Law Office of Sarah Unsicker

"We are family"

I always love stories of kids beginning to succeed in school where success had been difficult or impossible.  I saw an article on the St. Louis Post Dispatch today about Kottmeyer Big Picture High School in St. Louis City.

Students attach Kottmeyer when other schools have given up on them.  They receive individual attention and help that many of them crave.  For the first time, students at Kottmeyer are finding success with the help of teachers, parents, siblings and other family members.

It is not easy to make students successful, but every child -- even the "problem child" has potential for success in the right environment.  I love to share stories of schools that embrace this philosophy and try to carry it to their students!

Siblings

You probably read this blog because you have children who are not considered "normal." They may have a learning disability, autism, a physical or social disability … the list of things that require a "special needs" diagnosis is too long to list comprehensively in a casual blog. (That would warrant its own post!)

But what about siblings? Some siblings are "special needs", others are not. But how does having a "special needs" sibling affect them? I think kids who grow up with an other-abled sibling often learn compassion, patience, and maturity as a result of seeing this sibling grow up. But there are also problems, such as less time for a parent to spend with an able-bodied child when her brother needs significant care and attention due to a physical or mental impairment. What can parents do about this?

Time Magazine has an article about siblings of autistic children, briefly addressing 7 challenges parents face including: developmental differences; fairness issues; physical inappropriateness; embarrassment; siblings growing up too fast; the holidays; and siblings becoming caretakers into adulthood. It references a book, Siblings of Children with Autism, by Sandra Harris, that discusses these issues in more depth.

LD and Entrepreneurs

NPR this morning had a story titled Does Dyslexia translate to Business Success? It had a statistic that a whopping 36% of entrepreneurs in the US have dyslexia or ADHD. What does this mean? It means an individual with an LD can succeed – and prosper.

They succeed by learning different skills, such as good delegation and people skills. The skills children learn to be successful in school, despite their difficulties, can translate to success as adults.

This does not mean that every child with an LD will succeed – those who work with LD children see discouragement, setbacks, and temporary failures far too often. However, it shares with the public that LD does not automatically translate to failure. Individuals can, and should, learn different skill sets, and should be encouraged to foster these skill sets. And there is significant encouragement that learning these skills will pay off and help struggling children become successful adults.

Permanency Plans for your child

Do you know how to provide for your children if you become sick or die?  If you are temporarily or permanently unable to care for them?  Most people write a will, naming a guardian for their child.  This is a good option for many families, but Illinois has other options available, including short-term guardianship, standby guardianship (where you can request the court now that another person take guardianship of your child at a specified event in the future), and even standby adoption (where you can request the court now that another person adopt your child at a specified event in the future). 

My article regarding permanency planning for Illinois Families has been published in the December 2007 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.  Let me know what you think!

Update and inspiration

I started this blawg with the best of intentions -- to update regularly, to keep people informed, and to share information.  I haven't been doing so hot with the "regular updates" part, but I will try to improve!  My office has been fairly busy recently, even more so right now as we are fast approaching the end of 2007.  If you want to read more, please shoot me an e-mail!

In the meantime, the son of a friend of mine was featured on the news recently.  He was diagnosed with autism, but was "un-diagnosed" several years ago.  He's a pretty amazing kid -- Pegi's words can describe it much better than I can! 

Friends:

I am writing to share important news with you. As many of you know, my son Sam Zoole was diagnosed with autism at age 3. He is now a 7th grader at Nipher Middle School in Kirkwood.

Sam was essentially non-verbal, and had significant receptive and expressive language impairment. He had a full-time shadow at school and many safety modifications at home (alarms on the doors, locks on the toilets and stove). Daily life was never dull.

Judevine Center for Autism did years of intensive therapy with Sam, and taught me to do autism therapy with him at home. Special School District and the Ladue and Kirkwood schools bent over backward to meet his needs. We all worked together as a team.

When Sam was 8 years old, he emerged from autism. If you were to meet him today, you would be amazed. He started flying airplanes at age 10, and now flies a 4-seater Cessna. He is thriving in school and has many friends. Sam is a happy, funny kid. He has attended and participated in national and international autism conferences with me in South Africa and in Phoenix. He was a speaker at the national conference in Phoenix.

His story will be featured on November 13, 2007 at 9:00 pm on Channel 11. Melanie Moon did the story. It is a message of hope for families with autism and the people who work with these great kids. Please tell your friends about this special so we can reach families who desperately need to hear a message of hope. Thank you.

Sincerely, Margaret “Pegi” Price

Here's the link to his news story.

Assistive devices

As a child, I was diagnosed with dysgraphia, which means handwriting is difficult and sometimes painful. I was taught to type early, and often turned in typed assignments at school. My newest tool is a Blackberry (for organization more than typing). I'm realizing how slow it is to use the tiny keyboard! What assistive devices do you or your kids use? How do they work?

IEP Responses

Special Ed Law Blogs posted a link to a great IEP Chart, to help parents and advocates prepare for the IEP meeting.  It's a great reference for preparing for standard responses given by School Districts when negotiating  appropriate services and FAPE for your child!

Private school option

St. Louis city students beginning kindergarten have anouther option: apply for a scholarship at parochial schools.

The Today and Tomorrow Foundation is awarding scholarships to 100 needy kindergarteners in the City of St. Louis to attend Catholic and Lutheran schools.  I don't think this is a full scholarship, but it should pay at least half.

Credit to St. Louis Post-Dispatch for this information.

Aging Out

Illinois has recently proposed legislation, HB0187, to define that servies for children covered by the IDEA to be covered until the day before the child's 22nd birthday.  It is good that schools will provide this additional period for children to transition into adulthood when they need this extra time to gain needed skills.

One Month review

School starts in about a month. Are your kids ready?

It is important to have kids ready for the start of school. This is especially important for special-needs students, who may feel the effects of change more than most children. Talk to your children about the upcoming school year well in advance of the first day of school, so they know what to expect. If they have been on a relaxed schedule during the summer, gradually work them toward a regular bedtime a week or two before school starts. Do not let the first day back at school be a shock to your child's system!

Now is a good time to think about your child's IEP or 504 plan if she or he has one. Has the plan been effective for your child? Are there things that you wish were addressed – but are not? Are there things in the IEP that the school isn't addressing sufficiently? If the IEP was modified in the last year, do the changes seem to be benefiting or harming your student?

It feels early to think about school already -- it's the middle of summer! -- but now, while things are quiet, is a great time to address issues while they are dormant!