特殊兒童安置
Special Education and the Child With a Neurobiological Disorder .
Quation and Answer
1.
Most of my child’s problems occur at school. How can I help my child to get the education he or she needs? Learn about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Your local librarian can help you locate this information, or you can contact the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013-1492. Tel: (202) 416-0300. You can also learn about IDEA from other parents through organizations such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Call the NAMI Helpline at 1-800-950-6264 to find the telephone number of your local affiliate.
What are the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)? IDEA mandates that all children with disabilities, including those with serious emotional disturbances , must receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting. The key is to get services for your child at the lowest intensity of service that will meet your child’s needs. Often this means bringing new services into schools that have never provided those services. The fact that the school system never did it that way before” is no excuse. The school system is required to provide supplementary aids and services to your child to help him or her be educated in the least restrictive setting possible. Such aids and services may include (but are not limited to) a classroom or one-to-one aide, curriculum modifications, peer tutoring, untimed tests, or the provision of a tape recorder, computer, or typewriter. Your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the plan for his or her special education. You, as parent or guardian, have the right to attend meetings to develop the IEP that specifies exactly what your child must be taught, where and how he or she must be taught and what kind of accommodations and related services are needed to give him or her the most appropriate education. Teaching strategies and behavior-management strategies developed for children with serious emotional disorders are sometimes used inappropriately for children with NBD. You and the child’s psychiatrist should work with the school system to develop an IEP tailored to your child’s needs. Is therapy available in schools? IDEA is responsible for meeting only the educational needs of your child. Related services are those services that must be provided to your child so that he or she can benefit from special education instruction. Therapy is one such related service that your child may need to benefit from his or her special education. If your child needs related services, these services must be part of your child’s IEP. Some school districts are collaborating with their local mental health administration, and now offer some forms of therapy through the schools. However, psychiatrists are very often not part of this team.
2.
My child has been placed on home instruction. How long can the schools system keep him at home? If your child is receiving home teaching, the home teaching can be provided for no more than 60 school days while the school system looks for an appropriate special education program, unless your child’s IEP allows for an extension beyond 60 days. What happens if a public placement cannot be found? The school system must place your child in an appropriate program. If the school system cannot provide an appropriate public program, the school system must place your child in a non-public (private) school and pay for it. The school system must pay all the costs of the placement. This includes transportation.
3.
My child is an adolescent with a severe neurobiological disorder. What services are available to my son or daughter as he or she reaches adulthood? If your child is “coded,” or identified with a disability such as SED under the IDEA, he or she is eligible for educational services until age 21–in most States. In addition, IDEA specifically states that transition goals should be part of a students IEP, in some children as young as 14. Nationwide there is a drop out rate of over 50% for children coded SED. If you believe your child is in risk of dropping out, insist that transition
planning begin as early as possible. Transition goals and objectives will lead to the evelopment of marketable job skills and independent living skills. Find out what opportunities exist in your community for persons with NBD to receive psychiatric rehabilitation services. Contact a local representative of your state’s vocational rehabilitation program office (part of State Department of Education ). Find out about the application process and what information they require to etermine eligibility for your son or daughter. Usually they fund a variety of services and some may meet your child’s needs as he or she becomes an adult. In addition, investigate appropriate post-secondary educational opportunities and housing options in your community. Make sure that your child is linked with adult services. If your child has dropped out, nvestigate the ossibility of his earning a GED certificate. The adult education program of your local public chools may provide evening or weekend preparation classes for individuals over the age of 16.
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