Being the Due Process junkie I am these days (it is consuming my life!), I came across this article: Anatomy of a Special Ed Case., which tells about a real-life due process case that was won by the parents (and appealed several times - and the parents won the appeals).

The attorney was none other than Pete Wright, known in special ed circles as the Guru -- author of the Wrightslaw website and books. The account was fascinating to me, and pointed out both how similar and how different each and every due process case is. The similarities between this one and our case seem to be:

1. the school unilaterally decided on an inappropriate placement. In fact, in Pete Wright's book, Emotions to Advocacy, one of the "crises" he identifies as being a cause for heading to due process is when the school unilaterally decides anything. Why do schools do this? Well, in our case it seems to be because the placement they are recommending (insisting upon) is the one they have established and because any other option would be "outside the box" so it isn't considered. So they are spending much time, money and energy on defending their established placement option as the right one.

2. It is taking FOREVER to get through. The family in this case started their due process case in 1997, and with all appeals it didn't end until 2001. In those four years they racked up quite the bill, I'm sure, both educating their son and paying for the legal counsel they needed. They won, so I am assuming in addition to getting a settlement to cover their educational expenses, they also likely got relief from their legal fees...but still...four years in limbo is a long time. We have only been in limbo since February and the waiting is excruciating!

But ours is different in many crucial ways as well.

1. their actual due process hearing was only two days long. Wow, if that was the case, we would have been done months ago and on to whatever appeals might occur. We've done 4 days and have 5 more scheduled!

2. LuLu has different and many more disabilities. Her autism (officially diagnosed as PDD-NOS) is not as clear-cut as one doctor just testifying she has it - she's not non-verbal. And there's so much more - Tourettes, OCD, ADHD, language and communications disorders, sensory integration dysfunction -- not to mention having been traumatized and carrying PTSD and RAD diagnoses as well. Layer upon layer. Which I'm sure is part of the reason it's taking so gosh darn long and part of the reason an "outside the box" solution is necessary.

3. Right or wrong, we kept our child enrolled in the public school much longer than the family in this case. I question whether I should have decided earlier that things were not right, but you can't second guess yourself. I did the best I had with my knowledge at the time. And until we hit one of those "crises" in February, due process hadn't really entered our minds.

4. We have had some good help and advice all along. Because the details of the case presented here don't go into a lot of background, I don't know if this family had the same level of professional support that we have had. (They obviously had a good attorney.) I do know that they were not aware of their rights to due process until well after the fact. That was not true in our case. We knew and were hoping against hope that we would not be forced down this path. But we had a good advocate to advise us, even when she had to tell us that we were left with no other real option, and we have had awesome doctors and therapists testify on LuLu's behalf.

Will we prevail? That remains to be seen. Is due process fun? Heck no, and it isn't something to be entered lightly. But, it is often necessary and something you, too, could survive if that's where your fight for your special child takes you!