Text compiled from messages on ADD Forum. It has been reformatted to make following the ideas easier. David Lecin * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Background Information on Special Education In order for my comments to make any sense, I need to give a little "History of Special Education." If everyone will indulge me for a few paragraphs. We have special services for children in the schools because of courageous parents. The parents of children with mental retardation were told to keep their kids home - there was no place for those children in the schools. The parents did not accept this (thankfully!). The parents of minority kids did not accept the second-class treatment their kids were given, and they also fought long court battles against Boards of Ed. The most famous court case may be Brown vs the BoE. The US Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" was unconstitutional. These civil rights cases coupled with the rulings obtained by the parents of excluded kids finally resulted in a federal law "guaranteeing" the right to an education for all children. It took 40 years of court cases before PL 94-142 was enacted in the early 1970s. 94-142 has been amended a few times and it has a new name, but that is the document that we all refer to when we say, "The Law says....." The reason this history is important is because some of the wording in 94-142 is a little strange. And the reason it's strange is because of how the law was actually written. A former senator from Connecticut had a handicapped child. He enlisted CEC (Council for Exceptional Children - a group of Educators not lawyers) in drafting 94-142. Of course, when the lawyers eventually got their hands on it, 94-142 became a legaleeze document. The bad parts were left in it because the bill passed and became law. For many years CEC and 94-142 proponents blocked any and all amendments out of fear that opening up the law to debate would cripple the law. Some of the bad parts are still in it today. One of those "bad" parts is the classification system. PL 94-142 uses the "Medical Model." That simply means that first we find out what's wrong with the student, then we diagnose (i.e., classify) the student, and then we arrange for a treatment (i.e., special education programs and/or services). Students are only eligible for special services if there is something wrong with the student: some one must say that the kid is "broken" in some way. The federal law lists 11 valid classifications. (Some states have added others. For example, I believe CA has ADD. NY has a specific brain trauma classification for kids who were in accidents, were shot, etc.) Special Education Classifications Here are the 11 basic classifications: Autistic Emotionally Disturbed Learning Disabled Mentally Retarded Deaf Hard of Hearing Speech Impaired Visually Impaired Orthopedically Impaired Other Health Impaired Multiply Handicapped ADD/ADHD didn't make the list. The argument used in the debates over the law was that ADD/ADHD is a neurological dysfunction treatable with drugs. If the student takes the drug, the symptoms disappear so the kid doesn't need special ed. If the kid won't take the drug, the kid will have the same problems in a special ed class as he/she would in a general ed class, so what good does placing the kid in a special setting do? (None.) I didn't say I agree with the argument! I'm just relaying what happened! In order for ADD/ADHD kids to receive special ed programming or services, the kid must qualify under one of the 11 classifications (except in those states which added ADD as a classification). Now it gets really bizarre. Learning Disabled Kids are said to have a Learning Disability if there is a significant difference between their expected achievement (ability/potential) and their actual achievement. Somehow, the number -2- became attached to this definition, and any kid more than 2 years behind academically was automatically classified as LD. So, if your ADD/ADHD child is behind academically, your local BoE may classify him/her as LD and provide some services. But what if your kid isn't really behind academically? What if your kid's symptoms aren't academic deficits but behavioral deficits? What if the school is more upset with your kid's behavior than with the kid's academic achievement? That's when the Emotionally Disturbed classification is used. Emotionally Disturbed "ED" is not a clinical term. It is not listed in the Psychiatrist's Diagnostic Manual. It is an *educational* classification used for kids who cannot independently follow school rules and routines with a sufficient amount of success to keep out of serious trouble. It's a horrible sounding term, and it carries with it all sorts of negative images. But it is the way that some kids are made "eligible" for special ed programs/services. Ok. This is how the system actually works. In my next message under this subject header, I'll write about what the learning process really is, what kinds of things constitute a "Learning Disability," and how we can help kids who have a real learning disability. By the way, I believe that ADD/ADHD is a genuine Learning Disability. Attention and Learning I'm trying to teach my class a math lesson. I'm