People ASK questions, get answers

Specialist speaks to parents of special needs kids.

By: Aleen Crispino
   What services are available in Lawrence for children with special needs?
   That question and more were answered when about a dozen parents of children with special needs in the township school district turned out Oct. 18 for "Beyond Back to School Night," the first meeting this year of the parent group Advocates for Special Kids (ASK), at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School.
   Susan Leonard, Lawrence Township supervisor of child study teams and special education for pre-kindergarten through fifth grades, gave an overview of the services offered to students in the lower grades.
   Director of Student Services Kris Deni and Erin Servillo, supervisor of child study teams and special education for grades six to 12, were invited but unable to attend.
   ASK is a parent-teacher organization, which provides support, education and advocacy for children with special needs and their parents in the Lawrence Township School District, according to the group’s Web site.
   The Lawrence Township school district offers many options to children with special needs, all governed by an "overall philosophy" with two main goals, said Ms. Leonard.
   First, the district tries to accommodate each student within the district.
   The second goal is "we want them to be with typically developing kids as much as they possibly can – as much as is appropriate for them," she said.
   With these goals in mind, she enumerated the various types of settings that a child study team may consider when drafting a child’s individualized education plan (IEP).
   These options range from placement in a "self-contained" class with other children with special needs, taught by a special education teacher, to a "team-taught" class comprised of both children with special needs and typically developing children, taught by both a general education teacher and a special education teacher.
   A program titled Early Launch to Learning Initiative (ELLI) serves both general and special education students who are 4 years old and whose families qualify for a free or reduced lunch, said Ms. Leonard.
   There is one ELLI class each in Benjamin Franklin, Eldridge Park and Slackwood elementary schools, said Ms. Leonard. There are three seats in each class for general education students without financial need chosen by a lottery system, she said.
   One kindergarten option is a self-contained class for kindergarten through second grade children combined. There are two – one at Eldridge Park and one at Slackwood, said Ms. Leonard.
   Students in grades one to three also have the option of going to an out-of-class replacement (OCR), also known as a resource room, for language arts or mathematics and attending regular classes for all other subjects.
   Fourth through sixth grade students at Lawrence Intermediate School have the same options of self-contained, team-taught or OCR placements, said Ms. Leonard.
   An IEP is drafted by the child study team assigned to each child when they are evaluated for special education. Each school has its own child study team, consisting of a psychologist, a learning disabilities teacher consultant, a social worker and speech, occupational and physical therapists, as well as the child’s parents or guardian. Each child study team is led by a case manager.
   Each IEP describes a child’s present level of performance as well as a list of goals to be achieved during the school year. It must be reviewed annually and the child must be completely re-evaluated every three years to see if his or her needs have changed, according to ASK’s Web site.
   Several parents attending the meeting had questions regarding who to contact if they disagree with their child’s IEP or think their child is not receiving the services it prescribes.
   "If I was a parent, I would talk to the teacher first," said Ms. Leonard, who lives in Bordentown and has an 11-year-old daughter. "The teacher and the case manager are working together — you could call them simultaneously so that everybody is in the loop."
   "If you’ve had the third or fourth meeting and you’re still upset," said Ms. Leonard, "call me, call Erin (Servillo) or call Kris (Deni). That’s what we’re here for," she added.
   ASK’s co-chairwoman, Louise Saletta, recommended that parents take a newly drafted IEP home and read it carefully before signing it.
   "Whether I agree with it or not, I take it home and discuss it with my husband," said Ms. Saletta. "If I have questions, I call my case manager."
   "You can call an IEP meeting," said Tom Smith, of Fountayne Lane. He is the father of Callum, 5, who attends the team-taught kindergarten class at Lawrence Elementary School for two half-days and one full day per week, spending the remaining four half days at the Katzenbach Campus of The New Jersey School for the Deaf, in Ewing.
   Callum received a cochlear implant when he was 13 months old, which enables him to hear, said Mr. Smith after the meeting.
   Parents also have a right to call in other professionals to evaluate their child, said Ms. Leonard.
   "I went outside for an occupational therapy evaluation," said Isabelle Rotman, of Green Avenue. Her 5-year-old twin boys, Matthew and Thomas, attend the team-taught kindergarten at Lawrence Elementary School.
   The boys have been diagnosed with apraxia of speech and ADHD as well as some "fine-motor issues," said Ms. Rotman.
   "The two kindergarten teachers are doing a really good job with the kids," said Ms. Rotman. "We’ve had to push and prod to get the IEP fulfilled but it’s been mostly positive," she said. "Whenever I came up with something they listened and they would usually change the draft right away."
   The next ASK meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 15 in the library at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. For more information on ASK, visit www.asknj.org.