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Post Publications IEP and The Law

www.postinstitute.com Bryan Post & Jamette Pruett

IEP and The Law How to Help Your Child in School

IEP and The Law Page �1

http://www.postinstitute.com



IEP and The Law Your 9 Most Important Rights

Transcribed Interview with Bryan Post and A6orney Jame6e Prue6 !(Editor’s note: This book has been edited to preserve the meaning and intent of the discussion of the original recording)!

Bryan: Hello. I’m Mr. Bryan Post and my guest is JameDe PrueD, an aDorney with a special interest in IEPs and the legal implicaGons for helping parents since JameDe is a foster/adopt parent and knows the difficulGes with school issues. Because we know a lot of children with early trauma histories, especially adopted and foster children, helping parents know their rights when it comes to their children in the law in schools is essenGal. OKen parents go in to IEP meeGngs feeling absolutely overwhelmed and inGmidated. JameDe is going to share some absolutely criGcal and essenGal informaGon to help you help your child succeed in school.

Introduce yourself and tell us a liDle bit about how you got involved in this area and what it means to you and why you’re passionate about it?

JameDe: My name is JameDe PrueD. I am licensed aDorney in the state of Oklahoma. I’ve been pracGcing law for a liDle over 10 years now and I originally pracGced criminal defense. Then I went in to a private pracGce and did a liDle bit of everything from family law to civil rights law. Then I got this idea to start keeping foster children. I have two liDle girls that I’m in the process of adopGng and I realized that I started doing a lot of fighGng with agencies, with the schools, with the social services departments to get the services that my children needed.

I thought that these people were going to bend over backwards to help me but for some reason I started discovering that they were either unwilling or they didn’t know how. I learned a lot about educaGon law and IEPs and I’m really excited to be able to share that with other parents that are struggling in this area because I know how much of a struggle it can be and how disheartening it can be at Gmes.

Bryan: Well let’s go ahead and get into it. Lead us through it, take us through it step by step.

!IEP and The Law Page �2




!!!JameDe: The first thing I like to do is just lay out the Nine Major Rights that I have picked

out that I think are very important. I’m going to cut them down into short sentences so that people can just write them down real. Number One: You have the right to have your child evaluated for special educa@on. We are going to back and hit all of these in detail.

Bryan: You say number one, you have the right to have your child evaluated. I think a lot of parents don’t even know that.

JameDe: I know. I used to be frustrated but knowledge is your weapon. That’s what you have to understand. Knowledge is your power. Instead of geWng frustrated you have to get educated. So here we go with all nine:

1. You have the right to have your child evaluated for special educa@on.

2. You have a right to get your own evalua@on.

3. You have the right to request services for your child.

4. You have the right to par@cipate in the IEP process.

5. You have the right to adequate no@ce.

6. You have the right to have advocates speak for your child.

7. You have the right to insure that your child’s IEP is carried out.

8. You have the right to review all of your child’s school records.

9. You have the right to know all the creden@als on your child’s teachers and paraprofessionals.


Your 9 Rights as a Parent or Caregiver!1. You have the right to have your child evaluated for special education. 2. You have a right to get your own evaluation. 3. You have the right to request services for your child. 4. You have the right to participate in the IEP process. 5. You have the right to adequate notice. 6. You have the right to have advocates speak for your child. 7. You have the right to insure that your child’s IEP is carried out. 8. You have the right to review all of your child’s school records. 9. You have the right to know all the credentials on your child’s teachers and paraprofessionals.




Bryan: Perfect. Those are nine points that we’re going to be covering in depth. I know this is going to change the lives for families. Let’s get into the meat of this

informaGon, tell me about number one. You have the right to have your child evaluated.

JameDe: You have the right to have your child evaluated. As a candidate for special educaGon at any Gme for any reason at the school’s expense. One important thing is you don’t have to wait unGl your child is in school. Services maybe available to preschool age children with developmental delays and the federal law says that for the child age three through 21 years, services must be provided if the disability will impact school performance. If you have an indicaGon that your three year old child may struggle by the Gme they get to school, you have the right to get them evaluated and get services for them at that Gme.

Bryan: Jump right down to the boDom line of this number one and let’s just define what a disability, what a disability might include.

JameDe: This is normally the way that the agencies define them, is a learning disability, which could be Math, Reading, Science, etc. that the child is struggling with be it a specific learning disability, emoGonal disturbance and then other health impairments.

All of these disabiliGes could include things such as mental retardaGon, hearing impairments, vision impairments, speech and language impairments, developmental delays, serious emoGonal disturbance, auGsm, dyslexia, other health impairments include things such as ADHD, orthopedic impairments, traumaGc brain injury, specific learning disability or a combinaGon of any of those and that’s just a short list.

Bryan: What you’re saying is first of all, you have the right to have your child evaluated as a candidate for special educaGon at anyGme for any reason at the school’s expense.

JameDe: Yes.

Bryan: That is huge and what you’re saying is that if you think your child even in preschool, is going to have some problems in school, then you can have them evaluated before they even start school, is that correct?

JameDe: That’s right. You can get services before they start school.

Bryan: You can get services before they start schooling. Again you’re saying these disabiliGes include serious emoGonal disturbance.


#1 - You have the right to have your child evaluated.




JameDe: Yes.

Bryan: Developmental delays, speech and language impairments, traumaGc brain injury. This is essenGally everything that the children that I work with have suffered on some degree on some spectrum and I know that these are the things that children can fall under with the parents who are having to go to these IEP meeGngs. I think that this is a really important point.

JameDe: Right. All children have the right to a free and appropriate educaGon. That’s what the laws and the legislators and the courts have decided in our country that all children have a right to a free and appropriate educaGon.

Bryan: That’s powerful. Let me say one more Gme, first point you have the right to have your child evaluated, a candidate for special educaGon at anyGme for any reason. Does that not speak to some of you parents that have children who are struggling in school? The disabiliGes list, and remember that your understanding of this law gives you the ability to have your child, (a child with the trauma history) fit under this category. A lot of parents don’t know exactly what trauma is but trauma is any stressful event which is prolonged overwhelming or unpredictable.

JameDe: Trauma can include all the things that you work with Bryan, the aDachment disorder, post traumaGc stress disorder, bipolar disorder. It doesn’t maDer, all of those are emoGonal. I want to stress this language so importantly “the free and appropriate” because if any parents go in to the IEP meeGng or to a administraGve hearing and say “this is not the best educaGon for my child”, they lose. You have to use those words, this “would be appropriate” for my child.

JameDe: That seems a liDle thing but it’s so important.

Bryan: Say it again.

JameDe: A free and appropriate educaGon. Use that terminology.

Bryan: Use that terminology when you are requesGng this evaluaGon for your child, that’s correct?

JameDe: When you’re requesGng services.

Bryan: When you’re requesGng services use “free and appropriate educaGon”.

JameDe: The first thing you have to do is write the school a leDer and request that your child be evaluated. At that point they must evaluate your child and they must pay for it.

Bryan: You start by wriGng them a leDer.

JameDe: When they are evaluated, you need to make sure that they’re administering the appropriate test and that the qualified individuals to administer those tests are the ones doing it and that they’re doing it under the right condiGon. Now the tests will what they’re suppose to measure, how they should be administered and by whom.





Bryan: What are the right condiGons that you’re referring to?

JameDe: It would depend on the test. There may be a test that should be administered in a specific environment, of quiet seWng, or it may be administered in the classroom seWng so that the teacher can observe how the child react to the background noise.

