committees to explain or answer point-blank questions, many of them could not. All they could do was continue to spout out the same old rhetoric. Their concerns were not for the special needs children. Their concerns were for protecting the systems already in place. Even when discrepancies were called to their attention, they could respond. For example, in both committees it was acknowledged that some public schools contract out with private providers when it is decided the public school cannot provide all of the services a special needs child should receive. Yet, when asked why it was OK for the public school district to make that decision and not the parent they could not respond. Secondly, SB 993 and HB 1886 would create a scholarship for special needs children that would be funded through private contributions (the contributor would receive a tax credit), it would not take money away from public schools - yet the opposition used this as their primary argument. More than one legislator called them out on the carpet and explained how a tax credit program works. There were times when no logical argument could be made by the opposition to explain why they were against the bills.

These hearings were only the first part in a long legislative journey. Stay tuned for more updates!

Needs of children trump 'policy'

I am glad to see at least that people are talking and debating the very serious issues raised by the latest bills to be reviewed by the Missouri House and Senate. I was there at the hearings. For an overview of the bills, you can find everything you wnat to know at cec-mo.org. For public commentary and debate, pro and con, see this article from The Southeast Missourian.

The claims of the opposition that the bills (HB 1886~'Bryce's Bill'., SB 993 and SB 770) will riun our public school system are scare tactics. How can they ruin a system that is already in ruin? You ARE aware that SLPS has lost its accreditation and KCPS is on the verge of doing the same, RIGHT? Policies like the ones advanced by Senator Rupp, Senator Crowell and Representative Scharnhorst exist in other states and have provided much needed relief to those that have availed themselves of the scholarships. In fact these bills took their model from success stories in other states. It was pointed out that in Florida, after 6 or 7 years that only 5% of the eligible populace have enrolled and no hardship has been visited upon those districts~same in other states as well. In fact, in the presence of alternatives it is found that public schools actually improve!

Regarding the allegation that these bills are 'vouchers' but no one will admit it, this is not true either. One supporter flat out said these are vouchers. However, as you will find in the comments in the article and to the article, there is a misuderstanding that this is public money going to private institutions. Not so~the bills create 501c3's that private INDIVIDUALS and entities can contribute to who then grant scholarships to qualified applicants.

I thought that the opposition~folks from the SLPS and the teachers' unions and school board reps~were the best defense of the bills actually. For all the mentions of success stories from parents who found quality education outside of their assigned school district, the educrats cried that this is a POLICY issue and they NEED the money from those kids in order to continue to serve their students.

But, though they get the money, they flat out admitted their inability to serve the students. What is true about this situation that the public educrats won't seem to accept is that releasing these children to their parents would allow the system to focus on what they CAN do and alleviate the burden of having to educate children they are not qualified to help.

It was also noted by the representatives hearing testimony that the public system already contracts to private institutions with their alloted monies, at times. The question posed was why cannot parents make the same choices?! Good question, Representative Muscheny!

Hey, by the way~It was also noted that some public schools actually do a great job. One Mother testified that one of her autistic sons was exceptionally served by the Kirkwood Special Schools, but that the second autistic son was failed miserably. They would not release him however. She now pays $32,000 a year to a private system~Giant Steps and that son is thriving~though her family is under tremendous financial strain.

Oh~and the parents who receive these scholarships could apply them to a PUBLIC school too~like Kirkwood! It's somewhat like allowing a Pell Grant (public money) going to a private higher education institution~except this is private money...

A Mother testified that her child spent 6 years in the St. Louis Public Special School District and that the district insisted on addressing behavioral issues instead of opening books with her child, that he has learned NOTHING from his public school, that he was in a room absent of ANY books and that the only things he's learned have been directly from her. She was on the verge of tears explaining that she had reached out to every one she could within the district for support and got nothing. She was promised one-on-one tutoring by someone in the special schools in exchange for not talking to Channel 2 and she complied. Her son received no tutoring. Then Mary Armstrong from the St. Louis Public Schools said she was going to follow up on this! They have wasted 6 years of this child's life!! Only when the Mother takes a day and goes to the state capitol and testifies before both the House and the Senate does Mary Armstrong offer to 'look into it'.

Finally, this is not just about Autism. These bills as they are currently written, are about all disabilities. It's just that Autism is becoming epidemic and it's getting alot of deserved attention. These people just need a little help cutting through the red tape of our public education system. Allowing parents to make choices on behalf of their children without having to change zip codes would alleviate a great deal of stress in the lives of good people just trying to take care of their kids. Can't we all agree that PARENTS are the most qualified to direct the course of their children's lives? Countless families have been disrupted and this places great burden on our society. It's just not right~Quite a few parents were present that moved their entire families for the sake of one child! Some of them moved 2 and 3 times! One was in and out of 6 schools! Can you IMAGINE?!