standing at the chalk board explaining how a particular calculation is performed. Johnny is seated somewhere in my class. What does Johnny need to be able to do in order to learn the calculation? Johnny needs to be able to focus his attention on me and on the precise place on the chalkboard where I am writing. Johnny needs to stay focussed (maintain his concentration) for as long as my explanation lasts. Johnny needs to visually attend to the chalkboard while at the same time listening to my verbal explanation. Johnny needs to be able to ignore the other kids in the class. He needs to be able to ignore the sights and sounds coming from the open window and the open door. He needs to be able to ignore the posters I have all about the classroom. He needs to be able to ignore his brand new sneakers. His hunger. The fight he had with his brother that morning. Johnny's attention waivers and he misses something in the lesson. He doesn't know the answer when I call on him. His attention waivers again when I do another example on the chalkboard and he still doesn't know the answer when I call on him the second time. Johnny is embarrassed. He is frustrated. Angry. I call the parents and tell them their son is very uncooperative in class. Does this situation sound familiar to anyone? For some kids the problem is a dysfunction in their attentional processes. They can't independently focus on the most important item, or they can't stay focussed long enough to learn the entire lesson. For these kids, some type of attention disorder diagnosis is accurate. But problems with attention and concentration may be symptoms of another problem, not the real problem itself. How many people reading this message have trouble concentrating when you're tired? Hungry? Upset? Depressed? Nervous? There are too many factors which can interfere with attention and concentration to list them all. Let's suppose that Johnny really is ADD. What can I do to help him? A physically smaller room with fewer students might remove some of the distractions. Teaching the kids in small groups so that my physical presence near the kid can help him stay focussed on me might work. My breaking down the lesson into 30-second bits and then putting the whole thing together might allow the kid to learn despite concentration problems. My using color coded materials to help the kid focus on the right place might help. * The most important thing is to NOT increase the kid's anxiety. * That will just make his focussing more difficult and it probably * will make the kid not want to pay attention to me. Learning and the Visual Process Suppose Johnny isn't ADD, or that in addition to being ADD, Johnny has what's called a "learning disability." Let's look at all things Johnny needs to do (in addition to focussing) in order to learn the math calculation. Let's start visually. Does anyone remember the schematics that used to come with a new tv or any new electronic device? I remember looking at those things, seeing it clearly, and not knowing if I had the stupid thing right side up. It made no sense to me at all. Does anyone have trouble reading a map? Has anyone stood at the map in a huge shopping mall and said to him/herself: ok, I'm here. I wanna go there. Which way do I turn? This should be so simple! Why can't I figure this out?! Imagine how Johnny feels when he looks at the chalkboard and can't tell if it's right side up. ImaginehowJohhnyfeelswhenhetriestoreadtheinstructionsinhismathwork bookandhecan'ttellwhereonewordendsandthenextwordbegins. (Imagine how Johhny feels when he tries to read the instructions in his math workbook and he can't tell where one word ends and the next word begins.) Some kids have trouble making sense out of what they see. They see clearly. This is not a glasses problem. They can't organize what they see into meaningful pieces (units). They can't put these units together, take them apart, analyze them, reorder them .... they can't make sense out of them. How can a kid "sound out" a new word when he's reading if that kid can't isolate the syllables in the word? These kids have a visual-perceptual learning disability. In another thread I suggested to a parent that the kid use graph paper with the biggest boxes. The lines on the graph paper might help the kid to keep numbers in the right rows and columns. The graph paper might help the kid to keep words and sentences in proper sequence and order. What if Johnny's perception is ok, but what he writes down when he copies off the chalkboard is a mess? What if Johnny can't make his hand do what his eyes and brain tell the hand to do? This is another form of learning disability, sometimes called a visual-motor integration deficit, or a grapho-motor dysfunction. Having kids copy off the chalkboard is not the way to teach. The kids should have a work sheet in front of them so that the kid can work on the lesson, not on copying! Yes, learning how to copy is important but that should be it's own lesson not part of the MATH lesson! An Editorial Comment I hope all this text I've been dumping on everybody leaves you with the impression that learning is a complicated thing. Those of us who don't have any learning problems take learning for granted, and frequently become impatient with those of us who "just don't get it" the 1st, 2nd, or even the 3rd time around. Yeah, there are kids who just don't try. But we're not talking about those kids. We're talking about kids who try so hard that they tie themselves up in emotional knots. The kids are not failing to learn. We have failed to find the right way to teach them. Make that your attitude when you meet with BoEd personnel. Make them tell you how they will modify what they do to insure that your child learns. That's what PL 94-142 says they must do. Learning and Language Let's talk about language. All the time that I'm writing on the chalkboard I'm talking. I am verbally explaining the math calculation to the class. 