Thirty years later, disability law still has work to do
Chicago lawyer talks about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
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Thirty years since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed, Matt Cohen still sees too many kids not getting the help they need and leaving high school unprepared for what lies ahead.
"I think it is certainly better than 30 years ago, but we have a long way to go," says Cohen, a special education and disability law attorney with Monahan & Cohen in downtown Chicago. He has a particular passion for advocating for families with children with mental health issues.
What is your perspective on how we as a society are
treating kids with mental health issues, including ADHD,
today?
"On a broad level, there continues to be an enormous degree of
ignorance about childhood mental health problems. I think the
schools tend to respond to mental health issues primarily in
relation to the degree to which the problem presents as disruptive
to the classroom rather than disruptive or interfering with the
student's personal ability to function. When the child is
disruptive to the classroom, the schools tend to respond in a way
that focuses on punishment rather than on therapeutic
intervention." Often, he says, kids with disruptive behaviors are
removed from the regular classroom and isolated or kicked out of
school.
Parents probably feel caught?
"… There are lots of stigmas attached to being labeled as having a
disability and there are particularly stigmas attached to having an
emotional or mental problem. So there are many parents who are
fearful of that. There are many parents who are told or may assume
rightly or wrongly that if their child is labeled, they are going
to be put into a segregated special ed program without being aware
that there are lots of situations where the child can stay in
regular ed and hopefully get the support they need.
"… So there are a number of reasons for parents to be worried
about these things. The law is also very complicated, and many
parents aren't even aware that the services are available or that
they have various rights."
How do parents know what to do?
It's rare that there is a single right answer, he says. "Many of
the parents I see have a very good intuitive sense that there is
something wrong … but they don't necessarily know what to do about
it. They start out trusting the schools to be the experts and to
help them do what is needed. Some of the schools are very good and
very honest, but many schools, for reasons of resources and
control, are very reluctant to share information with parents about
what their rights are, about what their options are. The parents
are left to kind of figure it out for themselves."
Isn't that a tough place for parents to
be?
"It's hard work being a parent and it's harder work being a parent
of a kid with a disability, and it's especially hard work when you
assume the schools will be doing what is needed and they
don't."
Is the law changing for better or worse?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in
2004, was supposed to be amended in 2009. Congress is occupied with
health care reform and the No Child Left Behind Act. Cohen predicts
amendments no sooner than late this year or 2011.
Much of the effort in the 2004 amendments focused on decreasing regulations and giving schools more discretion over what they were required to do, he says.
"In addition, there was an implicit message in what the law enacted-that schools were identifying too many kids as having disabilities." He says he's seeing a lot of cases where schools are refusing to identify kids as eligible or who are being taken out of special education.
"I think there's a lot of backlash on serving kids with disabilities that ultimately is making it much harder for those kids to get what they need. But the reality is that the more we cut back on serving and helping kids with disabilities at the moment when they are kids, the more likely those kids are going to be unable to contribute as meaningfully as taxpayers when they are adults" or will need more support as adults.
"There's a very important rationale for making that investment that is not just based on what's right, but also based on good public policy."
