Charles P Fox Law Offices

Special Education Law and Guardianship

Law Offices of Charles P. Fox
355 W. Dundee, Suite 209
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Phone: 847-205-9897

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Experienced Special Education Attorneys

San Francisco Newspaper Lacks Coherent View of Special Education

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The school systems in the San Francisco Bay Area lack a coherent approach to teaching children with autism according to Nanette Asimov, the education reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, she defines the problem in terms of the following: 

"For years, the high cost of
special education has forced districts to skim off money from their
regular education budgets. But today, regular education is a virtual
ATM card for special education.
                                                                                ***

One reason for the indecision is
that autism shows up differently in different people: Some can speak;
some can’t. Some are bright; some aren’t. Some behave unpredictably;
others behave with robotic consistency."

She  seems to define a "coherent approach" as being on unified method that works for all students and lacking that uniformity the system is failing and will fail students. Among her other premises is that the system is suddenly  being  overwhelmed with students and that is the primary cause of issues in teaching children with autism. Her analysis misses the point.

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Support for Students with Autism at College

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Some colleges and universities around the country are actually taking proactive steps to address the needs of students with autism. For many students academics is not the top issue. Socialization, organization and advocacy top the list for many students. I have seen a number of students that I have represented at the K-12 level get into 4 year college but then fail because they spent excessive amounts of time playing video games or otherwise not able to handle the social and organizational pressures of college or university.

A recent newspaper report stated:

"The Organization for Autism Research, a nationwide group, is creating a
line of videos designed to educate college staff. The first is aimed at
professors; a second, in the works, will be geared to resident
assistants.

AHEADD, the Pittsburgh-based organization, recently opened
offices in Dallas, Washington and Albany, N.Y. It charges between
$4,200 and $5,700 per semester for help with all aspects of college
life."

This AHEADD program sounds promising and could be the difference between matriculation and flunking out. George Washington University also has a clearinghouse of information that is accessible online. It is nice to see that at least to some degree colleges and universities are recognizing that there are large number of  students on the spectrum  and other disabilities who are capable of college but need supports to make it a reality.

Autism One Radio Interview About the Special Education Law Clinic

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Robert and Sandy Waters of Autism One  Radio interviewed  Nelly Aguilar and I regarding the new clinic. Nelly is the  the Executive Director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic and has been the driving force behind the the clinic. The interview starts with a folk musical introduction and then continues with a nice discussion of the new clinic.

Judge Rotenberg School Still Using Shock Treatment

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One of the hardest decisions that parents make is to seek residential placement, sometimes at a great distance from home. I regularly have clients who require residential schooling; often it is a matter of life and death. Knowing which school is the most appropriate is not easy to determine. Well,  the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts is one school that parents can pass over in their consideration of residential placements. This school regularly uses electric shock treatment for behavioral modification. Apparently, recently in response to a prank caller they applied numerous shocks to 2 students. I have many students on my case load with severe behaviors I do not believe nor am I aware of credible literature which supports the effectiveness of shocks to modify behavior

Psychic Vision Leads to Child Protective Services Call on Parent

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    I have seen school districts using calls to child protective services agencies as a means of chilling parental advocacy. Of course, these calls are couched under the heading of "doing our jobs", "better safe than sorry", and "we are mandatory reporters." All of these justifications would have more credibility if the calls were more even-handed and applied to school personnel who may have committed acts of abuse in the classroom. These claims are met with wide-eyed innocence with the administration dismissing such accusations with a blanket immunity that "school people do not commit acts of abuse." My glib answer is that school personnel do not take virtue pills in the morning and they are just as able to be an abuser as any parent.  At a minimum, any call to child protective services also needs to be grounded upon a reasonable basis.

    Well, one district in Canada left reason and reasonableness outside of the front door of the school. A classroom aide visited a psychic who reported that a child in her class was being abused. On this basis, the school called child protective services on a parent, who had expressed safety concerns over the handling of elopement in school. After a heart-wrenching investigation, the allegations were unfounded.  Schools everywhere need to review their internal policies as to when and on what evidence they make that hotline call to child protective services. I would hope that psychic reports without more evidence would generally not fall within any school’s policies.

Illinois Autism Legislative Action Needed on May 29, 2008

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Autism Votes… It’s time for lawmakers to listen.

