Hello all!
I was wondering if anyone in here could point me in the right direction? I am from Florida (Hillsborough County) and I have been in a constant battle with my son’s school since he was in kindergarden(he’s now in 2nd grade)
Finally this year, he was diagnosed by an audiologist with CAPD. I took the report along with recomendations made by her to the CST meeting in Jan.
The school said that a psych. evaluation needed to be done, along with testing done by the speech language pathologist. I heard back from the speech/lang.
pathologist in Feb. She said further testing needed to be done in order to see what programs were available for him. Since then, I have heard nothing from the school. Nothing about the psych. evaluation, nor the further testing for speech/language skills. I was told at the CST meeting that there was a 60 day timeframe to get this testing done. And then an IEP would be set up for him.
There are only 3 weeks of school left, and Im beginning to think they are trying to put it off for yet another year. My first written corraspondence with this school this year was the second week of school, and I requested testing then.
I am not aware of the rules here in Florida,and I have been told that I desperately need an advocate. Does anyone know of an advocacy center that would be able to help me? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!
Sincerely frustrated,
Heather
Re: Anybody know a good advocacy center?
Barb,
Thank you so much for replying! It’s so nice to know I’m not alone!
Unfortunately, I’ve tried Nancy Gonzalaez, I had to leave a message (I did this over 2 months ago) and she finally got back to me about a month later….ho hum…..I guess I’m really not alone if she’s that busy! She didn’t know of any “advocates” that could help me with this type of problem. But, I’ll check out that website and see if there’s anything else! Thank you very much!
Sincerely Frustrated (but not the only one) ha ha :)
Heather
Re: Anybody know a good advocacy center?
buckle your seat belt Heather- this may be an unpleasent ride but i know you’re up to it! i) go t wrightslaw.com- there is a yellow pages or sp ed stuff- ou can find a group there I bet ii) ASAP download IDEA from someplace like NICHD- or maybe this web site- although IDEA is in the process of being gutted by our illustrious leaders, i don’t think it’s re-authorized foranother month of so READ IT and KNOW the LAW re testing deadlinea etc, (I’m thinking 45 days maybe)- your school sounds like they are walking the dog rather than serving your kid. It now needs to become your job to make sure your school district does their job and you need to knw the law or these folks will flat ignore you and let your kid flounder.iii go to websites that speak to your kiddo’s “thing”- they will probably have ome contact info
good luck and god bless
Re: Anybody know a good advocacy center?
My girl friend had a problem with her sons reading and speech and language issues and called the state special ed dept and got very quick results. You might go that road.(We are in Illinois) Good luck.
Re: Anybody know a good advocacy center?
I don’t live in your state but I’ve been struggling with my son’s severe CAPD & DAS since he was four. For us the best thing we found to help us was reading. You must first understand the “beast” and learn it’s nature, then you have to teach the others. I would highly recommend reading “When the Brain Can’t Hear” and “Like Sound Thru Water,” both of which I found at the county library. I bought two copies of “When the Brain Can’t Hear” one for myself and one to offer teachers to read so they would understand my son better. You also as has been suggested here need to read the law, you’ll have to reread it several times and reference to it often.
I found many resources on the net, just keep typing in capd or central auditory processing disorder in different search engines. There also is a fabulous document in your state’s educational web site that spells out how they treat capd in the schools there. I actually made copies of it and passed it to my LEA, I also kept a copy for myself. I will not recommend one BB or LISTSERV as opposed to another. But there are several that contain parents who only deal with capd and attaining needed services. I wish you much luck and strength as you learn to become an advocate.
Hillsbourough County - isn't that Tampa? That's where Socks
I’m in Florida too. Peter Wright is coming to Jacksonville for a 2 day seminar on May 16 and 17. Might be worth the drive?
Re: Socks come to the Pete Wright Conference
Okay, email me off line. I need to hear re: your northern trip. May 16 and 17, 2003.
Re: Anybody know a good advocacy center?
Thanks so much for replying! Its really nice to know that we are not alone in our struggles to ensure the proper treatment and services for our children!
I will be looking for those books this week, thank you for the suggestions and God Bless!
Sincerely, Heather
I loved your signiture—Sincerely Frustrated. (Been there, done that!)
One advacacy center recommends “Parent to Parent” but I looked at thier website (www.ptopmiami.org) and they only cover Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. Darn. But maybe they could refer you to a local sorce?
The Family Network on Disabilities (http://fndfl.org) lists a Nancy Gonsalves as the contact person for Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Hernando. Her number is 800-825-5736 or 727-523-1130 This is listed as “Area 5” on their website and it doesn’t specifically mention adocacy services for this area(darn again) but they might have contacts.
Good luck!
Barb