Most days I’m able to get up and do my “mom thing” without much emotion or forethought. Today was like any other day, tooling along as I juggled convincing LuLu to do her composition assignment, letting the cable TV people in and out of the house to repair our service, and conferencing with LuLu’s teacher.

This afternoon we headed off to the long-awaited endocrinologist appointment (made 2 ½ months ago). I had major trepidation about this appointment, because I’d been forewarned by all the doctors “on our team” that endocrinologists are notoriously cautious... more

One of my readers asked how I was able to get LuLu (queen of OCD with a capital O) to skip test questions and move on to the next one when she immediately didn’t know the answer. I’m not sure how much my actions are the direct cause of her new-found ability to do this. But here’s what I did toward that goal.

LuLu has been home with me (out of her brick & mortar public school) for a little over two years now. When she first came home, I was reeling from the shock that I was now totally responsible for my child’s education (and was mounting a due process case against... more

To finish the series on disability law, we need to look at the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Known to the general public as the act that caused all the handicapped parking spaces, ramps and wheelchair access restrooms, this act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.

The three basic obligations under ADA are to:

1. not discriminate based on disability.

2. provide effective communication to those with disabilities

3. provide physical access

The... more

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m guilty of making some decisions about LuLu’s schoolwork that can only be called “teaching to the test”. Yes, I know that we parents always complain that teachers are doing just that, wasting our children’s precious classroom time preoccupied with the high stakes testing, and concentrating on practice tests and test taking skills.

Here’s my defense (whether considered weak or not). I just can’t abide by the logic of sending her into a week-long testing situation where she will have each test filled with material she’s never been exposed... more

The parents and teachers at our school are definitely all a-flutter in anticipation of the annual state achievement testing mandated by No Child Left Behind. Because this is the virtual school’s first year of operation, the logistics of accommodating nearly 3000 students for testing across the state must be incredible.

Meanwhile, many of the students enrolled in our virtual academy have been homeschooled for years, so state mandated testing is new to them.

In our case, and the case of many other students with special needs, LuLu is working slightly behind... more

I love the smell of a freshly washed infant covered in baby lotion. You know, the kind in the pink bottle that has the smell that we all associate with babies. Every foster, adopted, and birth child that has lived with us under the age of five received a liberal dosing from head to toe everyday. Now I have guilt associated with those pleasant memories of sweet smelling infants. A recent study of phthalate exposure indicated that more than 80 percent of infants tested have been exposed. These substances are... more

I’m convinced that adoptive parents have to be some of the most dedicated folks in the world. Reading about how some have converted rooms in their homes to “sensory rooms” is further evidence. Adopted children coming from a background of neglect, often have sensory integration problems. While sensory integration problems can occur for many reasons, the probability increases for children who were not properly stimulated as infants.

As the professionals learn more, they are discovering fascinating things about the role of our vestibular system in brain development... more

This is one of the trickiest things about figuring out special education services for children with disabilities. Some children qualify for IEPs and some are offered Section 504 Plans. Some are told they have to have one or the other. Some have both. Parents (and school personnel) are frequently confused about this.

The reality is that two different disability laws are involved. IEPs are mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), while 504 plans refer to Section 504 under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. While both protect the rights of... more

First, I’ve got to insert a bit of patriotism here. For all the battles my family has endured in securing a free, appropriate public education for LuLu (which we have or have not succeeded at yet, depending on how you look at it), I can think of no other place on this earth where we would be afforded as many rights for her as we are in the United States. I shutter to think about where my Chinese daughter with so many disabilities would be at this moment if she were still in China.

And, no matter what negative things you think about Richard Nixon, he was the one... more

Prior to 1975 children with any handicap did not have to be served in public school. If your child couldn’t walk up and down the stairs of the school building or had a mental or intellectual impairment, the school could just turn you away. Hence, thousands of children with various disabilities were either institutionalized or kept at home and never educated.

This initial act is now known as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and has greatly impacted and improved the lives of children with disabilities over the last 30 years.

IDEA is a... more