JameDe: Before the school can evaluate a child on their own, they must get parental consent. The school cannot decide on their own that your child might need services and evaluate them. They have to get your consent. They have to get your consent for placement and services before they decide that your child, let’s say, is emoGonally disturbed, and they put them in the ED classroom, they have to get your consent. The school agency must conduct a full and individual evaluaGon. They have to first determine whether the child is the child with the disability and they must second determine what the educaGonal needs of the child are. The tesGng can include all areas of suspected disability. It must include everything. It might be a health screening, it might be a vision test, a hearing test, social, emoGonal, general intelligence, cogniGve, communicaGon skills, academic performance in whatever areas they suspect or maybe a learning disability area or motor skill. The test must be administered in the child’s naGve language if feasible. The test cannot be discriminatory. Once your child is tested and is on a IEP, the re-‐evaluaGons must be done if a parent or teacher request. In Oklahoma reevaluaGons have to be done at least every three years.

Bryan: So it’s got to be in the naGve language, they’ve got to do it and they can’t do it with parent consent. The school must conduct the full and individual evaluaGon.

JameDe: Right. They can’t just have a blanket evaluaGon. It has to be individualized for the suspected problem areas of your child.

Bryan: Perfect.

JameDe: It has to cover all of the suspected areas.

Bryan: All right. Let’s move on to number two.

JameDe: I like this one. Number two, you have a right to get your own independent evalua@on and I do have the ciGng for the actual reference here and it’s 34 CFR secGon 300.502.


#2 - You have a right to get your own independent evaluation.




Bryan: Okay, so that’s the citaGon for this code itself?

JameDe: Right, Code of Federal RegulaGons. It’s 34 CFR secGon 300.502.

JameDe: Now, what I want to point out is what I think is so important. If parents are serious about geWng services for their child, I truly recommend that you get your own independent evaluaGon. It maybe that the school does a good job, a lot of school systems are really trying to cater to the needs of disabled students or students with learning problems. Schools don’t know yet how they can service these kids and so for some of them, the evaluaGon should be as thorough as they should be. You need to remember that the evaluators assigned by the school board work for the school. There are maybe reasons that they will be more inclined to go along with what the school says. It maybe financial reasons or it may be a lack of knowledge. There are several reasons that the original evaluaGon that the school conducts may not be sufficient. It may be, but if you disagree with the first evaluaGon, you have the right to get a second independent evaluaGon at the school’s expense. If you go in and ask the school where you can get that independent evaluaGon, they must tell you. They have to tell you where you can go to look for an evaluaGon.

Bryan: Well, so what you’re saying is you can request a second evaluaGon and school pays for it?

JameDe: Right, if they don’t provide you with the evaluaGon without any delay, they have to iniGate the hearing proceedings where you can go to an independent hearing officer and the school will have to convince them why they shouldn’t provide another evaluaGon. But in the end, parents need to know that they may have to pay for an evaluaGon.

JameDe: They may have to use their insurance. If you have adopted kids or foster kids, use your Medicaid. If you have to, go to a local university and pay on a sliding scale, use your community services, use your local mini health centers to find out where you can get your own evaluaGons.

Parent: How long should it be between the Gmes that you request an IEP and the Gme that the child should be tested?

JameDe: Now you’re geWng in to that legal terminology which isn’t so clear because what the law says is ‘without undue delay’. The courts will determine what is undue delay, but usually the proceeding should start immediately or within a few weeks to not more than 45 days.

Parent: If it is longer, what can you do? I mean I’ve been waiGng four months.

JameDe: Wow, you’ve been waiGng too long. Without them either telling you why it’s taking so long or having some communicaGon with you, I would write a leDer to the principal explaining that you, menGon the day you requested an evaluaGon,





and it hasn’t been done yet. Could they please advise you when this will, when this process will begin? If you don’t get a response from the principal, because you’ve already waited so long, within a week, write to the superintendent. If you don’t get a response then, you call the state department of educaGon, special educaGon division. Make sure you have everything in wriGng.

Bryan: Great. Tell us about point number three.

!JameDe: Okay, number three. You have the right to request services for your child and of

course that’s why you’ve gone through the evaluaGon process. I wanted to tell you specifically what the individualized educaGon program must address and there are five things that I want you to write down the one word for each of these five things. Number one is why, number two is what, number three is how, number four is who and number five is measure.

Bryan: Excellent. Tell us about those?

JameDe: Okay number one is why does the child need services? That has to be clearly expressed in the IEP itself. What is the diagnosed disability? What are the problems that the child is having?

Bryan: Okay.

JameDe: Number two, what services does the child need? The IEP can include any thing that supports the child’s ability to learn.

Bryan: Important point. This is a point I’m really passionate about, is the parent’s understanding that your IEP can include anything that supports the child’s ability to learn. A school can’t just say “Well, we don’t have the ability to do that”.

JameDe: That’s right.

Bryan: SomeGmes I make recommendaGons to parents, such as, you should have your child call you mid-‐morning, mid-‐aKernoon just to check in. It only has to take five seconds and I’ve had schools saying “We can’t do or we don’t allow that”. Well what JameDe is sharing with us is that if you can get those wriDen into the IEP, not only it’s law but also it’s something that the school has to be able to provide because they can, the IEP can include anything that supports their ability to learn. I can guarantee that I can help validate why making something as simple as a phone call can assist their ability to learn.

JameDe: That’s right. We’re going to talk about this some more in just a minute but you can get very creaGve on what can support the child’s ability to learn. Number


#3 - You have a right to request services for your child.




three, how well the school addresses these needs and provide these services. It has to be specifically wriDen, how is the school going to teach your child to read? How is the school going to teach your child to behave in an acceptable manner in the classroom seWng? They can’t just say “The child will behave”. That’s not good enough. The other thing is, here we go with the creaGvity -‐ any methodology can be used and or created.

Bryan: That’s big.

JameDe: There’s a lot of specific programs out there that a lot people don’t know about, for example there is one called Brain Gym that contains some simple exercises children can do in the morning to get both sides of their brain engaged, to get them ready for learning.

Bryan: The point is is that any methodology can be use and or created.


Bryan: It’s just what is the most suitable method of instrucGon for that student and I think that that’s the important point, that you can’t be told, “well we can’t do that or that’s not possible” because truly any methodology can be used.

JameDe: There is a way. There is always a way to teach what the child needs to learn. The Supreme Court has said under the comprehensive system of personal development, which is required by the Individuals with DisabiliGes EducaGon Act, I know these are big legal terms and you don’t have to remember all that, but the Supreme Court has said, the state can acquire virtually any methodology. If the school doesn’t have someone to meet those needs, the school must find someone or train someone and you as a parent have the right to ask the school how are they going to meet the trainings needs. How are they going to provide the person to administer that methodology?

If you don’t think your school is providing that training or finding that person, you need to write to the school, this needs to be done in wriGng and ask the school what they’re doing to meet those training needs.

Bryan: If you don’t get a response, you go to the state department of educaGon.

JameDe: That’s right. They’ve become my friends. Make them yours as well.

JameDe: Okay, number four, who will be responsible for each service? That has to be in the IEP, whether it’s the regular teachers, special educaGon teacher, a speech therapist, the tutor, whoever is going to be responsible for that service must be in there. Number five, a way to measure the progress. The measurement have to be specific. They have to have to Gmeline, they have to have baseline stated in concrete and measurable terms that would be clear to anyone reading them. They can’t be confusing. They have to be clearly understood.

Bryan: Everyone has to understand that.





JameDe: That’s right. The school has to provide quarterly reports of how your child is doing meeGng these measurements. That doesn’t mean that they write and say “Johnny has been a good boy this semester or Johnny is learning to read”. No, they have to address the specific goal in a specifically measurable way that addressed by the IEP. If they’re not adequately reported and they’re not being truthful, you’re being deprived of one of the most important safeguards of the IDEA amendment. You need to write to your school and find out why did the specific goals are not being reported on.

Bryan: This is powerful informaGon. As a therapist I’ve done of ton of IEP consultaGons and I had some general knowledge but when you share some of the specific things, it just blows me away. When you say don’t get frustrated to get educated, that speaks directly to parents. Don’t get frustrated, get educated, find out exactly what you can request. Don’t stop when you go the school and they tell you “We’re not going to do that”, if you write a leDer and they don’t respond, go to the big people. Go to the state department of educaGon. Really, don’t get frustrated, get educated then get acGvated.