Our picks
Making a Hard Decision HarderBy Karen A. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 There are many sites supporting a parent who wants to fight against the system for their child. These sites give advise on how to force the school to listen to your side and agree with you, even if they don't. In the district I am in, I feel like the decision to have your child placed into a seld-contained special education classroom is being made even more difficult. Our district has 2 buildings for the sme grades, however, only one of them has a self-contained special education classroom. Thank God that I do not know what it is like to be a parent and have to make the decision to have your child placed into a self-contained classroom. I would imagine that it is a decision that comes after many sleepless nights and alot of heartache. In our school district the decision can be made even harder. If your child is not at the school with the inclusion class you would have to switch schools. They intentionally schedule things, such as parent teacher conferences, on the same days because you can't attend both schools. There is a family that has one child at one school, and a special education child at another. They have the option of placing both girls at the same school, but they do not want to disrupt the other daughters life. They feel like in some ways the "regular" daughter is already getting the short end of alot of sticks. Short changed on quality time, homework help, and ability to participate in extra curricular activities. They do not want to add to that list by forcing her to change schools also. On a positive note, the special education teachers that we have truley love their job and their students, but it just seems like we are making a hard decision even harder. |
What About the Needs of the Many?By Laura M. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Schools are terribly unprepared to serve students with special needs. On the other hand, a regular school setting may not be the best environment for some students with severe behavioral or mental disorders. For instance, I know of a teacher whose included EBD pupil beat up another student during class because the student politely declined to pass a colored pencil to him. His outrage was unwarranted and the victim had no idea that his refusal would spur such a response. (By the way, the teacher also did not expect the mild verbal exchange to incite violence.) Schools are not treatment centers. I think in some cases, it is unfair to subject students to the verbal and physical tirades of other pupils. To create the safest environment, teachers should be well-informed about their students' issues and be trained to intercede appropriately when situations occur before students with behavioral and mental issues enter their classrooms. There seem to be mixed messages about the status of students with special needs. For example, if students are placed in a contained settings, it seems appropriate to share the students' needs and behaviors with the other pupils. Perhaps the intimate classroom lends itself to greater freedom in addressing the students' needs. However, in regular settings, it seems inappropriate to divulge the students' needs and behaviors. In a large room, students identify with each other because they all share anonymity in the sense that none of them stand out. Therefore, to single out a few students might ostracize them from their classmates. However, if the goal is to create a tolerant learning environment in regular settings, should the needs of students with behavioral and mental disorders be clearly explained to their non-disabled classmates? Also, if students felt threatened by student who exhibit dangerous and upsetting behaviors, like the boy in my example, should they have the right to learn in a setting without such fears? |
Enough with the suspensions!!!!!By Mike K on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I work in a school that students are being suspended and put in the stop program with alarming regularity. I feel that these students are not getting the support from staff that they need to. The constant suspensions over being tardy and things of that nature are affecting their grades dramatically. When the student comes back to class they are so far behind that they are not getting the concepts of the materials. We do have an after school time allotted for the students to "catch up" but they do not take advantage of it. I found this article on suspension alternatives. http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/182/over5.html. |
Work to be doneBy Karen F. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 The key words that hold true to this topic is “still has work to do’. Looking back to my school days when a special education class was only a pull out or self-contained class and those classes were only for BD and LD students, we never saw special or multi needs students in the school vs. what my daughter has experienced in her educational career. She has had special and multi-needs students mainstreamed in her classes mainly in 2nd-4th grade (several students) and throughout her educational experience. Special needs students are able in the present day to lead a similar school life socially like everyone else and other students accept them as their friends and peers. I believe just as the title said that there is still work to do in terms of creating a curriculum that meets their needs and educating all parties involved (parents, administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, medical professionals) on what each of our roles of responsibility are as a whole and as individuals in order to best support and prepare special needs students to be successful in their life. |
My School and the FutureBy T.J. Lambert on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I have been working as a teacher in an alternative program in my school district for the last year. Wow what a difference from my days teaching in genral education. I have learned how much people don't know. Parents aren't always aware of their rights and what they should be asking and doing. My school does do a great job of trying to make them aware of all the information that they need to know. They host information nights so that parents can get the information that they need. I also learned how much that the teachers are still learning each day. The sped education department has done a great job of helping us understand the legal aspect of what we are doing as well. My district has been great, but I know all are not. I think the state needs to have better instructions for the sped education teachers so that they are able to provide the best information that they are provided with as well. Students also need to be aware of what is going on. I work with several students that are in the age of transition. I think the system needs to make all the information more kid friendly as well. So many students are the only ones that are going to step up and advacate for themselves. I try to make sure that my students going into the meetings know why they are going and what their responsibilities are. I think it is important for everyone to know what is going on and what needs to happen to ensure the success of each student. |
