Warning this is long!
As you may recall last summer we had to decide between placing DD7 in an expensive private school that we were certain would have the supportive nurturing environment needed to control her anxiety or the local public where she would receive the special ed services needed to address her newly diagnosed LD issues. The district refused to provide support services at the private since it is located in the neighboring city and that city had utterly failed DD the previous year at Awful Interdistrict Magnet (AIM). Thus the anxiety issues - all completely triggered by her horrible kindergarten year at AIM.
SO after much discussion, research and beating of the chest the local public was able to place DD in a classroom without a Color Chart - the public shaming classroom management technique that had become her biggest issue. The school year started off better than anyone could have dreamt possible as the school personnel totally invested in containing DD's anxiety and meeting her needs. After a few months, though, her anxiety was triggered when her class had a substitute teacher who yelled and threatened - triggering her AIM anxiety. From there she developed debilitating migraines, had a neuropsych eval that was deemed invalid, began testing for a suspected seizure disorder and had her anxiety triggered by school personnel who then proceeded to punish her anxiety response as an example of bad behavior. Things got really bad for a while, we hired a consultant and he started working with the district's director of special services (DSS) rather than us trying to work with personnel in the school. Eventually the DSS actually wrote a letter acknowledging that the school had violated DD's IEP, that they did not fully "appreciate" her anxiety and assuring that they would address it more appropriately in the future. Good progress - right?
So a couple of weeks before the last IEP meeting of the year where we set our goals for next year we meet with DSS to decide everything in advance. I provide 4 pages of written notes outlining what we see as DD's current level of functioning, what support we are requesting and describing the kind of learning environment she will need for next year. For example, a classroom management style that utilizes positive reinforcement rather than yelling, threatening, scolding and punishing, that she be placed in a classroom away from aggressive, disruptive or bullying kids, NO COLOR CHART, etc. There is a lot of talk behind the scenes that they are planning to move DD's first grade teacher to second since they know that her classroom style works for DD. DSS tells us that there has already been a lot of discussion about DD's classroom placement for next year "because the team understands that decision is critical." Neither he nor anyone else from central office is going to be involved in that decision - it is totally up to the principal. Yeah, the same one who was recently written up for intentionally triggering DD's anxiety and then punishing her for it. DSS tries to convince us that the principal "will make the best decision possible".
Soooo we have our IEP meeting the other day, after it has been delayed to the next to last day of school. It is a very good, very productive meeting. DD is just about on grade level with most things (a bit under on her DRA testing but a bit ahead on words per minute - impressive for a dyslexic kid.) Fine motor and anxiety remain her 2 biggest issues but all services are remaining in place or being increased and they are going to do an assistive technology eval in September. Then, during the last few minutes of the meeting we ask about classroom placement, explaining that she has been asking for a few months already about it and is worried about the color chart issue. We need to let her meet the teacher, see the classroom and convince herself that there is no color chart so her anxiety doesn't spiral over the summer. Silence. Then we are informed that they will not be a making a classroom without a color chart available, the principal adamantly refuses to even ask the 4 second grade teachers if any would be willing to adjust their classroom management technique and basically says it is DD's problem - not hers. Too bad she just needs to adjust.
Do I have to tell you all hell broke loose? Our consultant informed them that we would be going to due process, I reminded them that we already have an admission that they violated her IEP once, I told them that we considered the first violation a FAPE violation and this would be the second, etc, etc, etc. If they knew that they were not going to make an appropriate classroom available they had an obligation to have introduced a desensitization plan, informed us so that we could look at other options, etc. Our consultant said in his 40+ year career he had never seen anything like it, if he hadn't been sitting at the table he never would have believed the way the principal behaved, etc. We were discussing not only due process but Dept of Ed complaint, Civil Rights violation, etc. It was a real mess.
So the next day we had a 3 hour half day of school to see if there was anything to be done about at least showing DD a classroom to see if we might be able to contain the anxiety response rather than just have her walk into school the first day and completely lose it. I called the spec ed teacher who called her boss - who will actually be taking over for DSS as he leaves for a new district. She proposes a systematic desensitization program to be done over the summer. On one hand I am relieved that at least someone from the district seems to finally understand what needs to be done to address DD's anxiety but on the other hand - really? Over the summer? This is her time to relax, get over her school based anxiety and enjoy the enrichment program we have set up. I feel like I can't turn it down but I just don't know enough about it to know if they are planning to do it right.
Does anyone have experience with this? Is it really possible to address a classroom based issue over the summer when the triggering phobia isn't actually accessible? (They can get access to an empty classroom I'm sure but without her seeing it utilized how can she really be desensitized?) How do I know if the person doing this is really qualified to do it and not someone who just read about it online? Is 8 weeks really enough time to go from idea to having her enter a classroom? I am thinking this would be a good idea to do next school year *in conjunction* with an appropriate classroom placement not instead of one. What other questions do I need answered? I also think this would need to encompass all of the issues from AIM not just the color chart. And I view the use of a color chart as an indication of the classroom management style of the teacher using it and that does not bode well for DD's success...
We are meeting with this new DSS tomorrow and she is supposed to be a VERY tough person to work with. I am thinking that regardless of this offer we probably need to get a strongly worded letter from a spec ed attorney putting them on notice that we consider the principal's refusal to provide an appropriate classroom environment to be an issue.
Sorry so long but I need input before our meeting tomorrow and want to avoid having to come back and provide missing information if I can. Thanks in advance.
