School for the Deaf denies deaf child with Down Syndrome placement

[CSign]

Exactly.
It boils down to the fact that she isn't going to be served adaquatly at a local School for the Deaf. She needs a very specialized Deaf program. Exactly like the program at Beverely School for the Deaf or the one at Perkins.
It would be great if the local deaf school offered an intense day class...but it doesn't.

You haven't read the thread in it's entirety.

The school does have a program that will meet her needs. You continually fighting the subject is kind of like trying to run up a steep sand dune, when what you're looking for is right there at the bottom.

The student has already gotten placement at the school, and it will be an exciting new adventure for her.

Also, I would urge you to support your claim that all students with Down Syndrome have Apraxia which is why there is an expressive language delay.

I supported my assertion re expressive/ receptive gap, which has nothing to do with Apraxia. It has everything to do with the Down syndrome. You never acknowledged those two posts which further support what I've said.

 

[jillio]

Yes PFH- I said attorneys were involved if it had to go to Due Process. I never said placement was a result of the attorneys being involved which is what I was addressing with Jillio. This student got placement because of the Compliance Complaint.

If I had that little green icon you included, I'd post it here.

No way this student got placement due to a compliance complaint. It simply does not work that way. Huge red flags here, people. CSign evidentyly thinks she is talking to a bunch of ignoramouses who don't know the process that has to be gone through considering placement. Everything she has claimed is against the protocol that has been set out for disagreements regarding placement. We are dealing with the government here. Do you really think that they are not going to follow protocol in this one single case, or that CSign is so special that she got around the protocol that virtually every other parent and advocate who disagrees with placement has to follow.

 

[CSign]

No way this student got placement due to a compliance complaint. It simply does not work that way. Huge red flags here, people. CSign evidentyly thinks she is talking to a bunch of ignoramouses who don't know the process that has to be gone through considering placement. Everything she has claimed is against the protocol that has been set out for disagreements regarding placement.

Are you jealous or something? For the life of me, I cannot figure out your motivation to be constantly jumping on everything I say. I'm glad I never had you help me with anything, as I would have gotten less than desirable assistance with navigating the process.

You are wrong, wrong, wrong.

 

[jillio]

didnt you get upset with some of us who have stated the possibility of the deaf school not having the appropriate resources to meet this child's need totally unrelated to her deafness? Nobody is advocating for the rejection of this child but somehow the thread turned around and made it seem like she wasn't accepted by the coomunity because of her Down's Syndrome. That was when I started seeing this thread as something else entirely that I don't want a part of.

Exactly. This has come down to nothing more than flaming.

 

[jillio]

Are you jealous or something? For the life of me, I cannot figure out your motivation to be constantly jumping on everything I say. I'm glad I never had you help me with anything, as I would have gotten less than desirable assistance with navigating the process.

You are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Jealous? You really are a piece of work.

Nope, not in the least jealous of someone who feel the need to make up stories and post them on the internet.

 

[CSign]

didnt you get upset with some of us who have stated the possibility of the deaf school not having the appropriate resources to meet this child's need totally unrelated to her deafness? Nobody is advocating for the rejection of this child but somehow the thread turned around and made it seem like she wasn't accepted by the coomunity because of her Down's Syndrome. That was when I started seeing this thread as something else entirely that I don't want a part of.

I didn't get upset at the comments that the school may not be able to meet her needs because I know they can.

 

[CSign]

Exactly. This has come down to nothing more than flaming.

The only one "flaming" around here is you.

 

[jillio]

It's likely that the deaf autistic girl would suffer in a non-deaf setting. :/

I worked with autistic kids in a supposed 'awesome' school. Dude, suckage.

One of the kids (not autistic, but MR) was deaf and his mom hated the school so much she fought to have him pulled out.

Deaf ed cannot be compared to Special Ed. And given that your only additional training beyond the regular educational classroom, is an indication that you know virtually nothing about Deaf Ed. You would do much better to not comment on that of which you have no knowledge and take the opportunity to increase your knowledge base. Of course none of us see this happening....

 

[deafskeptic]

Deaf ed cannot be compared to Special Ed. And given that your only additional training beyond the regular educational classroom, is an indication that you know virtually nothing about Deaf Ed. You would do much better to not comment on that of which you have no knowledge and take the opportunity to increase your knowledge base. Of course none of us see this happening....

I think Oracle is one of those hearing people who have to learn things the hard way - if at all.

 

[jillio]

I think Oracle is one of those hearing people who have to learn things the hard way - if at all.

No doubt. I'm leaning towards the "if at all" in that case.:P

 

[jillio]

The only one "flaming" around here is you.

So you say. But then, you say quite a bit that you can't support. Oh, well.

 

[jillio]

Being deaf does not automatically qualify a child for special education services. A child only qualifies if the said disability adversely affects the child's educational performance.

CSign doesn't seem to comprehend that.

 

[jillio]

Care to make it a cliff notes about this thread?

Yeah, I'll do it.

Poster comes in and starts claiming things are going on, but the claims are not adding up. Then poster starts claiming that she has accomplished this or that, but also states that she completely was out of protocol for getting anything accomplished. Poster has sent up several red flags.

Lawyer jumps in to tell poster she is wrong about her statements, lawyer gets ignored.