100 words come out of my mouth. 200 words. 300 words! (I'm just a wordy guy. ) What if Johnny has a memory problem? What if he has forgotten the beginning of the sentence before I finish the end of the sentence? Johnny was lost after the 10th word and I'm up to word 300. Johnny's memory processor simply can't hold enough words. How many of you can remember a 10-digit telephone number if you've only heard it once? How many times must you hear it or write it down before it's in your memory? If you get a number from Information, and you dial it immedaitely, how long will you remember it? Some kids have "auditory memory deficits." You can give the kid three instructions, one-at-a-time, and the kid will perform perfectly. Give all 3 instructions at-once, and the kid will do one of them. You know he can do all 3. He's done all 3 for you before. He couldn't process all 3 when they're given at the same time. What if Johnny doesn't hear clearly? It's loud enough. A hearing aide won't help. The kid isn't hard-of-hearing. He just can't tell the difference between the "d" sound and the "t" sound. I'm screaming at Johnny, "No! Start at the top! The top!" and Johnny is hearing, "The Dop, the DOP!" Imagine how confused that kid is. He's gonna sit there and cry or throw a chair at me. (This is called an "auditory discrimination" deficit.) What do you think would happen if we made a young child listen to William F Buckley speak? Would that child understand what was being said? How many of you can read Shakespeare and understand every word, every nuance of the language he used? Effective language depends on two major factors: words have meanings and we all agree on what those meanings are; there are rules for combining words into sentences. Try this little test: The browsy wimmle crinked his tuggy noddle. Who crinked? (the wimmle) What did he crink? (his noddle) What kind of wimmle was it? (a browsy wimmle) Whose noddle was tuggy? (the browsy wimmle's) We can use totally meaningless words and answer the kind of questions every teacher asks about a reading assignment. Why? Because we know the rules of how words are put into sentences! We know how language works. For some kids it isn't a matter of ignorance. It isn't that they just don't know how language works. For these kids, there is something broken in their language processor: they can't understand what people say to them (receptive language) and/or they can't produce language that others can understand (expressive language). Kids with a language impairment (or a language processing disorder) do speak. They can understand. But they speak in simple sentences with simple vocabulary and they are easily confused when people speak to them. Johnny needs me to say no more than 10 words at a time. He needs me to stop and allow him to repeat the words. He needs me to repeat them one more time before I go on to the next sentence. He needs extra vocabulary work. He needs extra language work. He needs to converse with someone who won't make fun of him and who will be *very* patient. Johnny needs physical materials to talk about and manipulate so he can "see" what he is saying (and what is said to him). Kids with these kinds of deficits are classified Speech Impaired. This classification covers language problems as well as the more common speech disorders (stuttering etc.). Learning is complicated, isn't it? Sometimes it amazes me that anyone learns anything! PL94-142 When the federal government enacts a law, there are two ways that the government can insure compliance with that mandate. First, include criminal or civil penalties for violating the law (put people in jail or fine them a serious amount of money). Or, the law can tie up federal funds to states which don't comply. That's how PL94-142 works. Any state that fails to comply receives no federal funding for education. We're not talking BILLIONS of dollars, but we are talking about a significant amount of money that the states need. A federal law may be rather vague. This is done purposely so that each state may implement the law as it sees fit. For example, 94-142 says that any child suspected of having a learning problem shall be evaluated for special services in a timely manner. What does "timely manner" mean? Each state must provide a precise definition. (Here in NY State, we have 30 school days to complete the evaluation and write an IEP. Then we have an additional 30 days to actually provide the services to the child.) Why is 94-142 so important? What does that law really say about the way Education