 

 

Dear Illinois Autism Advocate,

 

Thank
you for all your hard work thus far to make SB 1900 a reality! WE ARE
ALMOST THERE! As you know SB 1900, when passed, will end insurance
discrimination against children with autism in the state of Illinois
and provide them with the access they need to evidence based, medically
necessary therapies and treatments. With your help, the bill made it
out of the Rules Committee and is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. at the Stratton Building in Springfield in Room D-1 before the Human Services Committee.  If all goes well there, the bill will be scheduled for a final vote on the House Floor on May 31st.

 

THE FINAL PUSH FOR EVERY BILL IS CRITICAL!  WE NEED YOUR HELP!

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

 

1.   PACK THE ROOM! We
need to demonstrate with our physical presence how important this bill
is to our community and are asking you to plan to be there in
attendance!

 

2.  CALL THE COMMITTEE!  Do you see your member on the list below of the House Human Services Committee members?  If so, please call them TODAY and ask for their support for SB 1900.

 

3.  CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!   Don’t see your state representative listed below?  CLICK HERE to make sure your representative is a cosponsor of SB 1900!  If not, please ask him/her to sign on as a cosponsor TODAY.  Let your representative know how important this bill is to you, your family, and others in your community!

 

4.  FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
Teachers, Therapists, family members, neighbors, co-workers.  Explain
how important this bill is for your family and ask them to take a quick
few minutes to ACT!

 

Illinois House Human Services Committee Members:

 

  • *Naomi D. Jakobsson (Chair) – (217) 558-1009   
  • Constance A. Howard  (Vice Chair) – (217) 782-6476   
  • *Patricia R. Bellock (Republican Spokesperson)  – (217) 782-2289   
  • Annazette Collins – (217) 782-8077   
  • Mary E. Flowers – (217) 782-4207   
  • Al Riley – (217) 558-1007   
  • *Sandy Cole – (217) 782-7320   
  • *Elizabeth Coulson – (217) 782-4194   
  • *Timothy L. Schmitz – (217) 782-5457

 

* NOTE:
Members with the * next to their name are already cosponsors of SB
1900.  Please make sure to thank them for cosponsoring.  Remember to be
polite and say thank you when contacting any legislator—we need their
support!

 

For more information on SB 1900, visit www.autismvotes.org/illinois.
To find out who your representative is, please visit our resources page
and don’t forget, if you haven’t already to sign up for updates through
Autism Votes!

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FAMILIES!

 

Lee Jorwic
Chapter Advocacy
Chair, Illinois
Autism Speaks

Thomas gets an A for Autism by Amanda Windom

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A recent study by the UK’s National Autistic Society explores the relationship between children with autism and Thomas the Tank Engine. The research found that nearly 90% of the over 700 children participating liked Thomas very much and nearly 50% of parents reported that their child had learned about colors and numbers from Thomas. The popular train also influenced over 30% of the participating children in positive ways in regards to language. Parents reported that children who did not communicate with typical language were able to communicate with ‘Thomas’ language. Many parents also reported that children were able to learn about human emotion from the expressions on the trains. Another benefit to children with autism and their siblings is that they can begin to interact by watching a Thomas video or playing with the toy trains together. The overall effect of Thomas the Tank Engine was reported as positive and helpful, not only to the autistic children but to their parents as well. Click on the link above to read the full results from the study.

Early Diagnostic Test for Autism

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Researchers at the University of California Davis have reported on a new study for very early prediction for children to later be diagnosed with autism. The researchers studied young children 12-18 months old. They called out the child’s name to see if the child  responded. In 70% of the cases where the child did not respond, later testing revealed that the child had autism.  This study is only one such study and  there could other factors to explain these findings. Given the simplicity of the test, however, parents and their doctors could use this diagnostic to gather data which could lead to very early intervention to treat children with autism in the hopes of better long-terms outcomes.

Parents Fight for Continued Use of Electro-shock

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A Chicago couple with an adult son with autism has been fighting for years to continue using electro-shock, as a means of behavioral modification.   The parents, Fran and Robert Bernstein, claimed that a jolt from a cattle prod applied to their son has a calming effect.  The Hot Shot Power Mite is capable of delivering 4500 volts of electricity. Electric shocks of much lesser intensity can have severe physical and emotional effects and can be fatal. I know that this couple believes they know what they are doing and it is for their son’s best interests, but the reality is that severe injury or death could result, albeit accidentally.

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