educator/studentBy Karen F. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Just from what I have seen in my school years to working in the schools, special education has changed and continues to change in the aspect of what is best for the students. I work with many special needs students with a variety of disabilities. One key thing I have noticed is that some educators need to remember why they chose education as a career and refocus on that purpose. These kids rely on educators along with their parents to fight for and teach them how to be productive in society when they become adults. Many of these kids want to excel…they just need some assistance/guidance. I started my educational career working with special needs kids as a paraprofessional and family members with special need. These are the individuals who drove my passion to work with special needs kids and I am thankful for their guidance. |
Parents of Special Needs ChildrenBy Suzanne S on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Last year I was a Task Force Substitute Teacher in Joliet. On the days I was not needed as a substitute, I was a special education parapro. I had the chance to interact almost daily with special needs students and their parents. At this school, I thought a lot of the parents were very supportive of their children and thier teachers. The only problem that the two self-contained classroom teachers told me about was "funding." I remember one teacher always mentioning that she could not get funding for certain programs or tools for the classroom. Both teachers were always in contact with the parents if there was a problem. Based on my experience, I think the two teachers that I have been in contact with are the two best special education teachers out there. They continually went out of their way daily to provide a LRE for thier students. All of my knowledge prior to Trinity Christian College's special education endorsement program, comes from these two special teachers I was able to come in contact with. |
An uphill battleBy Steve Swanson on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I totally agree with the writers closing statement that we need to address the problems of educating all youth's including those in special ed. because if we don' they will eventually be dependent on the system. Before I went into special education, I was a social studies teacher. It was my job to make sure that students had a good idea of what their history is and why it affects their society today. I believe that it is imperative that all school districts make sure that their students know how to vote, advocate for themselves, and understand how political policies will affect their lives. This is of the utmost importance if we want to keep democracy effective. Ultimately, it is important that all students feel welcome at their schools and are given the chance to better themselves through education. Concerning students in special education, I feel that there are a great number of approaches that could help them to become better citizens. To teach them how to vote, create an identical setting of a polling place and teach them how to vote there in a very methodical step by step approach. I know that there are laws in place to protect the voting rights of individuals with disabilities, but sometimes there are still barriers that keep these people from the polls. According to the Helping American Vote Act, this is a denial of civil rights! HAVA’s goal is to "ensure the full participation in the electoral process for individuals with disabilities, including registering to vote, casting a vote and accessing polling places. It is great that this act is in effect but schools and parents need to make sure that their students and children can act as responsible citizens to the best of their ability. This is a lofty goal, and our society faces an uphill battle in order to achieve it, but if we want our country to stay a democracy, it must be done. |
Something more needs to be doneBy Megan Collins on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I work in a therapeutic day school for students with disabilities that aslo has a workshop for adults with disabilities so I see first hand how possible it is for a kid with a disability to not recieve the proper training they need for the next step in their lives after high school. It is so hard for someone with special needs to get suppose after high school. The vocational director at my school works really hard with the kids to get them to gain skills they can use in a real job setting. The student I work with helpds do laundry, cleans window and sweeps with Mr. Ray and he is a person with autism. It is amazing what students will do once you teach them too many people think that they can never do something because they have a disability but they need to stop judging and see the people for who they really are and not just their disability. I think their needs to be definate change in the funding and work programs that are set up for people with disabilites because I believe they do not get enough respect and are too often ignored in our society. I wanted to see what the state of Illinois was doing for people with disabilites and I found this online magazine that talks about just that. The article is called EFE's Community Integration Initiative Advocacy to Make the ADA's Promise a Reality and it can be found at http://www.equipforequality.org/news/equalizer/fall2006/01community.php |
