According to a new government report, the number of teens giving birth has risen for the first time in 15 years. For every one thousand young women, between the ages of 15 and 17, twenty-two will give birth. This may contribute to another unhealthy trend. The number of low birth weight newborns continues to increase. We know from statistics that youth in foster care are more likely to engage in risky behaviors than other teens are. Therefore, when you see an increase in the general population of teens, you can be sure the increase among foster youth is much higher. In fact,... more

I was introduced last night to an interesting organization and an awesome advocate, Karen Horwitz and the National Association for Prevention of Teacher Abuse (NAPTA). Ms. Horwitz is a teacher whose life work has become to assist other teachers in speaking out about abuse. Her personal story of harassment, retaliation and abuse is akin to the stories of many parents I know who are facing similar situations.

Through the NAPTA organization, Karen is collecting stories of retaliation and abuse, primarily administrators abusing teachers,... more

One of my readers summed up this whole retaliation issue nicely:

This is such a big problem - way bigger than I ever imagined when I was fighting my losing battle a few years ago.

My sentiments exactly…I had no idea when we became victims of the system how big this problem was, and how many people just don’t know that countless people are being retaliated against by school systems. It’s bewildering at best. Barely a week goes by that I don’t have contact with a parent who has become a victim. The scare tactics are predictable,... more

It’s happened again. This time to another friend of mine, the adoptive mom of a very traumatized little girl whose most appropriate placement is at home, with teachers and therapists coming to her, to lessen her anxiety and make learning possible. The school, after agreeing to homebound services for a time, has denied this placement in the latest IEP meeting. The line has been drawn in the sand and the battle’s begun. My friend has hired a lawyer and the whole due process scenario is off and running. And then the school…

You guessed it, someone called Child Protective Services!... more

Cindy Perkins, a school counselor from Maine is on a noble mission. After listening to her at this week’s ATTACh conference, I realized once again what an uphill battle we have in teaching schools how to help traumatized children self-regulate instead of punishing their behaviors.

Cindy works with the P.L.A.C.E. model developed by Dan Hughes. The acronym stands for:

P = Playful – a way to engage the children. L = Loving - giving the child the concept that all children... more

Some would say it’s a minor thing…semantics…but I think it goes much deeper. I’m really appalled at the trend to refer to my children as “my student” in any communication from the school. It was a subtle shift, and I’m not sure when it happened. But for a few years now every written or verbal communication is laden with references to “your student”.

Example: that crazy phone message I got yesterday. “

This is the high school calling and your student [inserted her computer generated name] was absent during 4th block today.”

... more

I alluded to this in other posts, but the biggest step I can see toward fixing the problem with special education or public school education in general is to eliminate the bureaucratic mindset.

Maybe it’s because I have a degree in marketing and am a capitalist, but I can’t help but frame everything in the terms of meeting the needs of the consumer/client. In this case that is the CHILD (ok, maybe the taxpayer, too). But I would argue that what’s good for the child IS good for the taxpayer (an educated child who is able to be self-supporting and less likely to need... more

My grandmother was a teacher. In the 1920s that meant that she was one of the few college-educated women around, especially in rural Missouri. She taught in a one-room school house where all grades (1st through 12th) were in the same classroom (kindergarten wasn’t even imagined yet). I’ve seen pictures of her in front of the school, with her students (some taller than she). It has always fascinated me that my grandmother went to college (the same college I graduated almost 60 years later) and taught school, even after she was married (a taboo in those days), stopping only... more

An astute reader of my recent blog commented that:

“…some things appear so broken that . . . where does the fixing start?”

It’s a valid question, and one that seems overwhelming to the typical parent, let alone a parent whose child has special needs. Where does the fixing start…and how do I help?

One thing is for certain in our struggles with the public school, the only person who was as unsupported and victimized by the whole ordeal... more