Special Needs bill is light at the end of the tunnel

Missouri House and Senate Committees heard testimonies for a greater part of the day yesterday, for and against these important bills. The House passed it 5 to 1 and will move on to the full House to debate. Hopefully, they will save these special needs children from the plight of a failing system!
Bills would provide aid for disabled students to switch schools
Feb 13, 2008 By DAVID A. LIEB, AP
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Nikki Harper moved across Columbia so her autistic son could go to a different public elementary school. Shari Kaminsky is paying $32,000 a year to send her autistic son to a private school because she believes a suburban St. Louis public school failed to help him.
Harper, Kaminsky and other parents of developmentally disabled children pleaded with lawmakers Wednesday to approve a voucher or tax credit program that would let them send their children to the public or private school of their choice.
"We shouldn't have to move and rearrange our entire lives to get the best for our kids," Harper told members of the Senate Pensions, Veterans' Affairs and General Laws Committee.
A pair of bills pending in the Senate and House this year would use a (similar) model for special-needs students statewide. An alternative Senate bill would provide direct state vouchers, instead of the indirect tax breaks, for the parents of public school students with disabilities.
Kaminsky, the mother of two autistic sons, said her 15-year-old has done well in public school, but her 12-year-old didn't learn to read or speak in sentences until she enrolled him in the private Giant Steps school in St. Louis.
"His progress during elementary school was a flat line," she told senators. "At Giant Steps he's making progress, and it's consistent, and he's happy. He's no longer tearing up his clothing."
The sponsor of one of the bills, Sen. Jason Crowell, sought to put a personal face on the legislation by explaining that he had dyslexia as a child and advanced through school only because his mother was a teacher for children with disabilities.
"This bill, although it boils down to a turf battle, is really about helping individuals who don't find themselves with the mother I had, or a father or mother with the wealth to purchase access to special help," said Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau.
Among those opposing the bill was Sheryl Davenport, who works in early childhood special education for St. Louis public schools. She said her 4-year-old granddaughter also has autism.
"To pass this bill will continue to compound this problem," Davenport said, "because as money is diverted from our schools, that means that the services we could have provided, also went with that child."
Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, the sponsor of the voucher bill, said 52,365 public school students would be eligible for state aid under his proposal. But under a similar program in Florida, only about 4.5 percent of the eligible students actually used the program, he said.

Wake up call

I read an editorial in the Post-Dispatch awhile ago. It was compelling. A mother spoke of the many hardships she endured and obstacles she had to overcome in order to assist her child with special needs. It was heartbreaking and it was a wake-up call. I can't even editoralize it~just take a peek....

12/29/2007 State finally may help autistic kids

Regarding "Autism task force calls for centralizing state services" (Dec. 19): More than six years ago, I sent letters to every representative I could find to beg for specialized day care or respite for my high-functioning autistic child. This was after he had attempted to hang himself at the day care facility we had been forced to use. My son felt he didn't fit in, and the kids were brutal. The day care had promised an aide who was to be funded through a special allocation. Not surprisingly, the money was otherwise allocated, and no aide was supplied. There were no other options for special-needs day care for children ages 5 to 10, and apparently still aren't.
The response I received from our officials was dismal. They were absolutely ambivalent or uninformed. The governor at the time offered to speak with me personally if I had a written solution that I could present to him. As a single mother with a special-needs child and a full-time job, that offer was ludicrous.

My son was in more than 10 day care centers before he could use the services of a local special-needs care program. That program was available only to children ages 10 to 18.

Parents of special-needs children know the terror of leaving a special child with untrained individuals. They face the difficulty of holding a job when every phone call makes you cringe because you have to pick up your child and never bring him back. Schools are ill-prepared for a barrage of children who are as individual as snowflakes and who require a custom education.

It's true that the people who receive the most services are those who scream the loudest. It's sad, but getting the things you need requires time, a phone and the tenacity to call someone over and over. Not everyone has those resources on a daily basis.

I am very interested in what happens through the task-force. For children with autism, we can provide early intervention or we can feed, care and house them throughout their adult life. There will be a lot of autistic adults in the next decade.

Best wishes. I'll be watching.

Susan Rand | St. Peters

Parents need a break somewhere

According to theInteractive Autism Network (IAN):
Hundreds of autism treatments are currently in use. In many cases, there is little or no scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. Parents of children with ASD, driven to help their children and knowing time is of the essence, are unable to wait for answers. They find themselves making all sorts of choices and trying all sorts of remedies, often in the absence of adequate information.
So many parents have gone through this: researching, agonizing, choosing, evaluating, dropping treatments, adding treatments... and trying to find a combination that keeps their child stable, healthy, present, and able to learn and grow. Most would agree that going through this process is a nightmare.
Parents need answers. Too many have participated, unwillingly, in the great autism treatment experiment.

Unfortunately, parents of children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) face many obstacles in raising their children. They search for treatments and hope for cures, or at very least, learn the best ways to adjust to the issues the disorder comes with. Raising children is hard enough as it is, raising special needs children is just that much harder. With so many obstacles to overcome, these parents and children should not have to fight to get a decent education. Let's face it...our schools are not exactly excelling these days. When it comes to educating special needs students, it is even more daunting. Parents of ASD children who try so hard to help their children should not have to work so hard at getting an education, something that should be a right for everyone. These parents know what their children are capable of and know what is best for their children. They should be the ones who decide where their children go to school, not the state. Recently announced in the Legislature was the Special Needs Scholarship Tax Credit Program. This program, if passed, will allow these children to get scholarships they can use at schools outside of their district or private schools. I hope, for the sake of these children and the parents, it passes. It is time we start allowing parents to make this important decision for their children!

