Pemberley,
Horrifying behavior on their part. You did well to keep your temper.
DSS tries to convince us that the principal "will make the best decision possible". ...
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.
However messy, you are doing it right. A Dept of Ed complaint can bring the state down on them like white on rice. They do need to understand that having violated FAPE once, if they do it again, they are going to be up against it.
(If this gets that far, one can also let the Superintendent of Schools know; they hate court cases, because it's very expensive, and they are often totally unaware of what's going on in the district. The Superintendent might find it prudent to cut to the chase than to fight in court.)
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?)
A cognitive-behavior therapist could do this project. She's a bit young for CBT, but seemingly quite self-aware, which helps. They have curricula for things like PTSD and anxiety, desensitizing people who have phobias about spiders, grocery stores, particular situations, etc. If the anxiety is targeted just to the color charts, then that's in some ways easier to solve than free-floating anxiety, because it is indeed possible to prepare her for this.
However, I would not want just any special ed teacher doing this project; I would want someone with serious expertise in working on phobias and anxiety. There are curricula available, but you want someone who will be trained enough to know if they are making anything worse in the process. My go-to person would be a licensed CBT.
I agree with PPs that medications for anxiety (usually an SSRI) can make a huge, huge difference for an anxious child. Life-changing in our case.
And despite the above, while I do feel these triggers can and should be worked on whenever your outside professional thinks your DD is ready to try that, I do not think that the school can force your DD to be desensitized to all her triggers in the next few months. The process of getting over a phobia can be a really big deal, and stressful; you and your professional (and your DD to an extent) get to decide when she is ready to tackle that. The school does NOT get to decide that, especially if they are not providing the right help. It may help after discussion with a CBT to get a letter from them saying what their plan is, and what accommodations are needed in the meantime.
The school does have to provide her an appopriate public education; appropriate meaning an education that freaks her out as little as possible, yes, even if they have to do something differently in that classroom.
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...
What are the other issues, remind us?
And yes, I agree, the color charts are truly awful for anxious kids. There are better ways to do it. Teachers are not trained well in this essential matter.
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.
Is Consultant coming to this meeting? I wouldn't want to do anything without her at this point. You need an eyewitness gathering information from a legally aware point of view.
Document *everything*. Ask the new DSS to confirm the plan (see if she says the same things Principal said; it may well be they are not on the same page, document that too). If it does not go well, calmly let her know that this plan she is proposing is a violation of FAPE that will have serious psychological consequences for your DD, and how does she propose addressing that?
Maybe the district can pick up the CBT bill for the summer?
Always cheering you on, Pemberley-- hoping it goes well tomorrow.
DeeDee