Poster waits awhile, comes back after what she believes is a safe period of time to say she has fixed the situation, but her solution violates protocol. Poster refuses to provide name of school so that public information can be checked. Another red flag.

Still those with experience in the field of deaf ed and placement are confronting her. Instead of giving direct responses to the queries, poster gets nasty. Another poster jumps in who knows even less, if that is possible, about deaf ed and placement issues. Things get even nastier.

Those in the know go about their business understanding that the red flags were there all along and very little about this story could be taken as fact.

 

[jillio]

Some of the best placement options may not always seem like it at first. As DD mentioned, some deaf-blind programs do take children who are not deaf-blind because the programming offers what the child needs. I've seen it. Most teachers in those programs are highly specialized and trained to handle a variety of needs. I'm not saying that is the best case for this particular child because I can't- I'm not in the position to say where is the best placement because I need to be at the meeting with the information and documentation at hand before I can provide input. Every deaf school is completely different from one another...what one deaf school CAN do with its staffing, resources, equipment - another deaf school may not. That's the purpose of the MDT meeting. If the child's syndrome of DS is significantly impacting his language abilities as it has been described, then I'm really surprised that deafness is his/her primary disability. I hate labels and avoid them when possible, but in a MDT when discussing educational programming, the labels become important in determining appropriate services. And funding.

My take on this- the parents and/or the advocate of the child needs to call another MDT meeting if they feel that the current decision is inappropriate. If nothing is resolved, file due process and let the due process hearing determine the next step. In the meantime, think outside the box. What programs (and don't judge a book by its cover) are available and may possible provide a fluid range of services for this child?

Exactly. CSign seems to have difficulty in understanding protocol, and that due process is the first step. Nothing gets addressed without a due process hearing first.

And, like you, I am very skeptical that deafness is the primary disability. And labels are necessary for placement and funding issues, as objectionable as they are.

 

[jillio]

I'm too stubborn to let anyone derail me from stating my opinion.

That is what I love about you! Doesn't get us on many people's "Isn't she sweet" list, but oh, well. LOL

 

[deafdyke]

like you, I am very skeptical that deafness is the primary disability. And labels are necessary for placement and funding issues, as objectionable as they are.

Exactly. There are a lot of mild multihandicapped kids where deafness is the primary disabilty. You can even pretty much get away with that with mild mentaly disabled kids. (even with hoh mild mentally disabled kids)

When you get into more severe disabilty, the more severe disabilty tends to be the primary disabilty. I mean I know kids exactly like CSign is describing, but they are mentally handicapped/autistic/severe disabilty FIRST, and THEN have dhh as a secondary disabilty.
For example, they are profound or have cortical hearing loss, and may know signs but they really can't be served in schools or programs for the deaf, b/c their main issue is mental handicap. I prolly know a lot more about this, then many people on this forum, since my syndrome runs ALL across the multihandicapped spectrum, and I see the diffy with my own eyes at conferences etc.

 

[deafdyke]

Some kids are more high functioning than others and this child may needed more support that school was capable of giving. I would like to know the whole story before I made a judgement on the school. I know I would not want send a child to a school that was not able to take care of all their needs

WhatDidYouSay, exactly!!!!!
It's actually not that unusual for kids in mental handicap schools to have secondary disabilites like hearing loss, visual impairment etc.

 

[CSign]

"2. What is a compliance complaint?

When the educational agency appears to have violated a part of special education law or procedure (for example, will not assess or refer a child to special education, does not follow time lines for assessment and referral, does not inform parents of an individualized education program [IEP] meeting, does not implement the IEP, or fails to implement a due process hearing decision), a parent, individual, public agency or organization can file a complaint with the California State Department of Education (CDE). An investigator from the CDE investigates the allegations and makes a written determination of whether the education agency was "out of compliance" with law or with the student's IEP. If the CDE finds an education agency to be "out of compliance", it should order the agency to come back into compliance. In addition, the CDE may order the agency to submit a plan of correction -- a document describing the steps the agency has taken and will take to assure that the problem does not occur again, either to this student or to others.

3. What is the difference between a compliance complaint and a due process hearing?

Although people often confuse compliance complaints and due process hearings, the main difference is this:

-- when there is a disagreement about what should go into a child's IEP, or where to implement the IEP, then a due process hearing is appropriate;

-- when the education agency has not followed special education laws or procedures or has not implemented what is already specifically written into a student's IEP, then a compliance complaint is appropriate.

In other words, a due process hearing involves a disagreement over what a child's program should include, while a compliance complaint involves a failure by the educational agency to follow the rules or to do what has already been agreed to in writing in the IEP."

 

[CSign]

This is a link to the above article

Special Education Rights and Responsibilities - Chapter 6 - Due Process Hearings/Compliance Complaints - Protection & Advocacy, Inc..

 

[CSign]

Exactly. CSign seems to have difficulty in understanding protocol, and that due process is the first step. Nothing gets addressed without a due process hearing first.

And, like you, I am very skeptical that deafness is the primary disability. And labels are necessary for placement and funding issues, as objectionable as they are.

There are different roads you can take to achieve an end. Due process is not the only option. In some cases it is, but it is not necessary when the educational agency has violated state and federal laws. A compliance complaint can be filed, and the educational agency will be given corrective action as was done in this case.

Be skeptical all you want- her primary category of eligibility is deafness.