JameDe: SomeGmes Bryan, we have to educate the school.

Bryan: Absolutely.

JameDe: SomeGmes it’s not that they don’t want to help your child, they do want to help your child but they don’t know what they can do or they don’t know how to do it. We as parents and advocates we have to educate them and if we don’t know what we’re talking about, we can’t tell them what they need to know. Unfortunately a lot of Gmes we go in thinking that they’re going to educate us but there is only so much they know or can learn at any one Gme as well.

Bryan: I have to explain that over and over and over again. I think that is so important JameDe. I need you to menGon all the five also. It’s on point number three, you have the right to request services for child. Okay, tell me about number four.

JameDe: Okay, well Bryan I need to go back to number three for a second because there are a couple of more things that are very important that we didn’t get a chance to hit yet. I want parents to know this language also. The IEP must be individualized and especially designed to meet the unique needs of that parGcular child. The purpose for the child’s educaGon is to prepare them for employment and independent living so it’s not necessarily just reading and math, there maybe other things that that individual needs. Heath, basic hygiene, social skills, anger management, aDachment training etc, and all of that can be wriDen into the IEP, and I want parents to know that. Now we can go on to number four, you have the right to par@cipate and have input into the IEP building and evalua@ng process at all @mes.


#4 - You have a right to participate and have input into the IEP building and evaluating process at all times.




Bryan: Okay, great. Tell me what that means?

JameDe: Parents are their child’s best advocate.

Bryan: Absolutely.

JameDe: The educators may be the experts on educaGon but the parent is the expert on their child. You know your child’s limitaGons, you know their needs beDer than anyone out. Personally I believe that the parent is responsible for insuring that the child gets an appropriate educaGon.

Bryan: Absolutely.

JameDe: The parents have to have input into this process and the parents can’t be inGmidated. A lot of us feel inGmidated when we’re around teachers and principals. I sGll hate going to the principal’s office. We grow up with that. We’re trained to have that and it’s hard to get rid of it.

Bryan: It’s unconscious fear.


Bryan: There’s unconscious basis fear that, and it doesn’t maDer if you’re 40 years old, unconsciously we sGll have that fear because we’ll be easily inGmidated. It’s a natural process. Something I talked about with the therapists all the Gme.

JameDe: Exactly, so what I say to parents that if you’re too shy or if you’re inGmidated by this process, get help, get an advocate, get somebody on your side to speak for you. Get an aDorney, get a parent’s advocate, group representaGve, if nothing else take a friend or relaGve.

Bryan: Absolutely.

JameDe: Never go to an IEP meeGng alone. Never, never, never. Your words will be reported differently the next Gme around.

!Bryan: Right.

JameDe: Let’s see, I have another legal cite that’s important, it’s 34 CFR secGon 300.501. This law states that the agency shall, a very important word ‘shall’ insure that the parent or parent of a child are part of the team making decisions. The school has to get the parent involved on the team. In Oklahoma we have what’s called surrogate parent and the school requires a surrogate, but I’m telling you that the


Never ever go to an IEP meeting alone - unless this is not possible. But try to get someone to go with you.




parent and the foster parent and the adopted parent have the right to be that ‘surrogate parent’. You go to the school; you tell them you want to be the child’s ‘surrogate’ if needed.

You go to 15 or 20 minutes of training and you’re a cerGfied surrogate parent. If for some reason before the IEP meeGng you can’t get that done, you sGll have a right to be at the meeGng and advocate for your child. If they call in a stranger to be a surrogate parent -‐ they don’t know your child.

JameDe: If you have to, take the surrogate out to lunch and tell them what you’re trying to do, because most of the Gme they’re just going to sit there, making sure that the child’s right aren’t violated. But they don’t know what’s appropriate for your child.

Bryan: Right, and not knowing what is appropriate can be a violaGon.

JameDe: Right. We had a foster parent recently, that the school wouldn’t let her be the surrogate. But I’m saying she has the right to be there and have input anyway as the parent.

JameDe: Okay, I also have a brief list of resources that parents should obtain before they go to an IEP meeGng, before they even think about an IEP meeGng – a copy of school laws from your state residence. You can get those from your state department of educaGon but those are just school laws in general. You need to get the policies and procedures for special educa:on in your state and you get that from the department of educaGon. Again that’s the policies and procedure special educaGon and it’s usually a really thick book, but it’s very important.

You need to get the local parent’s right on special educaGon for your school district if there is one. In small school districts, there may not be one. You need to have the school handbook and the student rule book and you need to read it. One of the most important resources for parents that are struggling with IEPs is you need to subscribe to the free Wright’s Law online newsleDer. You can get that www.wrightslaw.com and it is a very important resource.

JameDe: When you go the IEP meeGng, you have a right to aDach what’s called a Parental ADachment. This aDachment can list any of the needs that you think your child has, any of the problems that the child is having. Any services that you recommend that the school provides, you can write down and you can write this


Get the Policies and Procedures for Special Education for your state

http://www.wrightslaw.com




before you go to the meeGng or you can take notes during the meeGng and have it aDached.

Bryan: This can be any kind of report or any list of things that you think is going to be beneficial for the child.

JameDe: Right.

Bryan: I just sat in on an IEP with a parent and she put together an enGre PowerPoint presentaGon.

JameDe: Excellent.

Bryan: She had a copy for everyone at the IEP, she emailed me a copy because I was only on the phone, and everyone just went through this PowerPoint presentaGon step by step.

JameDe: Right and that her notes to that should be aDached to the IEP.

Bryan: Absolutely.

JameDe: It will be made a part of the child permanent educaGon file. I want parents to know that they have the right to submit any tesGng, any evaluaGon, any reports and leDers from professional, any quesGons, concerns or specific recommendaGon or any other informaGon that they think will be helpful to the team. The school, the team must consider this. Anything that you submit as a parent, the school must consider it, the team must consider it in creaGng the IEP.

JameDe: Another important fact is if the parent for some reason cannot aDend, any other advocate such as Bryan Post can aDend even being in another state.

JameDe: They can appear by teleconferencing or video conferencing. If the parents in prison, they can appear by teleconference. If the parent for some reason can’t get off work, they can appear by phone. They don’t have to be there in person and I think that’s important.

JameDe: The school must provide an interpreter if the parents need one. You may request an IEP review at anyGme for any reason. If you think there’s something missing on the IEP or you don’t think the school is making enough modificaGons, you can request an IEP review at anyGme. You should do it in wriGng and they must hold an IEP review. They don’t have a choice.

JameDe: Another important point, if the IEP isn’t what you think it should be, you don’t have to sign it and it’s not any good unGl every member of the team signs it.

Bryan: That’s an important point. If you’re not saGsfied with what’s on the IEP, you don’t have to sign it. In fact you shouldn’t sign it.


Bryan: I knew one parent, I was sent in an IEP in Maryland and she said, “Well I’m not going to sign this unGl I’ve had a chance to review it again.” We’d been in the IEP for an hour and a half and she said, “Well, just mail me a copy and I’ll read it





again and then I’ll sign it”. That is her right and that is absolutely what she should do. Parents, don’t sign anything unless you agree with every single point that is in there. Let’s go onto number five.

!JameDe: Number five, you have the right to adequate no@ce.

!JameDe: Adequate is another one of those legal terms that is not clearly defined. The

school may say that three days was adequate noGce, but if you cannot be there and you cannot be ready for the IEP, three days is not adequate. In the field, it's usually ten days. At any rate, the parents must have reasonable Gme to be prepared and to be able to arrange their schedules to be there. Not only do the parents need Gme to arrange for them to be there, the school has to have the IEP meeGng when it's convenient for any advocate for the child that the parent wants to be there. If the parent can't be there then the school has to work around someone else's schedule. The school may have to work around the psychologist's schedule, the doctor's schedule, the audiologist's schedule; whoever. They have to work around it so everybody that the parent wants to be there can be there.

Bryan: Great.

JameDe: WriDen noGce must include any proposed changes and idenGficaGon. If they want to change the classificaGon of your child, that has to be in the noGce. It has to include what evaluaGons they're going to look at. If they refuse to iniGate any changes requested or recommended, that has to be given to the parent in wriGng.

The content of the noGce has to include a descripGon of the acGon proposed or refused, an explanaGon of why that acGon is proposed or refused, descripGons of other opGons that were considered and why those were rejected, descripGon of evaluaGon, who has been invited to be in aDendance; that has to be in there, and any other factors.


#5 - You have a right to have the right to adequate notice.




Another important thing is that the school must provide a statement of procedural safeguard with the noGce. The school has to provide the statement of your review process. If you don't like the IEP, the school won't provide the services. They have to tell you what you can do next.

Bryan: So they have to tell you what the next steps are.

JameDe: It has to be wriDen in a language that's understandable to the general public, and in the parent’s naGve language if possible.

!JameDe: Number six, You have the right to have an advocate speak for you, and you

have a right to have anyone you want a6end the mee@ng and advocate for your child. The parent should parGcipate in the meeGng and speak for the child but again, we talked about this before. You also have the right to have another advocate. You can bring aDorney, you can bring a parent advocacy group, you can bring a friend, family member. You also can invite anyone who has knowledge or special experGse about the child. That person doesn't just have to come and listen. They can parGcipate on the team.

It can be professionals such as therapists, psychologists or teachers. It might be an old teacher from another grade, from another school. It could be another individual that's familiar with the child's needs such as a coach.

Bryan: Just speaking from the perspecGve of a therapist, I personally believe that if you have a therapist in your child's life, that that therapist has a responsibility to your family to be on that IEP. I try to teach therapists all the Gme that you have to be an advocate for your client in all areas.

If you have a family therapist, your child has a therapist. Of course I'm bias to therapists that just work with families, but you get that therapist in that IEP meeGng, and have them there as your ally. I guarantee you that will just bring


#6 - You have the right to have an advocate speak for you, and you have a right to have anyone you want attend the meeting and advocate for your child.




you a new level of comfort. I'm always adamant about the families that I work with that I want to be on the phones during their IEP's even if just listening in. Even if I'm not having any input, just listening in, just being there, providing support. Definitely get that therapist involved.

JameDe: I agree Bryan. If your kids are in a therapeuGc agency, get your therapist from a foster care agency; get that therapist there. If possible, I always invite the DHS worker. They don't always come, but I think they should.

Bryan: I would say something that's important here, especially if you have a child with a trauma history. Get that therapist involved and have them give a short in-‐service about what the effects of trauma are on a child's brain. How does this affect a child's behavior? What does this look like in the day-‐to-‐day? Is your child overly sensiGve? What does that look like?

A lot of Gmes you have to educate the educators. If you get frustrated and not educated then you're not going to be able to do it. Bring someone with you, get educated and give an in-‐service about where your child is coming from and what your child needs.

JameDe: That's important because I can tell you that when you have an IEP meeGng, you need to assume that you're going to have to have a hearing. That you're going to have to go to court. You won't always have to, but you need to conduct that IEP meeGng as if you already know you're going to go to court. You need to bring all the evidence with you.

JameDe: You can invite pastors. One Gme I invited a previous foster parent because that was important. I hadn't had this child very long, and that foster parent had more input then I did.

!JameDe: On to number seven, you have the right to ensure that your child's IEP is carried

out. Here's where we get into the due process rights; the procedural process.


#7 - You have the right to ensure that your child's IEP is carried out.




Which as I said, your school has the duty, in fact, has to inform you of your due process rights.

Bryan: That's powerful.

JameDe: At all IEP meeGngs there has to be an administraGve representaGve. Usually that's the principal, but it may be the superintendent. If your IEP meeGngs are not going well, it would behoove you to invite the superintendent in wriGng to aDend your IEP meeGng. That administraGve representaGve is responsible for making sure that all aspects of the IEP are carried out. If that principal was the one that's present, they're responsible.

The other side of that is that the staff listed on the IEP must carry out specific recommendaGons and are responsible for that part. If they don't provide those services they personally could be held legally liable.

Bryan: That's a point worth repeaGng. A lot of parents don't realize that. I know that's something I didn't realize.

JameDe: I was shocked when I found this out. I know a lot of teachers would work a liDle bit harder if they knew that they could have to pay money to those parents when they didn't carry out the requirements of the IEP.

Bryan: Wow. That's huge.

JameDe: The courts have actually done that. There's a case in Colorado. Where they said, "Adhering to a student's IEP is a clearly established right such that if a reasonable person does not follow a student's IEP, one would understand that she is violaGng that right." This court awarded the parent money damages paid by the teachers.

Bryan: This is serious. IEP's are serious business. These IEPs are not just to waste your Gme. They're not just to go in and voice your frustraGons about the school and about your child's struggles. These things are serious business. If you go in and you get an IEP; let it be known that every person signing that IEP is assigning himself or herself responsibility. That responsibility has legal implicaGons. That is big, big stuff.

JameDe: Very well said Bryan. It is big. What do we do if we feel like the IEP is not being carried out? First try to address the issue with the teacher. If that doesn't work





go to the principal. If that doesn't work go to the superintendent. This doesn't mean you have to wait months between each one because that IEP is effecGve the day it's signed. The very next day those things go into effect. If a few days later it's not happening, talk to the teacher. A few days later talk to the principal.

Bryan: As a parent the only way you're going to know whether or not it's happening is if you're calling, if you're going to the school, if you're asking your child, are these things taking place? Are you being dismissed to lunch ten minutes before everyone else? Are you having a specific place that you stay on recess? Are you being permiDed to get an extra ten minutes in PE while everyone else gets dressed, before you go get dressed?

You have a responsibility to make sure these things are happening. The only way that's going to happen is if you're checking in. You can't just leave it up to the school to do it.

JameDe: Exactly. You need to know. You need to know what's going on when you talk to the teacher, the principal, and the superintendent. If you talk to them in person or by phone, it's very important that you make notes. If you have a day planner, write the notes in your day planner on that day. If you don't, write the date, the Gme, who you talked to, on a piece of paper. AKer the phone call you write a follow-‐up leDer.

Dear Mrs. Such and Such,

I called you today regarding my child and these were the issues. This is what we discussed and this is what was decided.

You send that leDer as a follow-‐up, and you keep a notebook and you keep a record of everything that's said. Otherwise, conduct as much important communicaGon as you can in wriGng in the first place.

If you don't get anywhere with the school there's two ways you can go. You can go to the State Department of EducaGon. If you go that route there's three, and I'm paraphrasing now to save Gme. There's three things they can do:

1) They can call the school and discuss it with them informally. That has proved to be very effecGve at Gmes;





2) They can send you and the school to a mediator where you can sit down and discuss the issues with a representaGve from the State Department of EducaGon;

3) you can file a wriDen complaint.

If you file a wriDen complaint, they have to do an invesGgaGon. They have I believe sixty days to do that. They have to invesGgate and issue a wriDen leDer of findings within sixty days. When they do that they'll issue a leDer to the school and say we either found you in compliance or we found you in non-‐compliance, and this is what you need to change; this is what you need to do.

You also have a right to ask for missed services. Which means that all the services they didn't get for the past six months, you may need to have it done during the summer. That's important too because the teachers don't know that they're going to have to spend the whole summer giving your child services. If the State Department of EducaGon finds that your school has been in non-‐compliance and has not been providing services; they may have to provide those services over the summer. They may have to stay aKer school to provide services, but they have to make it up. If they've missed six months of providing a parGcular service, they'll have to find a way to make that up -‐ six months’ worth.