Thirty years later, disability law still has work to doBy Sandy O on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I could really relate to this article. As a paraprofessional in a special education preschool classroom, we were thrown a new boy in the classroom right before Christmas. This boy was out of control according to these teachers and they gave up on him. They restrained him seven or more times a day. But after a few weeks in our program, Johnny participated in group activities and centers. We knew that Johnny was reluctant to try new things or activities so we gave him time to transition which made all the difference. If you forced Johnny to do it before he was ready, then he would melt down and take ten to thirty minutes to calm down. I do think that many students are in the wrong classroom or with the wrong teacher. It is important to find the right fit for every special education student. A website that gave great input and feedback for high school students with special needs was kc.vanderbilt.k1-12/education . This site gave valuable resources for preparing students with special needs for college or vocational training. It also gave great tips for social skills, life skills and independent skills. |
An Ongoing ProblemBy Kim Capretz on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 This article raises some very good thoughts. Over the years it seems the amount of students on an IEP are growing rapidly due to "No Child Left Behind." Teachers are frustrated because behavior issues play a major role. In the junior high, puberty starts to kick in and problems are becoming worse. It is difficult for teachers because training is limited due to funds and they aren't sure how to properly deal with these issues. They see the child as a major distraction and they give consequences which may not always be appropriate. I found an article titled "The Challenging Education Landscape: How Special Education Leadership Preparation Can Make a Difference for Teachers and Their Students With Disabilities." This article supports that the roles and obligations of teacher educators have expanded substantially in recent years. There is a shortage in special education teachers so more general education teachers are having to address the needs of all struggling learners without a lot of support. I feel this will be an ongoing problem until schools are properly staffed and trained. |
TeacherBy MIchael S on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I took over for a maternity leave a couple of years in which one of the classes was a an Exploring Industry class. There was one female in the class with the rest of the 30+ students male. Over half of the males had some type of behavioral issue while there were others that had learning disabilities. Between the behavioral issues, learning disabilities, and the boys being freshman, this class was challenge to say the least. Even though this was a challenging class, none of the male students were taken out of the classroom. I did have problems with some of them where I had to call their parents but none of them were taken out of class. From talking with a couple of the parents, I was able to confirm my preconceived notions that some of the time the parents are a big part of the problem. Many parents don’t want to take responsibility or be accountable for their children. They have become enablers instead of parents. I believe this is a major problem in some of the school districts where the parents aren’t a partner in the special education phase of their children. One parent I talked to denied that her son could ever swear. Or he learned it from some other student and her “angel” would never say anything like that even though he said it right in front of me. Some of the learning disabled students had problems in this class because of the disruptive behavior of the other students. But I don’t think they were misdiagnosed or not included in this class by mistake. A good article that describes the way students are being diagnosed and misdiagnosed for LD is "Discrepancy" Approach Results in Inconsistent LD Identification Rates Across States By Candace Cortiella of The Advocacy Institute. In it, she describes the 7 achievement areas that are used as a guide to diagnose LD type of student. She also goes into other plausible causes that may be ruled out as a primary cause of underachievement. School districts as well as parents need to do a better job in all areas of the special education process. |
Special Education, IDEA, and RTIBy Kristen W. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 This article is definitely an eye opener, Two years ago, in my district we had a student who was taken out of a full special education inclusion classroom at the beginning of the year and placed into the general education classroom full-time. The special education teacher and the general education teacher were both against this due to his disruptive behaviors and his reading level but the parents insisted. That year he "struggled" in the classroom with grades and social interaction but managed to finish the grade level with all C's. Last year, he was placed in my general education classroom. I was told by the previous teacher what I needed to look out for given specific information about this child and his work. I followed the information and respected the teachers advice for the first two months, however, this was not working. I adapted my own therapeutic approach to his behaviors and set specific guidelines and strong rules for him. Once he realized that I would not tolerate his actions in my classroom he was a completely different student. He tested out of the low math class and actually had earned scores well above "average." As a team, the other teachers and I decided to place him in the high math class in which he had done very well. He succeeded in reading with being in the average guided reading group and managed to complete the year without any C's and did the best he has ever done. After reflecting on this child during the middle of the school year, I often wondered why he was in a full inclusion classroom to begin with. He was at the same level of his peers academically but did have some social problems (due to his homelife). With the right interventions and a strong behavior plan adapted in the classroom those behaviors seemed to dissipate into nothing. I do believe that sometimes there is an overidentification of students for special education and many times I see a trend that teachers give up because the student has them burnt out and that is the easy solution. The student I describe above was definitely identified wrong but at the same time I also had a student last year who was new to the district and cannot believe she made it to fifth grade just squeaking by. When browsing through her transcripts from her other school, her test scores were low, her grades were not great but she was never identified. She made it through the system by just being passed each year. I noticed within the first week she wasnt at the level of her peers and was in fact significantly lower. After months of testing and going through RTI and appropriate classroom interventions, she was placed in reading 180 and math