Expert: Tim Runner - 2/8/2011

Question
Hello,

I'm a mom to a 11 year old boy who is severly autistic. He currently is attending public school (special school for autistic children in NV) and has a IEP, he is non-verbal with a IQ of  40-60. He has physical aggressive outburst that can make it unsafe for him as well as everyone around him, he is also still in diapers. He only sleeps  about 4 hours a night, and he is ready to go once he wakes up. He goes to school for about 5 hrs (per his IEP), the school says he could only handle 4-5 hrs per day. When we ask them if residential placement is a option, they tell us that we have not exhausted all the school resources. We are currently doing ABA with him. The Special Ed. director that we spoke to said, that in his 15 years with the school district they have only placed 2 students in out-of-state placement. They said that if we want to place the child in a private school out of state that it would be fine, however, they are not going to fund it because they have not exhausted all there resources. I don't know what other resources are available if they could only tolerate 4-5 hrs a day. I know that funding works differently on the east coast than on the west coast, the school district tends to be more supportive in helping in funding programs. As parents, do we have any other options? We can't afford a 175K-200K tuition per year.

Thank you in advance,

Kelly

Answer
Kelly,

Why hasn't the school district exhausted all school resources? I would ask the special education director, in writing, to state the resources still available so that they can be applied to your son. This answer is ridiculous. It does not matter how many students they have place in RTCs (Residential Placement Centers). Under the law, it only matters what is required to meet the unique needs of your son. I have worked with districts, that have never placed a student in residential placement, to place my clients.

You should ask, in writing, for a list of the school resources that are available that have yet to be used. You should point out what was stated to you, as you did in your questions. Then you should seek an IEP to implement them. I also suggest you challenge the 4-5 hours per day supposed tolerance to school. For your sake, your child should be there full time. They should also provide an after school program or a day treatment program for your son. He needs lots of help. You don't mention the direct services (i.e. speech, OT, ABA, APE) your son is receiving. These probably need to be increased significantly.

You will probably end up having to file for Due Process against your school district to get the Residential Treatment for your son. It really sounds to me that you need an Advocate to fight for you. I represent students and their parents all over the U.S. The district is trying to keep you from getting what your son needs just to save money.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Advocate
Advocates for Kids
Email: timrunner@cox.net
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com