Editorial #246: Getting Autistics Off the Dole

Think about this carefully. Schools are diagnosing autism where autism doesn’t exist so they can get funding to care for special needs students which may not really be special needs.  Some of these kids may be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and are growing up to claim that because they have these disorders, they are disabled and cannot work.

So our tax dollars are going to pay for these people to be on disability.

Autism Politico’s opinion is that everyone who is diagnosed with any kind of disability for which they may become eligible for disability payments needs to have a thorough exam by accredited medical professionals to determine whether they even have that disability. 

If it turns out that the people claiming certain disabilities do not have them, then they should be denied disability payments, and the school districts which applied for funds on their behalf should be required to return them to the federal government. Also, given that people with these falsely diagnosed disabilities benefitted from special accommodations made by the school, they should be made to pay some compensation, perhaps even going as far as to retake school courses without assistance to see if they can achieve the same results without accommodations, like every other student who does not get them.

Also, people falsely diagnosed should have the right to sue their schools for compensation after being exploited for so long, and they should have the right to sue their parents for being complicit in such activities.

It is time to stop favoring people who are falsely diagnosed. It will save taxpayers money, get people off the government dole, and cause falsely diagnosed people to work harder for a living.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #243: Are schools your friend?

Autism Politico would like its readers to carefully the implications of schools diagnosing children with any disorder.

If a child has a disorder, a child may be entitled to additional funding to meet the educational needs of this special needs child. Autism Politico agrees that all children are entitled to an education and that all special needs students are entitled to whatever funding they may be entitled to under the law.

But Autism Politico also questions whether or not schools are qualified to make a diagnosis of any kind. They are not medical professionals. As far as autism goes, there are, under the DSM IV, different kinds of autism, and a medical diagnosis can take years, rather than hours or days to reach and accurate diagnose.

If a school can identify a child with special needs, then they must develop an IEP for that child within a specific time period, and they may apply for certain kinds of funding, depending on where these schools are situated. The amount of funding they are entitled to is also dependent on what the laws are in their locality.

In a time when cuts in funding are made to education, it seems that schools have additional motivation to secure funding wherever they can, and so the question arises as to whether or not children who are quickly diagnosed are properly diagnosed, or whether or not a diagnosis even exists.

While we as taxpayers can rest easy when we know our tax dollars are used for good purposes, when we see the number of autism diagnosis climb dramatically over a period of years, and when we see most of these diagnoses being made by schools rather than qualified medical professionals, can we continue to rest easily?

Could it be that schools are diagnosing special needs children so that they can make up for cuts in funding to regular education elsewhere?

A diagnosis follows someone the rest of their life the same way a conviction for a crime follows them for the rest of their lives.

Isn’t a false diagnosis under these circumstances the equivalent of exploitation of children for monetary gain? In which case, are schools our friends?

Keep in mind that when a child is diagnosed falsely, the parent of that child may believe the diagnosis and subject that child to all manner of legitimate and quack cures, causing themselves considerable expense, and causing their own child considerable trauma. All so that schools can make money.

Is this what we want from out schools?

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #241: How to Get Along In School Without Getting Beat Up

Autism Politico believes it may have learned how to get along in school without getting beat up.

You see, in most school situations there is an autistic thing to do, and there is a social thing to do. If you are autistic, you need to decide what is worth getting beat up over and what isn’t, and how much pain you stand to endure if you decide to do the autistic thing instead of the social thing.

QUESTION: Some kid needs to borrow a paper, pen or pencil. What do you do?

THE AUTISTIC THING TO DO:  Don’t give them anything! If they aren’t prepared, they cannot do their work, and if they cannot do their work, you stand to get a higher grade than they do. By not giving them anything, you are putting them in the line of fire from the teacher, who will surely reprimand them for not being prepared. By not giving them anything, you are preparing them for the real world, where unprepared people are fired from their jobs.  Whole companies have fallen because people like these infest workplaces like termites infest logs.

