The story out of Tifton Georgia (in the Southern part of this state) is shocking to parents of children with disabilities, especially those with children who have autism. An 8-year-old boy was arrested and charged with battery last Thursday morning for biting a teacher.

Never mind that the boy has autism and is non-verbal. Never mind that he is in a self-contained school for children with severe emotional/behavioral disorders and autism – one of those “GNETS” like the one proposed for my daughter. A place, according to the school’s director, that is... more

Just as quickly as I finished the tragic story of a mother overwhelmed by her daughter’s special needs who did the horrific…killed her, I read this story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

I love these two reporters, Alan Judd and Andy Miller, for their tenacity and their tireless championing of the rights of the mentally ill. But, I have a hard time reading these stories. Last year they... more

It happened again, this time on school busses in Broward County, Florida. Two separate incidents of abuse toward a child passenger. In one, the driver of a special bus actual hit an autistic child and another child with a broom handle when the autistic child made too much noise. In the other a girl was actually sexually molested by a group of boys in the back of the bus while the driver continued driving, despite the girl’s cries for help.

Both incidents were caught by the bus cameras.... more

Just when I thought I’d heard all the horrendous and hideous stories about the abuses that can be inflicted upon children, this story broke in Atlanta on Friday:

Henry school official charged with child abuse.

This is an article about a grandmother, who is a special education coordinator in a school system in the Atlanta metro area. My understanding of Special Education Coordinators in this state is that they are usually upper-level degreed educators with... more

Whoopi Goldberg’s defense of Michael Vick’s illegal dogfighting “This is part of his cultural upbringing...” leaves me nearly speechless. I often wonder what the rest of the world thinks goes on here down in the South. And how we can excuse bad, illegal (and unexcusably immoral) behavior as “cultural upbringing”? It’s like, “oh they’re from the South” so that excuses everything from slavery to dog fighting to sanctioned child abuse in state schools?

Is anyone... more

I remember back about 18 months ago, when we were thrown into deciding whether or not to file for a due process hearing against LuLu’s school system. My first emotion was just being overwhelmed. I was stunned, and completely appalled at what the IEP was proposing…no make that INSISTING upon. And I had the optimistic (albeit naïve) belief that was a concerted effort I could make them understand…or if not them, then the judge, that it’s not ok to further traumatize a traumatized child.

Well, Super Dad and I were thrilled that a well-respected attorney quickly... more

From time to time I report what’s happening in our neck of the woods where special education issues are concerned.

Well, today, the Georgia Department of Education released its list of private schools that are eligible and will be accepting special needs vouchers. That list is here.

In addition, there’s a ... more

This was truly the theme song for my day. A bit of bad; a bit of good; and a heaping dose of ugly. First, the bad…

My beloved cell phone (palm pilot) is apparently so old that they no longer make accessories for it. I’m discovering this is not an uncommon occurrence in the cell phone world. So, because the charger has quit working (except when held steady in the car), I have less than a battery’s worth of time to figure out what my next move is.

Now, on to the ugly…

We had an IEP... more

I opened my email yesterday to find this link to a story in the Georgia news. A mother of an autistic boy near Macon, Georgia had been arrested for violating truancy laws. There weren’t very many years ago that I wouldn’t have thought twice about such a story and if I did, I would likely have thought “what a horrible mother.”

But this mom is far from a horrible mother. I don’t know her personally, but do know of her. She is a tireless advocate for children with special needs and assists parents as they... more

“Aunt Jujie, there’s a cop outside.” “AUNT JUJIE, LOOK, there really is a cop outside,” the four year old demanded as she pointed out the window. She seemed quite upset so I sat the phone down, stood up, and looked out the window. Sure enough, she was right, there in the driveway sat a state police car with a lone policeman inside. I bluntly ended the phone call and went outside to see what he wanted. I realized her distress was real; after all it has only been a couple of months since the police had picked her up and she hasn’t been home since then.

Our nine year... more