Parent: We just had an IEP meeGng. My son is now designated hospital home bound. The teacher's going to be coming five hours a week. I don't know where they got the five hours, but I'm going to be talking to them about it. His diagnosis is ADachment Disorder. It sounds like I have the right to expect the school to provide me with someone who has a clue about ADachment Disorder, and that the responsibility isn't on me to train this person.

Bryan: Is that correct JameDe?

JameDe: Yes. You're right. Did they tell you what kind of teacher they're going to be sending you?

JameDe: If they don't have a teacher that is knowledgeable in ADachment Disorder, they need to get that teacher trained. You do not have to educate them. You can as much as possible, and work with that teacher.

Bryan: They don't want just any educaGon. Let me chime in here. Any educaGon on ADachment Disorder is not sufficient. Send them to my website hDp://www.posGnsGtute.com. I've done an two DVD set on educaGng challenging






children (Working with the Difficult Child in the Classroom) that they can get. They can have their own educaGon. I've got schools doing in-‐services with these videotapes when they can start their educaGon process. Don't allow them just to get any educaGon about ADachment Disorder because then you might not know what they're geWng.

JameDe: Remember the word appropriate.

JameDe: If they try to tell you that they're sending you a teacher, that's good enough, you tell them that a regular emoGonally disturbed cerGfied teacher is not appropriate if they don't have training in ADachment Disorder.

Parent: I asked the quesGon previously about how long you should wait if there is not an IEP in place. I'm just waiGng to hear when they're going to test my child and when they're going to provide services, because it's so late in the year. What kinds of things do I request for the summer? I know my daughter's in jeopardy for failing the semester this year. What right do I have or what should I be asking for her so that she maybe could pass?

JameDe: It's hard for me to answer that quesGon without having more detail. I know Oklahoma is concerned about providing extended year services. In order to provide those they have to show, not that your child didn't do well this year or not that your child has failed, but, that having that Gme-‐off in the summer will make them lose what they've learned.

In other words, if they're at one level, say they're at the third grade level, we would have to show that by the Gme they enter fourth grade they will be at the 2.5 grade level. That's kind of ridiculous because they used to provide summer school for kids who weren't passing so that they could pass.

Parent: She can go to summer school but I have to pay for it.

Bryan: Have you had an IEP yet?

Parent: No. I've been waiGng four months.

Bryan: Why?

Parent: My daughter was hospitalized. Then when she went back to school she was just put in the resource room and given some help, but not anything in wriGng.


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Bryan: JameDe, doesn't she have to get that IEP accomplished in order to give her some secure fooGng to stand on with the school?

JameDe: That's the first step. Another thing that we need to remember is that we want to react to a crisis, but we have to respond and we have to be raGonal. Unfortunately ... I do the same thing. Here I am at the end of the year and I can feel this mother's frustraGon. I've been asking for evaluaGons and I'm not geWng it, and we're going to go into next year and we have nothing in place.

JameDe: That's frustraGng. Step back and remember that your daughter‘s going to be in the same place basically next year. We are nearing the end of the year, but you need to get those leDers fired off asking why she hasn't been evaluated. If you don't hear anything within one week I want you to call the State Department of EducaGon and explain to them what you've done, and tell them that it's very important before the beginning of next year that you have an IEP in place. They can test over the summer.

Speaker 4: They can?

JameDe: Yes.

Parent: I heard through the grapevine that it's because the teachers in my city don't have a contract.

JameDe: That's not good enough. That's not your problem.

Parent: I agree, but that's what I was told informally. It's my daughter who is missing out.

JameDe: Exactly. The law is very specific and very strict on Special EducaGon.

Parent: Your help is unbelievable. I am so excited about this because I didn't know any of this. I appreciate it.

Bryan: Let's go ahead and hit these last two points.

JameDe: Yes. Let me talk a liDle bit about the due process because we just talked about the complaint process through the Department of EducaGon. I want you to know you don't have to go that route. You can go that route, but you don't have to. You can ask for a review hearing through the school district.





They have to provide an unbiased hearing officer. You go to that hearing, you present your evidence, and then they'll make a decision. If you don't agree with that decision you get another review. At each level the school has to provide you with the informaGon on how you request these reviews and how they are conducted, and what your rights are. They also have to provide you a list of people that you can contact for help; legal agencies, lawyers, advocacy groups etc.

Then you go to the review hearing. Then you get a review of that review hearing, and that's on paper. It's so important that when you go to the review hearing you present all your evidence because the next hearing is on paper unless somebody requests to add oral argument or more evidence.

If you're sGll not saGsfied at that level, you go to the court. You go to the state or you can go straight to the Federal Court.

Bryan: Let me ask you something JameDe. If a parent is at this point, what's the likelihood that this would ever have to go all the way to State or Federal Court? What if a parent said, “it appears that I can't get an IEP done here, maybe I need to contact the State Board of EducaGon”. What if they just use those words? What's the likelihood that you would ever have to take this to State or Federal Court if you could demonstrate to the school that you do have some fundamental basic knowledge about what your child's rights are and what IEP rights are?

JameDe: If you conduct your IEP meeGng as if you're going to court you probably won't have to go to court.

Bryan: That's good.

Bryan: If you come into your IEP meeGng, you have a support system, a support person there with you, you're taking notes, you're saying “I want to know exactly what's going on, I want to have these things specific, I want copies, I don't want to sign anything I don't want to agree with” etc., then essenGally what you're saying is you treat that process like you're going to court, and you're probably not going to end up in court?

JameDe: Right.

Bryan: The school is going to take you more serious?





JameDe: Right. You get your aDorney, you get your advocate, you get your psychologist, you get your doctors, and you organize. I can't tell you how important it is to be organized. They can't argue with that.

JameDe: If you have graphs and charts showing how your child's reading level has gone down over the last year. They can't deny that evidence. The last IEP meeGng I had, I took off my “mom hat” and put on my “lawyer hat”, and I came in with notebooks for everybody tabbed and highlighted, and in chronological order. They can't refuse to look at that.

Bryan: The thing is, you don't have to be an aDorney to do that.

JameDe: You don't have to be.

Bryan: Yeah. I know parents that are doing that all the Gme.

Bryan: Basically what you're telling parents is be prepared, be thorough. Come with your game face on.

JameDe: You might want to be… we call it here the good old boy network. You just want to sit down and talk it out. But that's not working. SomeGmes you got to get serious.

Bryan: Okay, number eight.

!JameDe: Yes. number eight, you have the right to review and/or have copies made of all

of your child's school records. I didn't know how important this was unGl my last IEP meeGng because I got all the records. This means cumulaGve records. You need to know this language too. You need to have the regular educaGon file, and write this down – a regular educaGon file. You need to have the cumulaGve records, and that includes transcripts and test scores from all classes and all schools. You need to have health records, and you need to have the Special EducaGon records. You need to get those prior to your IEP and review them.


#8 - You have the right to review and/or have copies made of all of your child's school records.




Bryan: That's what you can make some of those graphs off from. If you have those school records, you have a history of performance. You've got the power in your hands right there.

JameDe: When you do that, the school can't give you any surprises because you've already read the records, you've already read the tests. At my last meeGng they pulled out tests that they had never showed me or discussed with me before, but I knew because I read the enGre record.

There are also teacher's personal notes in there. Teacher to teacher contact, phone calls, memos etc, and you request all that. You request personal personal correspondence. You have the right to review those records at any Gme. Under the freedom of informaGon act you have a right to get those photocopied. However, you may have to pay for the copies. It has to be a reasonable fee. It can't be above Kinko prices for example. They have to be good copies. If you're going to pay you want good copies. It has to be, again, within a reasonable amount of Gme. That's another one of those legal terms that is going to be determined at court. What was a reasonable amount of Gme?

JameDe: The school must comply without unnecessary delay, and in no case more than 45 days.

Bryan: That's great. You have the right to review and/or have copies made of all your child's school records. Again, if you're going to have an IEP, get those past records. Review them so you'll come in equipped with knowing what your child's performance has been in school. And you will know what they're going to talk about.