THE SOCIAL THING TO DO: Give them what they need. By not giving them anything, the teacher will reprimand you for not being friendly to your fellow student. By not giving them anything, you will be going against the code of the workplace, which is that you carry the weak along with the strong to make yourself look good in front of your boss. Even though whole companies have fallen thanks to people like these, people like these, who have learned to schmooze off of others rather than work for a living, have a habit of climbing up the ladder and hiring people like you. They have learned to climb because they have learned to wheedle people into doing their work for them. You, on the other hand, who actually do the work, get fired by wheedlers because you are a threat to them.

QUESTION: You are taking a quiz, A kid in school wants to copy your answers. What do you do?

THE AUTISTIC THING TO DO: Don’t give them the answers! By not giving them the answers, they may get a lower grade than you, and you have EARNED the grade, so you DESERVE a higher grade. By not giving them the answers, it forces them to ask other kids and risk being caught by the teacher. By not giving them he answers, it forces them to learn the answers for themselves.

THE SOCIAL THING TO DO: Give them the answers. Remember, these people are going to excel up the ladder in the workplace and become your future employers, so you need to give them every boost you can. Further, by now you’ve noticed that teachers harp on you for every little thing -mostly because they don’t like you- but overlook the fact that your question-asker beats the crap out of you nearly every single day on the playground. Do you really think the teacher -who doesn’t want to get involved with your bully’s parents any more than they have to- is going to want to catch your bully when they try to copy your answers? This is the age of social promotion and feel good education, where it doesn’t matter what kind of grades you get as long as you have good self-esteem. No one is going to “catch” your bully trying to cheat, and you stand to get into detention if you nark on your bully.

QUESTION: You see some bully beating up some kid on the playground. What do you do?

THE AUTISTIC THING TO DO: Tell the teacher! You’ve been beat up so you know how bad it feels. Do you really want some other kid to feel as badly as you did when you got beat up?

THE SOCIAL THING TO DO: Look at what the rest of the non-autistic kids are doing. They are yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!” This is because they know that this is the social thing to do. By joining in, they are held in good esteem by the bully (who will one day be their future employer), and we already know that the teachers do not want to have to talk to the bully’s parents again. So when you go to the teacher, the teacher will tell you not to tattle-tale, and then treat you poorly thereafter because since you told, they MUST get involved.

Autism Politico believes that the autistic way is the way to go, but then, we also notice that most autism advocacy organizations go with the social thing to do, unless they themselves are the victim, and then they cry like babies.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #240: Good News! Two Autism Schools in Two Years Have Problems!

Autism Politico is pleased to hear that a private autism school has lost accreditation and another one has closed within the past two years.

The story is a pretty extensive one, but we will focus on three small paragraphs of a very long article:

John Locke Academy, a mainstream high school, and the special needs School of Autistic Healing, opened as companion schools two years ago. They are largely run by the family of Bob Jones, the real estate developer blamed by many teachers and parents for the August 2008 closure of Utah Southvalley Community School (USC), a Murray private school formerly known as Woodland Hills.

Jones had acquired the financially strapped Woodland Hills, for children with Asperger’s syndrome and other cognitive and behavioral impairments, a year earlier and hoped to revive it, partly through introducing a comprehensive sports program. But the school suffered rapid teacher turnover —­ at least 50 teachers quit or were fired in one year — and some parents complained about the new focus on athletics.

The “School of Autistic Healing” is a silly name for a school seeing as how no government agency will state that there is a cure for autism. “Healing” implies that there is a way to a cure.

With regard to athletics, as we know, some autistics may suffer problems with coordination. Having them play sports if they don’t want to might cause them to feel even more inept that they already do. That a school would not understand this goes to show how little they know about autism.

At the time, Jones argued he had kept the school from closing and lost his own money in the process. In March 2009, he filed for bankruptcy, leaving behind $6.5 million in debts both from his real estate ventures and USC. The Utah Office of Debt Collection reports there are still 30 outstanding cases for unpaid wages to school employees.

That he invested his own money is nice, but considering the debts the ultimate fate of this man’s adventures, it’s best that the school closed before the attendees came to suffer from lack of proper funding. This is not to imply that the students would have suffered, but it appears from this story that the person behind the two schools doesn’t have much knowledge about autism or how to deal with autistics.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #117: Paying the Price for Bullying

What a joy it is to see that one school district is now charging a fine when bullies bully.