A Widget is born...

You may have noticed a new addition to this blog…hint: it’s over there on the right side. Statesurge.com is casting in bronze their reputation as the Go-to site for state legislation, and recently developed a feature for bloggers who want to keep a feed of their favorite (or least-favorite) legislation.

Statesurge.com currently covers Missouri, Tennessee, Kansas, Illinois and Federal legislatures. The site offers the specifics of every bill filed and allows searching and tracking per bill, per topic or keyword, or per legislator. Statesurge offers clients a new tier of political efficacy with up-to-the-minute bill tracking, and now it’s even easier to keep up to speed with the Statesurge Board.

I’m really a big fan of this site and the new widget. I haven’t found anything that comes close to Statesurge’s system—when I’ve tried to find bills online before, I never know if it’s the latest version or what stage it’s at. This widget saves a ton of time, and makes blogging and research much easier.

Options for Special Needs students

Senate Bill 993 and House Bill 1886: these bills will create a scholarship tax credit for special needs children all across Missouri, many of whose families don’t have the financial means to place their child in a school that truly meets that child’s needs. And individual or group who donates to this scholarship can claim up to 80% of their donation as a tax credit. There are quite a few tax credits proposed—one offers a tax credit for installing idle reduction technology on a class 8 truck, another offers a tax credit for building a storm shelter. One covers sales tax on cars built in Missouri, and another is for, um, “odor abatement” activities near livestock! Regardless of each bill’s merit, tax credits are to encourage people to do something necessary for the wellbeing of the state when the burden of cost is on the individual. I think that educating our special needs children well takes the cake for good causes. Parents of special needs children can use their scholarship toward a public or private school and make a decision about which school in Missouri serves their child’s disability best. They can make that choice independently of every other concern, like where they can reasonably afford to live, or the different needs of another child, or the cost of specialists in private schools.

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.
-- John F. Kennedy

One parent's commitment to getting the best education

I am a parent of a special needs child. I have been struggling for years to give my autistic daughter the education she deserves. We live in rural southwest Missouri and have limited options here. The public school in my district is a perfect fit for my other two children. However, it does not offer the special services a special needs child requires. Even though we have been given an IEP(Individualized Education Plan), we were still not receiving the education she needs. My daughter has every chance of becoming a successful person of society, but just needs the tools to get her there. I quit my job a few years ago so I could spend more time with her and help her. However, a year ago, my husband and I decided to revisit that decision. If I went back to work, we may be able to afford the private school that could give her what she needed, but I would not be around her as much in case she needed me. As any parent of a special needs child, you know that you may be called to pick up your child at any moment during the day. We did some number crunching and decided we could send her to the private school and I could work part time if we really cut back in other areas. The entire family agreed it was the best thing to do. My two other children, 8 and 10, were willing to let us cut back their allowance if it meant their little sister would get what she needed. I cannot explain the difference it has made in all of our lives. Our daughter is now thriving at this new school, smiling and learning and connecting with other children and her teachers. Our other two children are happy knowing that they played a part in this. It is a wonderful situation for all of us.

Unfortunately, not every other family has these options. I read about the special needs legislation that would give children with special needs a chance. It would start a special needs scholarship program, that would grant scholarships to parents/students to decide on where to attend school...whether it be private or public. For the benefit of these children and their parents, I really hope it passes! It would break my heart to see other families struggle they way we have and not have any other options.

Special needs bill needs support

Tuesday, January 22nd, Senator Jason Crowell introduced a bill to the Missouri state senate that would create a scholarship program for children with special needs: Senate Bill 993.

This is great news for Missouri's special needs children, allowing their families to choose the school that is best for them. As has been shown, time and time again, when children are given access to the education they deserve, wonderful things happen. Just as Jason, the teenager born with autism featured in this blog's last post, was finally given the opportunity to play basketball and scored a whopping 20 points for his team, many other children with autism, when given a level playing court, can accomplish amazing goals of their own. We already know this. Unfortunately, some of our legislators do not.

Legislators not in favor of Senate Bill 993 are often unaware of what it takes to raise an autistic child. Many naively think that every child should be taught the same, as if children are a bland, homogeneous group, without personality, without diversity. Unless we can wake them up and show them the true nature of our children, with their wealth of spirited personalities, then this bill might not be passed.

Whether your state senator is for, or against, SB 993, letting your voice be heard is important. Below are two links to help you find your legislator’s contact information. It is best to be brief. Let them know you Support SB 993. Then give them a quick story of your child and circumstances. This will help give a face to this bill, so that it is not just a number. Let’s educate our legislators, so that they might, in turn, educate our children as they should be.

http://www.senate.mo.gov/08info/senalpha.htm

http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx