The Swamp

Good luck mate!

Hey BFJ, my wife happens to be an expert on special education law. She teaches a course on it in her law school and she actually represents the state as a review officer in cases on appeal. She knows this stuff inside and out, although primarily for North Carolina.

I can't exactly offer her services on her behalf, but if you want to send me the details of your case, she might be willing to offer you some advice. As you know, she's particularly sensitive to issues about autistic kids.

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:04 pm Hey BFJ, my wife happens to be an expert on special education law. She teaches a course on it in her law school and she actually represents the state as a review officer in cases on appeal. She knows this stuff inside and out, although primarily for North Carolina.

I can't exactly offer her services on her behalf, but if you want to send me the details of your case, she might be willing to offer you some advice. As you know, she's particularly sensitive to issues about autistic kids.

Much appreciate the offer. I have legal counsel who is pretty thorough. The problem is Baltimore County Public Schools and their refusal to follow the IEP. It is pretty clear that they’re in violation and I expect they will settle before we get to due process. We’ve beaten them once before and this is an even more blatant violation.

Good luck my friend.

I'm sure you've seen, but I found the research they're doing with Google Glass and autistic kids pretty fascinating.

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:13 am Good luck my friend.

I'm sure you've seen, but I found the research they're doing with Google Glass and autistic kids pretty fascinating.

Very cool program. We shared this on our social media the other day.

bfj wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:08 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:04 pm Hey BFJ, my wife happens to be an expert on special education law. She teaches a course on it in her law school and she actually represents the state as a review officer in cases on appeal. She knows this stuff inside and out, although primarily for North Carolina.

I can't exactly offer her services on her behalf, but if you want to send me the details of your case, she might be willing to offer you some advice. As you know, she's particularly sensitive to issues about autistic kids.

Much appreciate the offer. I have legal counsel who is pretty thorough. The problem is Baltimore County Public Schools and their refusal to follow the IEP. It is pretty clear that they’re in violation and I expect they will settle before we get to due process. We’ve beaten them once before and this is an even more blatant violation.

OK, good luck then. It sounds like you might have a good attorney, which is critical. I hope you found one that specializes in public school law - special education law in particular. Don't assume that any old attorney will work. School law is very particular and the rules are often very different than the rules of other kinds of civil actions. My wife has spent a career beating up "regular" lawyers who try to venture into school law. They almost always get the laws and procedures wrong and their clients (kids) suffer.

I think I just got mansplained to! Lol. Thanks Dave, our guy is a special education specialist and has been with my son for a long time now.

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:25 pm I think I just got mansplained to! Lol. Thanks Dave, our guy is a special education specialist and has been with my son for a long time now.

Sorry. Just looking out. You'd be amazed how many people go into these things with no attorney at all. Of those who do get attorneys, probably more than half fail to get a public school law specialist. There just aren't that many of those and lots of lawyers apparently assume they can handle it.

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:01 pm

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:25 pm I think I just got mansplained to! Lol. Thanks Dave, our guy is a special education specialist and has been with my son for a long time now.

Sorry. Just looking out. You'd be amazed how many people go into these things with no attorney at all. Of those who do get attorneys, probably more than half fail to get a public school law specialist. There just aren't that many of those and lots of lawyers apparently assume they can handle it.

I get it. I talk to parents every day and tell them how important a good attorney can be. They are extremely expensive and it’s unfortunate that the burden of proof is on the parents to prove the school is doing wrong by our kids.

My GF and her Ex are trying to wean their daughter off of some of the meds she's been taking, pretty much due to the Ex's wanting. But its really starting to affect her behavior, making her really cycle between being totally amped, and being almost lethargic.

Which has let to him having trouble being with her for more then an hour or two at a time. The other weekend, she was staying the night with him (and his girlfriend), and she wouldn't go to sleep at his house, so he show's up at our house, at 2:30am, lets himself in, wakes us up, and leaves the daughter with us.

I said to my GF 'good thing we didn't have the orgy scheduled for that night'.

Or shoot the intruder at 2:30 in the morning night

A little on the positive side of the ledger ...



The owners are awesome; their son is autistic and they kept having a job for him and others in mind when developing the concept.

bfj wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:04 am Or shoot the intruder at 2:30 in the morning night

He doesn't live in Florida.

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:27 am A little on the positive side of the ledger ...



The owners are awesome; their son is autistic and they kept having a job for him and others in mind when developing the concept.

I haven't ruled out that possibility for my son when he gets out of school. He loves to bake and cook and do things around a kitchen. If I can't find him a job working at a local place, I'd open a business and hire him and his friends. There is an amazing restaurant in Baltimore called Sam's Canterbury Cafe that was opened for just this purpose. Bitty and Beau's in Charleston and Puzzles Bakery in Schenectady are other places giving people like my son an opportunity to have a meaningful life and job.

I hate stories like this because I know how they end. 91% of deaths from wandering and elopement are caused by drowning. Terrifying statistic.

bfj wrote: ↑Tue Sep 25, 2018 7:38 pm I hate stories like this because I know how they end. 91% of deaths from wandering and elopement are caused by drowning. Terrifying statistic.

God. I feel sick. I wish I hadn't read that. Just awful. I want to hope for the best, but four days...

You watch. Dad did it. Just a hunch.

“My six year old outran me” doesn’t pass my sniff test but my six year old isn’t a burner so who knows.

I think it's more likely that the dad simply wasn't paying close attention to his son. He didn't see him run off at all.

Shirley wrote: ↑Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:46 pm I think it's more likely that the dad simply wasn't paying close attention to his son. He didn't see him run off at all.

I agree. And, the poor boy slipped into the water.

One time when my daughter was about six, we were near a river and she decided she wanted to go put her feet in the water and bolted in that direction. I ran like hell after her and barely caught her before she got to the water. Kids!