Bryan: Knowing what they're going to talk ... Don't be caught off guard.

Bryan: Tell us about number nine JameDe.


#9 - You have the right to know the educational levels, certifications, and experience of any and all teachers and paraprofessionals that work with your child.




!JameDe: Number nine, you have the right to know the educa@onal levels, cer@fica@ons,

and experience of any and all teachers and paraprofessionals that work with your child. This is again, under the instrucGonal personnel standards. Federal and state laws are geWng more and more strict because we're trying to get highly qualified personnel educaGng our children. You have the right to request in wriGng all that informaGon about every teacher that comes in contact with your child.

If you have an emoGonally disabled child and the school is sending your child to the learning lab or the disability class, and that teacher does not have cerGficaGon in emoGonal disability, is that an appropriate educaGon? I say no.

Bryan: Absolutely not.

JameDe: You need to request in wriGng what the cerGficaGons are, what the degrees are, and what the educaGon is for every teacher or assistant, paraprofessional, that comes in contact with your child.

Bryan: Nothing against librarians, but don't send your librarian over to my house to try to educate my child.

JameDe: Exactly.

Bryan: Or the reGred army veteran with a GED, now serving as a paraprofessional to the school.

JameDe: Right.

Bryan: Don't send that person over to my house. Send the person over to my house with some credenGals, with some qualificaGons. You as a parent have the right to know what that is. If this person doesn't have the educaGon and they don't have the experience to be working with your child, then request for someone else.

JameDe: Right. I want to give you the legal citaGon for this so that if you do write a leDer you can quote this. “Pursuant to USC. SecGon 6311. That's United States Code.


Remember The No Child Left Behind Act…you can say, "According to the No Child Left Behind Act I have the right to know this.”




This is part of the No Child LeD Behind Act. It's important that you know that terminology too because you can say, "According to the No Child LeD Behind Act I have the right to know this.”

!Bryan: I like that.

JameDe: For other helpful resources, you need to look in your state for parent advocacy groups. In Oklahoma we have what's called the Oklahoma Parent's Center. They will send an advocate with you to the IEP meeGngs if they need to. They will talk to you on the phone and give you ideas. You may have a local disability law center. They may be able to have somebody represent you.

! Again, the WrightsLaw website. This is invaluable. You have to get their free

online newsleDer. That's hDp://www.wrightslaw.com. Pete and Pam Wright are both aDorneys, and they lecture around the United States about educaGon law.

Pete Wright has come up with a list of rules of adverse assumpGons. These are things that you need to assume.

You need to assume that liGgaGon is going to take place. In other words you just pretend like you know all along that you're going to go to court. You want to assume that you're going to start the fight.

JameDe: You want to assume that all school staff is going to tesGfy against you. They may be your friends in the cafeteria, leWng you know when you're not taking notes or recording anything, but when you get to court they're going to tesGfy against you. Get everything in wriGng even if it's a follow-‐up leDer. "Today I saw you in the lunchroom and we discussed....". Write it down.


Visit the WrightsLaw website: www.wrightslaw.com - a most important resource.








JameDe: Assume that the hearing officer will be biased. When you get to the due process hearing it's supposed to be an unbiased hearing officer, but you need to assume that the hearing officer is biased. What you do to prepare for that is you present all your evidence. You have your evaluaGon, you have your witnesses; you take it all. Assume that parents cannot tesGfy. You can, but use your expert.

Bryan: What Pete Wright is saying, is come prepared. Come prepared. I mean really that's what it's saying. Don't come in inGmidated and feeling insecure, and not having your T's crossed and I's doDed; come prepared. Assume that you're going to have to bring yourself and your informaGon into court with your mouth tapped shut, and you're not going to be able to say anything, and you're going to have to have your documentaGon speak for itself.

!JameDe: Very good. Another website I want you visit is hDp://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/sped.

On that website is an arGcle called Special Educa:on Rights for Parents and Children. That's a really good overview of a lot of what we've talked about. Also visit their list of The NaGonal Directory of State Departments of EducaGon. There's one more -‐ NaGonal DisseminaGon Center for Children With DisabiliGes. You can get the state laws, I believe for every state on that website.

Bryan: Wow that's a great resource. Those are the nine criGcal IEP points that every parent needs to know. JameDe, this has been awesome.

Bryan: Okay, I'm going to leave us on a lighter note because none of us like these IEP meeGngs. They can be very stressful, they can be very anxious. JameDe provided me with this liDle poem. It says, On a lighter note, IEP's according to Dr. Seuss. The author is unknown.

On a Lighter Note... IEPs According to Dr. Suess !Do you like these IEPs? !


Other important resources to use…

http://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/sped.

http://www.specialed.us./resources/natdir.htm

http://www.parentcenterhub.org/




I do not like these IEPsI do not like them, Jeeze Louise

We test, we checkwe plan, we meet

but nothing ever seems complete. !Would you, could you

like the form? !I do not like the form I see. Not page 1, not 2, not 3.

Another change,a brand new box, I think we all

Have lost our rocks. !Could you all meet here or there? !

We could not all meet here or there. We cannot all fit anywhere.

Not in a roomNot in a hall

There seems to be no space at all. !Would you, could you meet again? !I cannot meet again next week

No lunch, no prepPlease here me speak.

No, not at dusk and not at dawn At 4 p.m. I should be gone. !

Could you hear while all speak out? Would you write the words they spout? !

I could not hear, I would not writeThis does not need to be a fight. !

Sign here, date there,Mark this, check that,

Beware the student’s ad-‐vo-‐cat(e). !You do not like them

so you say





Try it again! Try it again!and then you may. !If you let me be,I’ll try again

and you will see. !Say! !

I almost like these IEPsI think I’ll write 6,003.

And I will pracGce day and nightUnGl they say

"You’ve got it right." Author Unknown

JameDe: That poem makes such an important point and I think that is, be persistent. Don't give up. It's taken me two years to get a decent IEP. Don't give up, keep going.

Bryan: I think that is so, so important. Don't give up, be persistent. Fight for your child because no one else is going to do it. Enlist all the help that you can.

Other Post EducaGon Resources:

Working with the Difficult Child in the Classroom -‐ DVD by Bryan Post

The Great Behavior Breakdown -‐ Book by Bryan Post

Effec:ve Strategies for Severe Behaviors in Adop:ve & Foster Children Including RAD, OD, ADHD, Aspergers, Au:sm & Others – DVD by Bryan Post and Dr. Gazane Indart

Understanding the 9 Most Important Needs of Adop:ve & Foster Children – DVD by Bryan Post

The Love Revolu:on Back to School Edi:on -‐ Included in the ParenGng ADachment Challenged Children “Hands-‐On” Home Study Course by Bryan Post

How to Home School ADachment Challenged Children – and Succeed! – Sandra Nardoni A free arGcle that includes an interview with Sandra and Bryan discussing school issues and how to overcome them for special needs children.



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10 Tips for a Successful School

Year by Pat Howey, Advocate

We are pleased to be featuring an ar@cle from Pete and Pam Wright’s website. They were Adjunct Professors of Law at the William and Mary School of Law where they taught a course about special educa@on law and advocacy and assisted with crea@on of the Law School’s Special Educa@on Law Clinic. Their website, www.wrightslaw offers impeccable legal documents, books, audios, videos and even consola@ons for those of us with need of legal help for schooling and other issues dealing with special needs. Check out all the links in the 10 Tips ar@cle. One link offers you a free very helpful and complete 16 page step by step guide for formula@ng a Smart IEP. It’s @me to learn about special educa@on law. In this document, you will learn about SMART IEPs that are specific, measurable, use ac@on words, are realis@c and relevant, and @me-‐limited. You will learn how to use baseline levels of performance to write measurable goals and objec@ves.

(Special note from Bryan Post – “Wrightslaw is the best resource for legal issues for special needs children and their book Emo@ons to Advocacy is a must-‐read book for parents of school aged children”.)

