California parents says school district's autism services inadequate

From The San Bernadino Sun in California:

For months now, a group of parents has been challenging the adequacy of services offered to students with autism in Redlands Unified School District.

They claim the district is breaking the law by not providing proper services for their children, most of whom have a high-functioning form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome and are in middle school or high school.

Parents began speaking out at the Board of Education's May 25 meeting and have pledged to continue until the district addresses the problem.

The district and the county agency that oversees its special-education department say they are in accordance with the law and have the children's best interests in mind.

According to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities must be educated among children who are not disabled to the greatest possible extent.

The practice is commonly referred to as the "least restrictive environment," said Anita Ruesterholtz, administrator of the East Valley Special Education Local Plan Area for San Bernardino County, which oversees special education.

"You start with a regular classroom and, based on the needs, you begin to give them additional services," Ruesterholtz said. "If a child needs a (different) environment, we try to modify that environment."

The federal Free Appropriate Public Education Act requires schools to provide disabled students the same level of education they provide those

without disabilities. That education can include placement in general or special-education classrooms, plus aides and other services to meet needs.
"We really strive toward having the kids be able to have the skills to function in the general population because that's where they're going to ultimately end up," Ruesterholtz said.

Each special-education student has an Individualized Education Program, a legal contract detailing the student's needs and goals and the services to be offered, said Paul Cullen, RUSD's chief academic officer.

The student's guardian works with teachers, district administrators and service providers to develop the plan and the group meets during the year to reassess. Parents may request a meeting to discuss their student's needs at any time, Cullen said.

In RUSD, high-functioning middle and high school students with autism are placed in one of three tracks -

general-education classes, or into special-education classes for either emotionally disturbed or severely disabled students, said Cheryl Sjostrom, the district's director of special services.

The majority of the students with high-functioning autism are placed in general- education classes, often because they perform as well or better than their peers academically, parents said. From there, the district tries to meet any deficits through support services offered on an individual basis.

But some parents say that placement actually prevents their children from succeeding academically, developmentally, emotionally and socially.

"Our kids have wider range of unique learning styles than perhaps any other group around," said parent Heather Stephens. "Our kids have pockets of intelligence that would rival Einstein, yet they cannot tell time, they cannot tie their shoes.

"The least-restrictive environment part (of the IDEA law) was not made for our kids. For a child (with autism), being in a classroom with 30 other kids, one teacher and no support is the most-restrictive environment possible."

San Bernardino County Board of Education member Gil Navarro said he will stand with the parents to make sure a proper program or sufficient services are provided.

"When the RUSD withholds services to the average autistic kids, whose needs are greater than the average special-needs student, that is criminal," Navarro said.

Parent Paula Ready challenged RUSD to be the first local district to create a program specifically for teens with Asperger's.

"They keep saying, `We need to go study other districts, we need to see what they have,' or `No one has what you're asking for,"' Ready said. "Why can't we be the first?"