The Milton City Council recently approved a city ordinance that city officials hope will prevent bullying by toughening the community’s stance on harassment and charging offenders with fines. Fines for a first time offense could cost up to $100. Second time offenders could pay up to $500.

The upside of this is that parents will try much harder to stop their kids from bullying.

The downside is that whomever gets caught will more likely than not be seen as the bully, even if they are acting in self-defense.

A further downside is that sometimes autistics lash out when they are overloaded, or when their personal spaces are invaded, or when they are touched unexpectedly, or what have you. If they wind up getting slapped with a fine for that, the autistics in that district are going to have a fight on their hands trying to explain themselves and it is hard to know what would be the outcome of such an event.

Each situation has to be weighed in turn. In places around the world, there have been instances where, in response to situations where autistic children have gone ballistic in hit teachers, fellow students, etc., parents or caregivers have whined that the school districts have not been very accommodating to their children with autism. And yet, even when the districts gave the children everything the parents asked for, their kids STILL wound up hitting people and wrecking the classroom.

So this thing about the fine has got to be looked at more closely.

But here is the main point: If parents made more of an effort to stop their children from bullying in the first place, such radical measures like the one we see in Beloit would not be needed in the first place.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #75: Info for parents about teachers

Autism Politico would like to clue parents in on something important regarding teachers who say they have training in the area of autism spectrum disorders.

Special education teachers will have a background in teaching, possibly a background in a particular subject, and some minor background in their area of interest, which may or may not be autism.

Other teachers may have taken a class or seminar or two that cover autism spectrum disorders in a general way.

Only a few teachers will have studied autism in depth.

But no matter what a teacher’s background is, unless the teacher has actually raised a child with autism, or better yet, unless a teacher is on the autism spectrum, it is doubtful that any teacher will truly be able to understand how autism presents itself and how autism functions.

Good parents of an autistic child will have looked into autism very deeply and will have a good idea of their child’s needs. Parents should trust their instincts and push for what they think their child will need in the classroom.

At the same time Autism Political would be wrong if it failed to point out that some parents are so clueless that teachers without ANY experience in autism spectrum disorders may know a heck of a lot more than parents who have been raising a child with autism since birth.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #58: Mumps and Exclusion

Autism Politico was pleased to read the following:

As many as 170 Plattsburgh State students will now be excluded from campus during a mumps outbreak because they are not fully vaccinated against the viral disease.

Further:

New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines issued an order Friday barring students who are not vaccinated against mumps and have not contracted mumps from campus for the duration of the outbreak.

Autism Politico believes that if people want to expose themselves to the possibility of contracting a dangerous disease, that is their choice, but that choice should not allow them to expose others to the disease.

Autism Politico hopes that all states and all countries will enact rules like this one for all diseases for which vaccinations are available and generally required EXCEPT in instances where people are allergic to vaccines and cannot take them. That people may find themselves getting behind in their schooling is NOT regrettable given that people are CHOOSING not to fulfill the requirements that they be vaccinated.

As it has been repeatedly shown, vaccines do not cause autism, and side effects and deaths resulting from vaccination in cases where people are not allergic to vaccines are few. 

Autism Politico understands that some religions do not believe in vaccinations, and Autism Politico respects religious freedoms. Yet for these people’s protection, it is best that they not be exposed to dangerous diseases, nor should they be allowed to expose others to such diseases.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #39: Observation #2

Autism Politico is letting its readers know that like the Quotes, these Observations will be a regular, if unpredictably posted feature.

Autism Politico has observed that in many school systems, a teacher who has taken a few classes or seminars in autism spectrum disorders is considered qualified to teach those with ASDs.  Autism Politico has also observed that people seem bent on getting their kids into “top notch” universities because the professors are thought to be better there. So why are parents of autistics willing to settle for poorly trained teachers for their autistic kids, and why do school districts insist that these teachers have sufficient training?

Autism Politico is interested in hearing from parents and teachers in particular.

Just an observation.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

Editorial #29: IEPs

Autism Politico thinks that if you are a special needs student in elementary, middle, or secondary school in the US, and if the course of your education is determined by an IEP, it may be interesting for you to know whom is acting on your behalf to get you what you need to maximize your educational opportunities.