Ques@on: Help! School is star:ng. I want to make sure I have done my homework so this year is beYer than last year.

Answer: You need to view your role as your child’s “case manager.” (Learn more about “The Parent as Project Manager” in Chapter 3 of Wrightslaw: From EmoGons to Advocacy.) You need to be watchful, even when things

appear to be going well. Here are ten Gps to help you get off to a good start at the beginning of the new school year.

!


http://www.wrightslaw


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1 – Help Your Child Deal with TransiGons Is your child making the transiGon from preschool to kindergarten, from elementary to middle school, or from middle school to high school? Plan to take your child to visit the new school or classroom before the first day of school.

2 – Reread your child’s IEP Do you understand what the school agreed to provide? Do your child’s teachers understand what they are to provide? Is your child’s IEP SMART? (specific, measurable, acGon words, realisGc, and Gme-‐specific)? (Review Chapter 12 about SMART IEPs from Wrightslaw: From EmoGons to Advocacy).

3 – Meet with your child’s teacher(s) to discuss your child’s special needs Take a picture of your child to the meeGng. Teachers are more likely to take a personal interest in your child and remember your child’s special needs if s/he has seen a picture of your child.

4 – Take extra copies of your child’s IEP to the meeGng with the teacher(s) Never assume that teachers have had Gme to read your child’s IEP before school begins. Teachers have many things to do as they prepare for the first day of school. The teacher may not understand how important the IEP is to your child’s success. Leave a copy of your child’s IEP with each teacher.

5 – Make a List of Important Things About Your Child Make a list of the five most important things that the teacher(s) need to know about your child. Explain why these things are vital to your child’s success. Leave a copy of the list with each teacher.

6 – Prepare to Deal with PotenGal Problems Early. If your child is in general educaGon classes, prepare for the teacher(s) who wants to see how your child “gets along” before making any changes in the way they run their classrooms. Teachers oKen take this posiGon because they want to give their students a fresh start. You may need to explain why your child may fail unless the teacher understands his/her unique needs and provides the necessary services, accommodaGons and supports.

7 – Resolve Old Concerns and Issues. If you have concerns or issues that were not resolved during the last IEP meeGng, request another IEP meeGng immediately. Try to resolve these issues and concerns before your child begins to have problems this year.

8 – Get a New Assessment. Consider geWng your child’s skills tested very early in the school year. Where are your child’s skills on standardized educaGonal achievement tests? Use these scores as baseline data. You can compare these scores with scores obtained at the end of the year to measure your child’s progress. (See Chapter 8, Your Child’s EvaluaGons, in Wrightslaw: From EmoGons to Advocacy).







9 – Go to your school’s Open House. In addiGon to giving you another chance to meet with your child’s teachers (and make a good impression), teachers oKen explain their classroom rules during Open House. When you aDend, you have a chance to see if your child may have trouble understanding the teachers’ rules. You will also be in a beDer posiGon to explain these rules to your child.

10 – Get a bound notebook. Use the notebook as a “contact log” to send messages to the teachers. Write a sentence or two to the teacher(s) every day. Do not make your child the bearer of messages about problems at school. Make an extra copy of your log oKen in case the notebook is lost.

Have a great school year! Source: www.wrightslaw.com

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www.postinstitute.com 434-589-8828 The Post Institute

Professional Education Report

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Professional Education Report, Page �1



Educational Planning for Children with Histories of Trauma by Bryan Post !I am writing this on behalf of traumatized children. The following report contains background information and specific recommendations that are based on my clinical knowledge of family psychodynamics combined with an expertise in treating traumatized children generally diagnosed as attachment disordered. The report is intended to assist school district staff in the creation of an effective educational environment by providing a concise understanding of a child’s psycho-emotional susceptibilities as well as recommendations that are routinely implemented in numerous schools to help create a rewarding educational experience for such children. Early Exposure to Trauma The first area I shall discuss is the emotional functioning of children with emotional histories reflective of trauma. Exposure to traumatic experiences during early development, specifically from conception to age three, exposes the developing neurophysiologic system to what can be termed as arrested emotional development. The environment of calm and consistent interaction between parent and child, necessary for successful development of the brain/body tools associated with emotional growth and regulation, is absent. This absence creates a state of chronic stress without soothing. The developing child continuously experiences stress during a critical period of growth when he should be experiencing calm regulated interaction. The outcome is a brain system poorly equipped for tolerating and managing stressful environments. Exposure to sufficient stress results in the emotional state of fear. The brain and body respond to stress inwardly but this correlates cognitively into fear, hence the fight, flight, or freeze response. The specific receptor in the limbic system equipped for responding to threats is the amygdala. This area of the brain responds to all manner of threat automatically. For example, when a stress occurs, the child becomes scared immediately. This is an amygdala reaction. However, the hippocampus is the area of the limbic system responsible for determining how threatening a stressful event is, acting as the fear regulator, and ultimately the neural component responsible for effective stress regulation. This area, along with the very important social-emotional executive control center known as the orbito-frontal cortex, communicates to the rational area of the brain and makes the decision to calm down, fight, freeze, or flee. Using the example of the scared child, the hippocampus allows the child to think in the midst of the experience: “Well maybe this is not so scary after all.” Therefore the child calms down and is no longer frightened.




The amygdala begins the most active development in the third trimester and continues to grow into the 18th month following birth. The hippocampus and orbito-frontal cortex continue development through the 36th month, the critical period of infancy. When the environment is overly stressful during this critical period, and there is insufficient or inconsistent external caregiver regulation, the growth of the hippocampus stagnates, hence the term emotional arrested development. Ultimately this leads to an amygdala that constantly signals danger, and a hippocampus that is so poorly developed that it is unable to determine how dangerous a situation or interaction may be. As a result, there is an escalation of stress and fear without rational processing available to reduce it. In the words of reputed neuropsychiatrist Bruce Perry, “You have a child that has had an amygdala hijacking.” The amygdala reacts to stress and prompts fear in an uncontrollable manner, and the child is essentially held hostage to his or her own neurophysiology. In fact, research demonstrates that chronic levels of stress will damage the hippocampii, causing an actual reduction in neural dendrites. As the child continues to grow, his emotional system remains under arrest. This continues until an environment conducive to constant regulation has been provided. Once such an environment is provided, a slow tedious process of reparative stress interaction can begin. In a highly regulated environment, the developing system can experience emotional regulation and develop new self-regulatory neuropathways. However, stressful interactions will rapidly send this highly sensitive system back into old patterns of chronic intensified fear triggered from the stress reaction, analogous to what may happen to an inmate released from jail on probation who is successful under constant supervision and positive interaction, but without supervision is quickly drawn into the wrong crowd, and before long is back in jail. When a child continues to require enhanced supervision beyond three years it becomes increasingly difficult for parents and eventually teachers and peers, to respond positively. As a result, the arrested neural development is maintained and the child is not provided the necessary regulated environment to overcome the early and powerful effects of trauma (stress) exposure. !School Time Challenges In developmental terms, three age states are defined for children: 1) chronological age, 2) cognitive age, and 3) emotional age. Most children who reach the chronological age to start school show comparable cognitive and emotional ages. For children with emotional arrested development the emotional age is much younger. In this case, when experiencing low stress and positive interactions, this same child is bright, articulate and engaging. He functions well and his behavior is consistent with his chronological age. However, while the child is eight chronologically and of school age, when under stress he