is to be delivered in the USA? What's in the law that parent's really need to know and understand? What I will try to do in the next paragraphs is explain some of the provisions of 94-142 that relate to issues people have been talking about on the Forum. Disclaimer I am not a lawyer. None of what I say is legal advice. If anyone finds something in what I write helpful or useful in your dealings with a Board of Ed, please consult a licensed attorney who specializes in Educational Law! The Basic Guarantee PL94-142 says that all school-age children are entitled to a free and appropriate education. This simple phrase means a great deal! First, it means that no school district may tell any parent to keep his/her kids home on a permanent basis. The local district must provide a class for the child, or pay whatever the costs are to have the child educated in another district. If there is no public school available either in the local district or elsewhere, the local district must pay all the costs of having the child educated in a state approved private school. Transportation included! "Free" does not mean ABSOLUTELY free. Parents may be charged for things like caps & gowns for graduation, field trips, class parties, pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. This provision of the law really means that if it has been determined that a particular child needs something special in order to receive his/her "appropriate" education, the school system must pay for it. The parents can not be charged for special text books, special learning materials, etc. I want to talk about this a little more because I'm willing to bet that a few parents on this Forum have paid for stuff that the school should have provided. Here's the general rule: if it's something that the kid uses out of school as well as in school, the parents pay. If it's something that is only used in school, the school pays. For example, schools are not required to pay for things like glasses and hearing aids. The kids need these things all the time. Like clothes. The parents provide these items. In addition, anything that the General Ed kids' parents pay for, Special Ed kids' parents must pay for. Things like uniforms for phys ed fall into this category. The schools are not required to pay for wheelchairs. The kid needs a wheelchair out of school, too. However, the schools are required to pay for the special "wheelchair desks" that allow kids in wheelchairs to "sit at a desk in class." The school is not required to pay for medication. However, the school is required to have someone there who is licensed to administer to the child whatever medication the parent provides (with written instructions from an MD). Yes, the school must have someone there who can give your kid the ritalin pills you have provided. Every system has its own procedures and forms, but this service must be available. Now let's talk about what an "appropriate" education is. It is accepted as fact that not every child is college-bound. It is not the school system's responsibility to provide for every student a class which has as its sole or even primary function academic preparation for college. Some kids need a class that will prepare them for the working world without a college degree. Some kids need a class that will train the kids in basic "daily living" skills. (I'm talking about kids with mental retardation here.) However, if the kid and the parents want an academic class, and if the kid has the potential for academic achievement, then the school must provide a class for that kid! The school must provide whatever alternative materials, teaching methods & techniques, accomodations, ...... WHATEVER ...... the kid needs to reach his potential. That's what Special Education Programs and Services are all about. Referral Process When a student is suspected of having a learning problem (or any special needs) a referral is made to the department that evaluates students and determines if there are any special needs which must be addressed by the school. School personnel may make the referral. Parents may make the referral. A student of legal age may make the referral him/herself. Professionals who deal with the child outside of school may make the referral (doctors, therapists, lawyers). The court system may make a referral. The parent must be informed that a referral has been received. The parent (or legal guardian) must be invited to a metting at which the following are explained: - the actual referral itself - the evaluation process - the IEP generation process - the placement process - the parent's rights and options The Law says that we can't conduct the initial evaluation without first obtaining informed written consent from the parent/guardian. That word "informed" is crucial. It means that the parent must know what he/she is signing *before* anything is signed. It also means that the parent is under no obligation to sign! Just as there are "due process" procedures for the parent when the parent disagrees with the recommendations of the school, the school has due process procedures to follow when the parent withholds consent for the evaluation. An evaluation cannot be conducted without the parent's consent until and unless the due process