With the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142), and prior and subsequent legislation, you may be entitled to specific rights.

These rights will be listed out in your school district policies which are freely available to the public. Though your parent or legal guardian is ultimately responsible for understanding district policy, most districts provide parents and guardians with their policies regarding special needs students upon the initiation of the assessment, evaluation, and IEP process. District policy must conform with city, county, state and federal laws. 

Most special provisions begin with a multidisciplinary team. “This group of professionals with appropriate training and experience evaluates students referred for consideration for special education services. Although the composition of this team varies according to the needs of each particular student, it should include a teacher or other specialist with knowledge in the area of the suspected disability. The multidisciplinary team considers referral information, assesses the student, and then determines whether the student is eligible for special education services. The team can recommend an educational placement, but final placement decisions are made by the IEP committee.” (1) 

It is important to for you or whomever is acting on your behalf to understand issues of privacy and the laws associated therewith in your state. In some states, parents and guardians must sign a consent form which allows the school to acquire information form an external source and/or to share information with other sources. The information which can be shared is specified in the contents of the form. In most states, a school district cannot share information without permission, nor can it acquire information without permission. The exceptions to this are many, but mainly they include

1)      When the child is deemed to be in danger, a school may share information with legal authorities.

2)      When a subpoena has been issued to acquire information from the school for legal purposes the school is obliged to share the information.

In some states, when you reach a certain age, and if you are deemed of sound mind, YOU may ultimately retain control of which information is shared and under what circumstances. 

Be advised, however, that control of your own information requires careful forethought. A failure –either by you or your parent or legal guardian- to indicate that information you are sharing is confidential may result in third and fourth party sharing of that information. One thing people forget is that discussing matters with a friend, family member,  a colleague, or the media, does not always imply a contract of confidentiality, and if confidentiality is not specifically stated, the information you have given out is open to interpretation and re-presentation, often in a public place. If you yourself post your private information in a place freely accessible to the general public’s view, you may also void confidentiality. It is in your interest to protect your personal information wherever possible.   

Interestingly, if you have control over your own personal information, and your parent shares your personal information without your consent, you may have legal recourse against your own parent, especially if it can be proved that the dissemination of that information caused harm.

Contact a legal representative to find out what your rights are in your state, as what is listed on this blog may NOT be legally applicable.

Next is the IEP committee. “This group develops, reviews, and revises the Individualized Education Program. IEPs are written for all handicapped students who receive special education services and must be reviewed, and revised if necessary, at least on an annual basis. The IEP committee may include the following members:

1)      A representative of the school, other than the student’s teacher, who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education

2)      The student’s teacher(s) (regular and/or special)

3)      One or both of the student’s parents.

4)      The student, when appropriate

5)      Other individuals requested by the school or parents

6)      If the student has been evaluated, an individual who is able to interpret the results of that evaluation” (2)

As you can see, your parent or legal guardian is involved in this process from the very beginning. It is important to note that any IEP that is developed is based upon an assessment instigated by the multidisciplinary team after the assessment results have been agreed upon by the multidisciplinary team, the IEP team, and your parents or legal guardians. The course of your entire school career is determined by IEP developed upon the results of this assessment, and the school cannot initiate the IEP without the approval of your parent or legal guardian.

It is important to note that assessments and evaluations will vary by districts since policies vary by district. Therefore, switching districts will result in different assessment and evaluation results. Though a district may accept previous assessments and evaluations from other districts, they are not obliged to. In fact, it is better to reassess, as the degree of presentation of some diagnoses change over time. In other words, educational objectives created a year ago on an earlier assessment and evaluation may be obsolete or unnecessary now given the result of the new assessment and evaluation.

A Due Process Hearing is something you need to be aware of. “If the school or parents of a handicapped student are not satisfied that the student is receiving an appropriate educational program, an impartial due process hearing can be requested. Hearings attempt to resolve disagreements regarding issues such as identification, evaluation, and educational programs and placements. When a hearing is requested, the student remains in the current placement until the disagreement is resolved.” (3)

As you may guess, the best time to request a due process hearing about your identification (i.e. identification as a special needs student) and evaluation is at the beginning of your educational career, not the end. In this way, a smooth flow through the school system is assured, and you can be assured that any IEP developed for you will be tailored specifically to your diagnosis. Naturally, a due process hearing may be requested at any time, and is sometimes requested many times, especially in pertinence to educational programs and placements.