can quickly revert to the emotional age of a two-year old, exhibiting many of the same behaviors. Due to an early traumatic (stress) environment relating to adoption, family illness, multiple household moves and caregivers, or any number of traumatic events, this child’s emotional ability is not consistent with the appropriately functioning age of the school-ready child. Typical characteristics of the school environment are easily misperceived by the child’s developing system and induce stress. The constant state of stress correlates into fear, which surfaces as hyperactivity, defiance, anger, poor peer relations, and so on. In such an environment, a child with a cognitive age of eight is interacting from an emotional perspective consistent with an 18 to 36 month old child. Thus his behavior will be dependent on the environment in which he is nurtured and guided in his development. Over time, without appropriate support, a lack of ability to feel calm within the school environment will begin to take its toll on all involved, parents, teachers, and peers, but most of all the student. The thought of school itself becomes a stress-provoking event. The child recognizes his own failures, his parents are stressed about receiving calls and negative reports, the teachers are frustrated with this immature child, and peers have begun bullying the child because he responds in highly inappropriate ways to what is considered typical childhood jollying, or other children are the recipient of the child-turned-bully due to his constant fear of threat from others. However, the child is responding to fear exactly the way a child of his emotional age would, with extreme ranges of sadness, anger, and threatening behavior. In the classroom, the perceived threatening environment will cause the child to hunker down in fear, become violent or highly oppositional, and completely resistant to doing, or following through with any manner of request. Working as a Team for Development For success, the school and parents must come face to face to work together as a team. In my work with students that present such an overwhelming discrepancy between emotional and cognitive age, a number of changes must be initiated. First, it must be stated up front that education is the primary motive of the educational system, and is highly applicable to cognitive ability rather than emotional growth. Emotional learning must initiate within the family system as the family is the center of educational and emotional development. However, emotional learning can be greatly supported and enhanced by the school. With proper support and encouragement from the family and teacher, the student will be better prepared to receive the expertise offered from the educational system.




The specific recommendations below for such a child have been established to assist him in receiving the most appropriate environment conducive to emotional development within his current capability. It must be recognized that without sufficient support to aid in his development of emotional regulatory ability, most school experience will be negative. Awareness. Perhaps the most beneficial factor that will assist this child in learning is teacher awareness. It is imperative for his teacher to be consciously aware of his emotional state at all times, and provide a calming influence. This would include the teacher making a conscious and consistent effort to warmly greet the child each morning, and to assess his emotional state. This can be enhanced by having the parent give a brief nod as to whether it has been a morning of anxiety or relatively regulated. From this point the teacher will be better able to determine the needs of the child and perhaps the flexibility that might be required that day. In this same manner, if the child is proving to have a difficult morning it is important for the teacher charged with his care to be proactive in creating a less threatening environment for him. This might be achieved by taking a few minutes for special time together at key points during the day, particularly during transitions, at the beginning of recess, walking with him to lunch, or making the recess monitor aware of his sensitive state. Containment. It is important to recognize that any manner of stimulus can be deemed a threat by this child at any time. In an effort to create an effective environment for him, the concept of containment is most appropriate. Containment refers to the need to keep the child in a space of more direct proximity to the teacher than what might be needed for other students. Examples include sitting at the front of the class as opposed to the back, sitting near the teacher, eating lunch closer to the teacher’s table, or playing within a certain vicinity on the playground. Structure/Routine. School is often times associated with consistency and structure, however the need for this is amplified when considering a child with a trauma history. Any change in structure will create a defiant reaction in the child toward the request. This child in particular is noted for having difficulty in making transitions that are considered relatively mild to others. It would be appropriate for the teacher to notify the parent, when at all possible, if there will be a substitute teacher, or a change in routine. Time-In. During times that the student appears to be moving into a state of dysregulation that cannot be interrupted through a simple request or redirection, it is recommended that the teacher invoke a “time-in.” Different than a time-out, utilizing the time-in technique recognizes that the child is not intentionally acting out, but rather has gone outside of his ability to control his own behavior. This might be most effective by having the student




spend five minutes in positive rather than punitive connection with the teacher outside of the classroom while the principal maintains the room for a brief period of time. This technique has proven over time to be one of the most effective. Mentoring. When at all possible it is highly recommended that at least one member of the school outside of the teacher/student relationship, be prompted to develop an aside relationship with the child. The individual might make an effort to greet him in the mornings, and again in the afternoon. Also this individual could become a regulatory figure for the child during times that he is struggling in the classroom. In this manner he could be sent to see this individual for a brief period of positive connection so the teacher can remain in the classroom. Phone Calls. It will be a very beneficial practice to allow the child to make a mid-morning or mid-afternoon phone call to his mother for a period of time as he adjusts to the new environment. It is also recommended that parents call during the day to talk with their child during the transition period. This practice can be extremely settling to an anxious child and can allow for an increase in the resonation of soothing when the parent is absent. Physical Contact. During times that the child seems to be getting unnerved, it can be very beneficial for the primary teacher to give him a pat on the shoulder, a hug, or a rub on the back Any physical touch communicating warmth and affection can be unconsciously soothing for the child thereby creating a restoration of regulation and calm. Modified School Schedule. In some cases a child is unable to participate in some classes because of the over stimulation which occurs. Such classes are those that require specific skills or have a major focus on group activities with lessened adult support and presence. Examples may include art, music, physical education, and recess. Special care should be taken to observe the child for a period of time to determine his capacities to handle such activities both during and after the end of the period. A modified school schedule can assist the child in receiving the highest level of educational exposure within his range of emotional tolerance. A modified schedule will keep stressors at a minimum hence providing this student the opportunity to utilize his demonstrated cognitive skills. Reduced Peer-Interaction. Last of all, a reduction in peer interaction for this child may perhaps prove to be the most beneficial modification for his developmental improvement. Being relieved of an environment in which emotional bullying can be at its worst will allow this child to function in the least restrictive environment, without stress stemming from emotions of fear, shame, and anger. Again, this will be an area where monitoring is




required for a period of time to determine how much the student can tolerate both during and following the time of the event. In this manner, the teacher can monitor the effects of the activity after the student has returned to the classroom. Techniques Not Effective for Such Children It is highly important to emphasize that some techniques often used with other children are not effective, and in fact are detrimental, for children of trauma. Such techniques are referred to as behavior modification, the most commonly used form of behavior control generally utilized within the classroom. Techniques such as point charts, star charts, carding, and “behavioral consequences” will, in a very short period of time, alienate the student from the teacher and lead to frustration, and a very disgruntled relationship. This child requires an understanding and awareness of his psycho-emotional state that will permit maximum flexibility in relating to him. Behavior modification only works to modify behavior. It does nothing to address the emotional or physiologic state of stress in a proactive and responsible manner. In an effort to not alienate the child from others in the classroom if such charts are used, the charts can be maintained, but it is critical that maximum flexibility be permitted this child in the assignment of negative marks for his behavior. Negative behavior is a key sign of a stressed-out and frightened child rather than a disrespectful child. In this regard, the previous recommendations will be very therapeutic for assisting this student to have a positive school experience. In Summary Though it may appear to the untrained eye that such changes may further jeopardize the educational growth of this student, this assumption is not in keeping with his need for a developmentally appropriate learning environment. Modification to this child’s current educational exposure will assist greatly in his ability to develop the necessary skills that demonstrate his cognitive ability, something not possible when placed in emotionally stressful situations. As this child experiences some success in the least restrictive environment created for maintained emotional regulation, he can function without the constant interference of stress overload. In short, as the time between highly stressful events becomes longer, his brain will be allotted an opportunity to develop. This aspect of development within the limbic system is responsible for ultimate stress regulation and the use of his cognitive ability. Determining such progress can be assessed through much the same means as with other children, over time and incrementally. Such measures would consist of constant reporting by those directly involved in the student’s activities, the completion of required educational tasks, and occasional comparison testing using unstructured tasks such as handwriting.




It would not be infeasible to see this child respond positively and improve in his ability to interact and relate to others within six months if these recommendations are implemented with close monitoring. In other words, it generally takes six months of close monitoring and adjustments to make the necessary changes such children require. It is an ongoing process and one that may need to be modified or adapted when necessary. I hope this report has been of some assistance in clarifying the sensitive nature of educating children with trauma histories, and some elements for what are required in helping them obtain a meaningful education. If for some reason any points remain unclear please contact me at your earliest convenience. Professionally submitted, Bryan Post !



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