procedures are followed. Here's where consulting an attorney who specializes in educational law is necessary. If you believe that the school system lied to you or mislead you in any way about signing for an evaluation, you may have a case against the school system. Here's something else you need to know: once you sign for an evaluation, that permission is forever. I can re-evaluate your child anytime I want to. All I need to do is inform you that I am conducting the re-evaluation. I don't need your permission. The Evaluation Process The sections of 94-142 that deal with the actual evaluation of the child contain a number of strict requirements. I will be writing about those requirements in terms of how they apply specifically to an ADD/ADHD kid. The requirements apply to all kids and all evaluations, but since we're in the ADD Forum..... If anyone has any questions about how these rules apply to other kids, please ask! I'll do my best to answer all questions. The evaluation must be conducted by a multidisciplinary team. This simply means that no one professional, no one test, no one test score may determine the child's classification, programming, or services. The child must be examined in all areas of the suspected disability. In the case of an ADD/ADHD child, this clause probably means that a child neurologist or a child psychiatrist should have conducted a thorough examination of the child, and that this report be an integral part of the discussion at the IEP Conference. The personnel commonly found on the multidisciplinary team include a school psychologist (who fulfills the requirement that someone familiar with testing be on the team), a member of the instructional staff, an administrator, and a school health professional. Here in NYC, social workers and a parent of a special education student (to act as an advocate for the parent of the child being evaluated) are also on the team. Here is where consulting a licensed attorney may be necessary. If your local Board refuses to provide special services for your child because the Board claims the child is ineligible under PL94-142 guidelines, an attorney might successfully appeal that decision by claiming that a comprehensive evaluation was not conducted by the local Board. An attorney might be able to show that the local Board did not assess all areas of the suspected disability if the Board failed to include a neurological and/or a psychiatric examination. The tests used in the evaluation must be "validated" for the specific purpose of the test. If someone tells you that your child is not ADD/ADHD, ask him/her for the name of the test used to make this determination. Ask for the references: what scientific studies prove that this test is a valid measure of ADD/ADHD. (Dead silence and a nasty look are the only responses you're likely to receive.) I sincerely hope that it is not necessary to take an adversarial stance with your local Board. I sincerely hope that the information I'm relaying here makes you an informed participant in the evaluation process. However, based on many of the messages I've seen on ADD Forum, it seems necessary for parents to enter an IEP Conference armed with information many Boards fail to provide to the parents. Parents have the right to disagree with the results of the evaluation done by the school system. The parent, under certain circumstances, can have an evaluation done privately billed to the school system. Here's the section of the law that refers to this point. (b) Parent right to evaluation at public expense. A parent has the right to an independent educational evaluation at public expense if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the public agency. However, the public agency may initiate a hearing under Sec. 300.506 of this subpart to show that its evaluation is appropriate. If the final decision is that the evaluation is appropriate, the parent still has the right to an independent educational evaluation, but not at public expense. Even if you choose not to bill the Board for the evaluations, any material that you present to the Board must be included in the child's records and be a part of the discussion at an IEP Conference. Here are the sections of the law that deal with this point: (c) Parent initiated evaluations. If the parent obtains an independent educational evaluation at private expense, the results of the evaluation: (1) Must be considered by the public agency in any decision made with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child, and (2) May be presented as evidence at a hearing under this subpart regarding that child. [I have included the actual text of the law because I remember reading messages on ADD Forum about these specific points. If anyone chooses to consult an advocate or an attorney, having the precise reference can be handy.] __________________________________________________________________________ This article has been downloaded from the ADD Forum on CompuServe, and may be distributed freely as long as the contents of the file are unchanged. Because the CompuServe ADD Forum is new, we are frequently asked how to join CompuServe and get on the forum. Call 1-800-524-3388 and ask for rep #464. Outside the US/Canada call +1-614-457-0802.