My two kids are autistic.and right now i am not satisfied with the school services they are getting in school.

Question

i have two kids.my daughter is 9 and she is dignosed with the rett syndrom.and my son he is 5 and he is also autistic.

my daughter is having problem wiht the walking.since last three years we are asking school to provide her door to door transportation.but they are saying they are not obligated by law to provide her door to door transportation.my husbund goes every day to drop her of at school.we are aslo not happy with the services they are providing in the school.my daughter she is regressing quickly.

my husband is a well educated man but because of the kids disabality and school people's un-cooporation,he start giving up now.he has a huge lose in his bussiness.right now we are in large credit card debt and loan amount is keep rising every month.

right now i am feeling really hopeless from every place.i applied for ssi for my kids but they said my husband owns a bussiness so my kid they do not quilify for that.

please show me the way.i will really appriciate that.God bless you.

Answer 1

He need to focus on the business and the family's financial stability so that you all have a home and food...YOU need to focus on dealing with the kids and school.  Maybe home schooling is an option.  Public schools are not obligated to do anymore for your children than for others.  Tax payers can only provide so much to the schools, and it has to be for all students.  You daughter may also be regressing due to the home situation...kids pick up on things like money problems, parental stress, etc

Answer 2

Consult with a lawyer. You may also want to post this question in the law section.

Answer 3

are there any schools around your area with specific autistic programs?  They are becoming popular in schools because autism is becoming more common in the current school age generation.

I believe under IDEA you can have your children attent school there.

Answer 4

If morality is not an issue, fake an injury in your kids' school and use the lawsuit as blackmail. Take the children to school, walk in and  fake the fall. If it snows where you live, come in on a snowy day.  If you need will help, I am not the person that you would want to listen to. I am not responsible for what you do.

Answer 5

First, please realize that you are your children's best advocate.  That means you need to get informed about your rights and about what is best for your children.  Put aside everything else (as much as you can) for about a month and spend time getting informed about autism and about your children's rights in school.  Here are two good links:

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageS...

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

The first will start you off on finding out the facts about autism and what therapies and choices are out there.  (You can also do a Google or Yahoo search on autism and find a lot of information).

The second link is a link for parents who need to advocate for their children.  You can even purchase books which will give you the law and how to use it for your kids.

Now, about what else you can do. Both of your children should be on IEP's (Individual Education Plans) and have teachers who are the case carriers.  Additionally, when an IEP is written/accepted, there is a Team that must approve it.  That team consists of (by law) the special education teacher, the regular education teacher, the principal, and the parent.  There can also be other team members including speech therapists (and other therapists) and the Special Education Director.  As a member of the team (you!), you can contact the case carrier (usually the special education teacher) and request a meeting.  THEY MUST HOLD THE MEETING IF YOU REQUEST IT.  If they refuse, send a request in writing to the principal with a copy going to the Special Education Director at the District Office.  If they continue to ignore you, send a second request, this time return-receipt-requested.  (Hopefully they will then hold the IEP meeting.)

At the meeting, you can request door-to-door transportation.  To justify your request, get a note from your daughter's doctor that documents her difficulties with walking.  (BTW, you can also ask that she get physical therapy through the school since walking affects her education.)

You can also now, because of the new law, IDEIA 2004, request copies of your daughter's current academic assessments.  If they don't have any, you can request that your daughter be tested so that her current functioning can be compared to her previous functioning.  If she is indeed regressing, that then needs to be addressed.

On a further note, it sounds as if your life is crashing in.  Lots going on.  Do you have someone who can watch the kids, even for a couple of hours?  If so, get away with your husband (without the kids) and seriously talk about how things are going.  What do you need to change to get rid of the debt?  Credit counseling?  Cut up the credit cards?  What?  What do you need to do to help with his business?  

As far as SSI, everyone gets denied the first time.  Apply again and ask for a reevaluation or arbitration.  Your kids qualifying shouldn't be contingent upon your household income.  Your children are separately disabled.

Good luck and hang in there.

Answer 6

you don't qualify for any ssi or ssa benefits.......I would, however, talk with the American's With Disabilities local chapter......they will know the laws and what can and cannot be done..specifically. Further, it is my basic understanding that if you daughter needs certain services in order to get to/function at school, the school must provide these services...at public school anyway.....that is what your tax dollars are for. They also must provide special teachers/classes, whatever it takes to provide your children with an education. I really would research the ADA and call them asap!!!

Answer 7

Hi.

Im 1 14 year old girl from Canada. I dont have all your answers, but i just wanted to let you know things will be alright, and they could always be worse..imagine if u were a single mom who dropped out of highschhol and instaed of 2 autistic children u had 3. Not that im in that situation or anything, im just saying.

My best friends mom works with autistic children, i dont think you realize how hard and fustrating it could be. The people to their best. Also about the transportation....my school doesnt give me, or any one else door to door transportation.  I dont think it would be fair to all the other students, that that student gets their own specail ride, while everyone else has to figure out their own way to school.

i just thought i would share my opinons about this sorry i know im not much help.