Oh man.

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:40 pm You watch. Dad did it. Just a hunch.

From yesterday.

If it was him, it would seem to me that they'll figure it out quickly. I would be shocked if he and his girlfriend manage to keep everything straight if they are lying to investigators.

rass wrote: ↑Thu Sep 27, 2018 3:08 pm Oh man.

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:40 pm You watch. Dad did it. Just a hunch.

From yesterday.

If it was him, it would seem to me that they'll figure it out quickly. I would be shocked if he and his girlfriend manage to keep everything straight if they are lying to investigators.

And his friend too, right?

Those CBS News articles say the “friend” who was reported to be with the dad at the time the boy ran off was actually the dad’s GF.

This is really fantastic. I saw this in a tech blog that I read..but well done Dell...never heard the term Neruodivergent hiring.....but like the fact that Dell has a program.
https://jobs.dell.com/neurodiversity

Tried to find a video of it, but it was Autism Awareness Night at the Golden Knights game last night, so they had a nice thing before the game talking about some of the work that different organizations in Las Vegas do and they had a kid with autism drop a ceremonial first puck.

So it's obvious this kid is incredibly psyched, which is great. They bring the captains together and the kid sets up but for whatever reason he doesn't drop the puck. So this is going on what felt like 30 seconds but there's no way it was that long, maybe about 15 or 20 seconds though but it did get to the point where it went from being relatively quiet to where a cheer starts building and then even the PA announcer said "you can drop the puck".

So needless to say, when he does the place goes nuts cheering even louder. Anyway, it was a nice moment.

I saw on some morning show that Sesame Street as an autistic character, and it seems like they're doing it right (thank god (and Mr. Rogers) for pbs).

I have 5 students on the spectrum this year, and they're generally doing well. The big change over the years that I'm seeing is the improvement of the other students. Years ago, most students tolerated or ignored the autistic student, but now many are forming genuine friendships so I am seeing great, genuine interactions and collaborations. Maybe Sesame Street helped.

That would be Julia on Sesame Street. She wa introduced a few years back.

EdRomero wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:07 pm I saw on some morning show that Sesame Street as an autistic character, and it seems like they're doing it right (thank god (and Mr. Rogers) for pbs).

Isn't the thanks to HBO for saving the street?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ ... ame-816105

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:01 am That would be Julia on Sesame Street. She wa introduced a few years back.

Is it surprising they picked a girl rather than a boy given the opposite prevalence?

Forgot about HBO...I think they're introducing her family and that why there was a morning show thing on it

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:47 am

bfj wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:01 am That would be Julia on Sesame Street. She wa introduced a few years back.

Is it surprising they picked a girl rather than a boy given the opposite prevalence?

I guess. She shows all the same characteristics. The symptoms don’t change depending on the sex of the child.

EdRomero wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:07 pm I saw on some morning show that Sesame Street as an autistic character, and it seems like they're doing it right (thank god (and Mr. Rogers) for pbs).

I have 5 students on the spectrum this year, and they're generally doing well. The big change over the years that I'm seeing is the improvement of the other students. Years ago, most students tolerated or ignored the autistic student, but now many are forming genuine friendships so I am seeing great, genuine interactions and collaborations. Maybe Sesame Street helped.

When I present to students I tell them the are the most important group I work with because they are the future doctors, cops, business owners that will have an understanding and acceptance level that doesn’t exist in older generations. They will be the ones who recognize people with ASD’s talents and gifts and be able to benefit from it.

Huggies! We shared this on our website a few days ago. Great video.

Could be in the Dusty thread.

We had something really strange happen this weekend. The GF's daughter Kelsey loves to go to thrift stores, and she really loves to look at little kid's board books.

We were at the Goodwill, and she was looking at books, and she pulled out this one book that she had when she was young. But she flipped to the last page, and it triggered something in her, and she became hysterical and having a total meltdown in the store. It took a lot for us to get her out to the car, and she was super agitated and upset.

Its really hard because she's none verbal, so she can't explain why that book was so upsetting. And because she's lived in Group Home type settings for so long, the GF doesn't know if something with a caregiver is associated with that book.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 11:45 am We had something really strange happen this weekend. The GF's daughter Kelsey loves to go to thrift stores, and she really loves to look at little kid's board books.

We were at the Goodwill, and she was looking at books, and she pulled out this one book that she had when she was young. But she flipped to the last page, and it triggered something in her, and she became hysterical and having a total meltdown in the store. It took a lot for us to get her out to the car, and she was super agitated and upset.

Its really hard because she's none verbal, so she can't explain why that book was so upsetting. And because she's lived in Group Home type settings for so long, the GF doesn't know if something with a caregiver is associated with that book.

Damn. That must be so scary to deal with.

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 11:50 am

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 11:45 am We had something really strange happen this weekend. The GF's daughter Kelsey loves to go to thrift stores, and she really loves to look at little kid's board books.

We were at the Goodwill, and she was looking at books, and she pulled out this one book that she had when she was young. But she flipped to the last page, and it triggered something in her, and she became hysterical and having a total meltdown in the store. It took a lot for us to get her out to the car, and she was super agitated and upset.

Its really hard because she's none verbal, so she can't explain why that book was so upsetting. And because she's lived in Group Home type settings for so long, the GF doesn't know if something with a caregiver is associated with that book.

Damn. That must be so scary to deal with.

It was. Kelsey is usually super happy and excited, so this was the first time that I've ever seen her being that upset. The GF was really shaken up by the whole incident.

When we got her out to the car, we tried to get her to use her iPad (she has a communication program on it that she uses) to tell us what we so upsetting, but all she kept saying was that she needed to go to Rite-Aid to get kleenex.