resource and was given many interventions to bring her level up. As parents, we need to be advocates for our children. We need to ask questions (there is no right or wrong one) and get answers. If we see our children having frustrations at home we need to raise this concern to the educators and see what can be done. As a parent, we may bot always have the right answers or know what can be done but at the very least ask questions and if your not getting the answers you need, find someone who can give you those answers and dont stop asking until you get them. In the case of my student above who was never identified, the parents had no idea what was going on, they were not given any information, but they also never asked questions when they saw a problem. We as educators need to educate the parents and help them to be included in the decision making process and ease their concerns with information. There needs to be more guidelines in identifying students and I do think that with IDEA and RTI that the schools will be able to identify children properly. In the article, RTI: A Primer for Parents, this talks about how parents can speak up and be involved in the process. It talks about how to have open communication between the parent and the teacher, as well as some ways to identify the child and guidelines for RTI and IDEA 2004. This article can be found at http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/rtiprimer.aspx |
Everyone has a ResponsibilityBy Tom O. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 One of the biggest challenges with IDEA and special education in general is suiting an education system meant to reach each and every student in our country to specifically adapt to each individual. While many might say this is simple it is really trying to find something that is made as a one size fits all and trying to somehow specifically mold it to fit everyone. While this is legally the responsibility of the education system it is difficult to adapt to each child’s need without as much cooperation and information as possible from the special needs child and their parent. It is difficult as a teacher to see some of the parents who are never accessible be the most critical of the educational system. The one factor that cannot be disputed is that education is not something that can begin when the child is dropped off at school and end when the child is picked up. For an IEP to be truly effective you need cooperation and support from the home. Dixie Jordan’s speaks of what parents need to know about IDEA 2004 and students IEP in her article at, http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/IDEA-2004.html, giving information on not only what the schools should provide but also what the parents should know and contribute to the process. Her article begins the process of what parents should do and how they may want to react and inquire in situations where they feel they are not being dealt with correctly. One thing is for sure in our current economy dollars in education are dwindling quickly and it will become more and more difficult to demand and expect services without the funding to support this. While schools are mandated to promise a Chevrolet version of education to each student, there needs to be some line at what can be spent on each student without putting an extreme burden on the majority of students in the building and educational system. This dilemma will be interesting to see as many of the budget cuts play out in our school system. The one thing for sure is that parents need to have the resources and take the time to advocate from themselves and their student. |
doing what's best for studentsBy Janna on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 In my past years of teaching, my adminstrators always stressed that we were there to do what is best for our students. Reading this short article reminds me of the challenges my family and I went through with my brother who was diagnosed at age 10 with and emotional disorder and then again at age 16 with an additional rage disorder, I agree with the above statement that is directed to the students with emotional disorders whom are generally removed from the regular classroom setting or even kicked out of school. Seeing the impact that my brothers uncontrollable behavior has had on his education is heartbreaking. I also found the website Mental Health Information Center, which provided a variety of information on behavior of children even offering programs and links to other information to help parents and even teachers. |
Teachers' Hands Are TiedBy Kathy K on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I agree with Mr. Cohen that students with mental issues who disrupt the classroom are given more attention than those who quietly suffer. Unfortunately, the disruptive student is often thought of as being a behavior problem and further investigation into the causes for the behavior is not pursued. (Sadly, financial obligations seem to be the biggest reason for school districts to avoid further testing.) This is the point at which the classroom teacher needs to become an advocate for the child. Keeping appropriate records and data, communicating frequently with parents, and requesting team meetings to discuss the child's progress or lack of progress can make all the difference. Since many parents are unaware of their rights to request an evaluation and teachers are "forbidden" to make this known to parents, the only route to follow is to make an appropriate, data driven case. According to the Wrightslaw website and an article titled "The Child Find Mandate: What Does It Mean To You", all children from birth to age 21 must be identified. Many districts have screenings for preschool age children, but once they are in the school system, it can be difficult to get them identified.Children with ADHD or who are on the PDD spectrum can be more difficult to have identified. Again Mr.Cohen is on target when discussing parents lack of willingness to accept that their child is suffering from a mental disorder. It is imperative that teachers do what they can to convince parents that it is their child's future that is at stake, We all want to do what is best for the children. I hope that future IDEA reforms have more specific guidelines and require districts to make parents' rights regarding evaluations public knowledge. |
