tomorrows meeting & letter for placement
part of me says to quit fighting these idiots, to stop wasting my time trying to get them to offer something beneficial to my son
the other part says do not give up on what Johnathan deserves
I ain't no teacher. I can't find any kind of home speech therapist; for our aug comm training is free if they want it.?????????????????????????????
December 17, 2009
Tonni Brende
501
Independence,
816-461-0930
Independence School District
C/O Sycamore Hills Elementary
Independence,
816-478-2520
RE: Johnathan Brende
To whom it may concern:
Johnathan is now an 11 year old young man deserving of an education. In order for him to succeed in any manner, he needs therapies that meet his special needs, along with an education. Unfortunately the Independence School District isn’t capable of offering any functional or educational services that would benefit Johnathan.
Johnathan’s life skills will be completely provided by another, so offering this instead of an education is a waste of his time. Socialization with children like himself is important; but not worth the sacrifice of meeting all his other needs.
It is also a proven fact that the schools do not have enough properly trained staff to meet all of Johnathan's needs. This was proven when I learned he wasn't being properly nutritioned while at school. Most severe and profound children take more time to eat and/or digest their foods. Being sure there is plenty of staff and time to meet such a basic need should never be questioned. Outside the schools setting, Johnathan has someone at his side at all times, to be sure his needs are always met. Ridiculously, DESE found a law backing such negligence in stating amount of nutrition wasn't spelled out in the IEP. This is abuse, no matter how you spell it; completely unacceptable.
Johnathan’s speech skills are dependent on advanced augmentive communication techniques, something the Independence schools know nothing about. Johnathan is a non-verbal young man. He needs someone proficient in such techniques in order to learn and succeed. Johnathan is also a very distractible young man, who requires someone with a very upbeat form of teaching to get his attention, and then to keep it. Unfortunately the Independence schools do not have any speech therapists capable of meeting either of these requirements. To my disappointment, the schools say Johnathan should perform for any therapist they offer; I say they get paid to teach him in his manner of learning, not the other way around. Sadly, DESE laws back them, stating they do not have to offer anything more than the basic therapy techniques. You would think a school specializing in the education of severe and profound children would undoubtedly be offering the latest techniques available in all areas of the therapy services they offer; after all it is only about the children. They go to school to meet their educational needs, not just to socialize.
When you take into consideration these known facts, you can obviously see that the Independence School District has no schools capable of meeting Johnathan’s educational services, or functional services. The Independence School District should place Johnathan in another district, where he can get the education and services he needs and deserves.
Sincerely,
Tonni Brende