You may be able to benefit from Related Services. “These are services offered to handicapped students to supplement special education programs. They include transportation and other developmental, corrective, and supportive services such as speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, diagnostic medical services, and counseling.” (4)

It is important to note that your parent or legal guardian should be the one to request these services for you if the school  does not. Schools will omit certain services based upon their interpretation of your identification and evaluation. Your parent can get these services by making a case on your behalf that your education would benefit from having these services. It may also be that your city, country, or state offers these services if your school district does not. It is important to note that your educational success may be dependent as much on services you receive outside of school as much as it relies on services you receive inside of school.

You are entitled to a Nondiscriminatory Assessment. “Assessment is nondiscriminatory when it does not penalize students for their native language, race, culture, or handicapping condition.” (5)

If your parent or legal guardian accepts your assessment, it represents a tacit acknowledgement that your assessment did not discriminate against you. If you feel that you were discriminated against, though you may protest at any time, the time to object to your assessment is upon receiving the results, not further down the line after your IEP has been developed and implemented.

Of importance is also the Parent Surrogate. “If a parent of a handicapped student is not available to work with the school, a surrogate parent can be appointed. The surrogate parent approves the student’s placement, works on the IEP committee, and serves as an advocate for the student. “ (6)

In short, your educational needs should be well taken care of if your parent or legal guardian has done their duty and ensured that the duties of all the above teams have been performed adequately. The entire process –especially the drafting and implementation of the IEP – is open to augmentation at any time, ergo there should be no excuse for your needs to go unmet.

Autism Politico suggests that if you are able please take an interest in the above process to make sure you get the most out of your education.

Replies to this editorial are welcome.

(1) “Teaching Special Students in the Mainstream” 1987.  Rena B., Doorlag, Donald H. Merill Publishing Company,Columbus

(2) Ibid.

(3) Ibid.

(4) Ibid.

(5) Ibid.

(6) Ibid.

Editorial #28: Least Restrictive Environment

Autism Politico believes that the most desirable environment in which a handicapped child can learn is called the “Least Restrictive Environment” or LRE. Another way of defining the LRE is an environment which is closest to the scholastic mainstream.

There are a spectrum of possible school environments. These vary by district and are based upon the ability of the district to meet the student’s needs. If the district cannot meet your child’s needs, they may have a limited obligation to pay for them to be me outside of the district. Check the laws in your state to see if this is true and what your recourses are.

Generally speaking, placements from most restrictive to least restrictive would look this way:

Full time placement in a residential facility.

Full day placement in a special school.

Full-day placement in a special class.

Part-day placement in a special class and part-day placement in a regular class.

Part-day regular class placement and part-day resource room services for the student.

Full-day regular class placement with consultation services for the teacher. 

Full-regular class placement.

It is in both the school’s interest and the child’s to place the child in the least restrictive environment. More restrictive environments may cause school districts to incur additional expenses, and the child may not be happy in those environments. Conversely, if the school is trying to avoid more expensive options to save money, your child may be denied accommodations which he or she needs to succeed academically.

It may be advisable to consult an advocate to assist you with the proper placement of your child.

It is important to recognize that a placement may not be permanent. External factors such as the child’s health or the familial information may affect a child’s ability to perform in school, and so IEPs may be modified to reflect this. Thus a child who has part-day placement in a special class and part-day placement in a regular class one semester might find himself  with full-day placement in a special class next semester and then returning to part-day placement in a special class and part-day placement in a regular class the semester after that.

However, a steady degeneration from least restrictive to most restrictive environment may be cause for concern. Initial placements may be the wrong one, but if the district is experienced, the advised placement is usually close to what the child needs. A degeneration over time from least restrictive to most restrictive might be an indicator of a more serious problem stemming from anything between a deterioration of physical or mental health or familial situation to simple abuse within the classroom setting.

Autism Politico believes that it is important for parent to stay on top of a child’s educational performance and setting from beginning to end, and this holds true especially for special needs students. 

Replies to this editorial are welcome.