Things can always get better...By Jackie C.S. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 I worked with high school aged children with special needs in the very early 90's. I worked for a private agency that attempted to provide job training to these students. We attempted to provide an avenue for transiton into the adult world before "transtion" became part of our lexicon. Back then, the goal of the high schools seemed to me to be to graduate their students with special needs as quickly and cheaply as possible. Services for students up to age 21 exsisted but were only provided to students whose families knew enough about the laws to insist the students continue to receive services through the school until they aged out. While IDEA 2004 and even No Child Left Behind may both have their flaws one thing I am grateful to see is that both of these have finally raised children with disabilities up to the same level of necessity as the regular education students. No Child Left Behind said they are important and need to be counted and IDEA tried to lay out a plan for successfully doing that. IDEA also spelled out the fact that learning can be different -not just reading, writing, and arithmatic. It can be life skills and job preparation. As the aunt of a special needs high school student and as a teacher I know that things can always get better. As with anything, if we rest on what we have done and act as if it is the best we can do progress would never happen. There will always be new issues that need to be addressed so the laws will forever have to be "tweaked." Parents, in the mean time, should look for positive ways to advocate for their children that may help to rewrite IDEA in the future. I found some ideas for parents at the Wrights Law website. One article in particular dealt with parents who have children with behavior problems. The article, "What You Need to Know About IDEA 204: IEPs for Children with Behavior Problems," by Pat Howey, offers advise for how parents and educators can look for solutions for a student whose behaviors impede their learning. The article can be found at http://www.wrightslaw.com/howey/iep.special.factors.htm. I have seen many positive changes in how children with disabilities are treated in the world of education but I also know that things can always get better and I have confidence that they will. |
What took so long??By Kim A on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Reading this made me think of an 8th grader in our junior high. He has many signs of a teenager with oppositional defiant disorder. He refuses to follow rules and directions, argues with adults, he is easily annoyed, stubborn, tests limits and boundaries, and blames others for his mistakes. After years of teachers requesting for him to be tested, after years of many in-school suspensions being served, the parents have finally agreed to have him tested. He is now in the "planning center" with the special ed teacher who works with students with behavior issues. He comes in one class period a day to work with the teacher. After a few weeks, I see a slight improvement, but he has a long way to go. So my question is, why did his parents take so long to finally agree to have him tested? So much time has been wasted when he could have been getting the help he needed. Did the parents not know their rights? Were they afraid of the "stigma" of having a child diagnosed with "problems"? In a few short months, this young man will be entering a new chaper of his life: high school. This new stage will be filled with many challenges; hormones, struggle for independence, peer presure, tougher classes. Hopefully he will be able to get the help he needs, stay in school, graduate, and become a productive member of society. I found two helpful websites: Focus Adolescent Services and Mental Health Information Center. Both of these websites were filled with information on behavior of children and their disabilities. Parents need to be an advocate for their child, find out what their rights are, and help their child anyway they can to succeed in life. |
good IDEAs still neededBy pete post on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Having been in special education for 36 years I tell my students at Trinity Christian College that I was writing some of the first IEPs but I wonder if we are really getting any better at it. A wonderful idea of having school, parents and student come together to map out a one-year strategy for learning seems to have changed to a battleground for legal rights with IEPs under lock and key and teachers nervous about making costly errors. It's a tough challenge but I hope that we can always remember that we (adminstrators, teachers, therapists, parents and students) are on the same team. IEP meetings should always be a celebration of accomplishments and a rededication to find even better ways to learn next year. I am going to ask my certified teachers that are seeking additional certification in special education to respond this week with their perception of what they are seeing in their schools and their hope for future IDEAs. |
How come?
By Crystal G. on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
While working as a classroom assistant in special education settings, I have seen many students excel and some fail. I remember one 4th grader in particular who was in a self-contained classroom with students who had learning and behavioral disabilities. I was told that he had a “behavior disorder”. This student was functioning cognitively equal to his peers in the regular education setting but often talked out of turn, questioned authority and tormented his classmates physically and verbally. The classroom teacher along with the school social worker and psychologist developed a behavior plan to alleviate some of his outburst and disruption during the school day. The plan seemed to work pretty well for quite some time however, after a while neither school/classroom rewards nor punishment prevented this student from causing daily disruptions. The team that developed his behavior plan was not supported by student’s parents. In fact, no one attended parent teacher conferences or returned phone calls made from school. I often wondered why not. Why hadn’t his mother come to the school to support her son? How come the school staff could not persuade the mother (or emergency contact person) to get involved? How come? After reading this article, I am thinking that maybe the parent(s) were overwhelmed at home. Maybe she/they didn’t know the proper steps to take to get involved. Maybe I will be faced with the same issues of a different student as I begin my quest to teach BD/LD students. I pray that if I am faced with this, I will be able to work with a team of school administrators who will be able to guide parents in the right directions to gain insight on ways to assist their children and 30 years down the road I won't still be wondering how come?.