Friday, August 24, 2007

7Year old child denied Critical therapy as school covers up Mistakes!!

have you ever felt helpless? or have you ever been in the situation where big fish eats little fish?...I'm going to talk you about a little fish who is only seven years old. At the age of four she was diagnosed with a speach dissability named disfluencia. This dissability usually triggers boys, but in this case it triggered my little girl. Disfluencia is a speach disorder that is mostly commonly known as stuttering, but in some occassions she is so overwhelmed with trying to say the words that she will stop breathing and starts turning purple, or she will turn over to the last resort of not talking and start making a sign language invented by her. Her first elementary school was very good in proving the services to her and educating my husband and I about the different techniques we could work with her. Unfortunately due to my husbands military career we had to move and change schools. Last year our daughter starting attending a charter school, named CROWN CHARTER ELEMENTARY in the state of Arizona. During her first grade year she recieved her theraphy service, but somehow they forgot about her. So I send memos to the teacher asking her if I could volunteer in her classroom to see how she was accommidated, but there was no answer. Then I went to the office ready to volunteer, but they told me I can only do it by appointment, and that I might not be able to volunteer in her classroom. So I asked " What about observations?" and they repplied "only by appointment and I have to observe through a video room"....I'm a preschool teacher, when my parents want to observe the children the window is open for them to litsen and see how the children behave without me knowing that they are there looking at me. When they want to volunteer they can just say 'Here I am, to help in anything' (after they get a fingerprint clearence card)...But to make an appointment to observe my child? Is that to inform the teacher to be in there best behavior?. After sending Memos to the teacher regarding my childs IEP meeting and her theraphy...I called inn and requested a meeting with the teacher and the principal, but nobody called me back. So yesterday I went to the office and wrote a written request to have a meeting. Finally today I got a phone call, but not to tell me about the meeting, but to inform me that there is no IEP paperwork on file for my child. When I asked them where it was, they repplied " you never brought one"...When I asked for my childs theraphy logs for last year the mention that she never had theraphy because she never had an IEP (Even tough I recieved a letter saying that she had theraphy every month) after talking with 4 people declining that she had an IEP in file, someone finally said " We do have an IEP but is in a difference office with the theraphiest" so when I asked for the theraphy log they said they will bring them with them on Thursday by 8:00am. I agreed but I still wanted to see the theraphy logs today so I can confirm that indeed she had recieved this theraphy the past year. The therapist said that she would fax them to me, but instead the principal came out and told me to get out of her building that she will give me the theraphy log on thursday in the meeting and that she wasn't going to help me anymore. I contacted the police, but as the administration staff found out about it they left immediately. When the sheriff arrived they excused themselves by saying the fax machine was locked in the second floor and that they can not get a hold of the theraphy logs due to not having keys, so at that moment I had to leave the building. This blog and situation is not about me, is about this seven year old little girl. Who sometimes stops breathing because she can't talk. Is about providing the best services that a district can offer her. Is about her achieving the same goal as her classmates. All school want to reach standards and be academically the best, but how this school reach this goal when the theraphy that is being provided by the state for the students it is not being granted. Up to what point to parents have right to advocate for their children without having a huge door slam in their face, and not even beeing able to have the help of the authorities.?

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007