Special Education Law Blog

Illinois Autism Legislative Action Needed on May 29, 2008

 

 

Autism Votes... It's time for lawmakers to listen.

 

 

Dear Illinois Autism Advocate,

 

Thank you for all your hard work thus far to make SB 1900 a reality! WE ARE ALMOST THERE! As you know SB 1900, when passed, will end insurance discrimination against children with autism in the state of Illinois and provide them with the access they need to evidence based, medically necessary therapies and treatments. With your help, the bill made it out of the Rules Committee and is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. at the Stratton Building in Springfield in Room D-1 before the Human Services Committee.  If all goes well there, the bill will be scheduled for a final vote on the House Floor on May 31st.

 

THE FINAL PUSH FOR EVERY BILL IS CRITICAL!  WE NEED YOUR HELP!

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

 

1.   PACK THE ROOM! We need to demonstrate with our physical presence how important this bill is to our community and are asking you to plan to be there in attendance!

 

2.  CALL THE COMMITTEE!  Do you see your member on the list below of the House Human Services Committee members?  If so, please call them TODAY and ask for their support for SB 1900.

 

3.  CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!   Don't see your state representative listed below?  CLICK HERE to make sure your representative is a cosponsor of SB 1900!  If not, please ask him/her to sign on as a cosponsor TODAY.  Let your representative know how important this bill is to you, your family, and others in your community!

 

4.  FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! Teachers, Therapists, family members, neighbors, co-workers.  Explain how important this bill is for your family and ask them to take a quick few minutes to ACT!

 

Illinois House Human Services Committee Members:

 

• *Naomi D. Jakobsson (Chair) - (217) 558-1009   
• Constance A. Howard  (Vice Chair) - (217) 782-6476   
• *Patricia R. Bellock (Republican Spokesperson)  - (217) 782-2289   
• Annazette Collins - (217) 782-8077   
• Mary E. Flowers - (217) 782-4207   
• Al Riley - (217) 558-1007   
• *Sandy Cole - (217) 782-7320   
• *Elizabeth Coulson - (217) 782-4194   
• *Timothy L. Schmitz - (217) 782-5457

 

* NOTE: Members with the * next to their name are already cosponsors of SB 1900.  Please make sure to thank them for cosponsoring.  Remember to be polite and say thank you when contacting any legislator—we need their support!

 

For more information on SB 1900, visit www.autismvotes.org/illinois. To find out who your representative is, please visit our resources page and don't forget, if you haven't already to sign up for updates through Autism Votes!

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FAMILIES!

 

Lee Jorwic
Chapter Advocacy Chair, Illinois
Autism Speaks

Florida Teacher Needs to be Voted Off the Island

School personnel too often have an unshakable belief in their own inherent virtue and goodness; "we are here for the children after all." I run into the falsity of this belief all too often. A prominent illustration of a total lack of virtue happened recently in a Florida classroom. A teacher in Florida allowed the classroom to vote a child, who is on the autistic spectrum, to be voted out of the class. This teacher went beyond simple mean-spiritedness or  bad judgment. While the police declined to press charges, this teacher is obviously not fit to continue in this profession. She should take up any occupation that she does not have to consider other people's feelings. I have not seen such cold and callous conduct in my first hand experience, I have seen, however, lesser examples of extreme hurtfulness and bad judgment.  We all need to the ability to be self-critical of ourselves and our professions. Teachers are not immune from the bad parts of human nature.

Any interesting side-note to this story is that the vote was 14-2 to remove the student from the class. We could all learn something about compassion and standing up against peer pressure from the 2 children who voted to keep Alex Barton as a classmate.

PS the school apparently has re-assigned this teacher to non-teaching duties pending its investigation. If she had any decency she would just quit and go and work on a desert island.

IEP Strategy Checklist

Back in March, I presented to a very enthusiastic group of parents and advocates at the COPAA conference. It was a great time and for those of who can attend next year in Washington DC (in early March 2009) I strongly recommend it. COPAA is a time not only to learn a lot, it also recharges and revitalizes. For a short while, it is so wonderful to be among like-minded people and not have to defend and explain yourself.

I have been meaning to post my presentation outline on the blog but I have not stopped running since coming back from COPAA. The following pdf file was among my speaking points during the conference. Download strategy_checklist_for_IEPs.pdf  I certainly hope this helps for the remaining meetings this year and for all of those meeting yet to come.

How Many IEP Team Members Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb by Lori Miller Fox

Like for many of you, now that my son’s IEP is over I can finally breathe--even
if only to hyperventilate.

The incredible stress that often leads up to and occurs during an IEP (or Infliction
of Excruciating Pain as I’ve come to call it), can only be “outpained” by the post
traumatic stress that usually follows. There are the  insensitive comments that
linger in our hearts, the raised eyebrows that are burned into our memories, and
the skepticism that sneaks into our unguarded souls. 

Please don’t get me wrong, we have had good, affable and sometimes even surprisingly
pleasant meetings. And of course, there are also those individuals including many school people, who have made a very positive difference in our son’s future. And for those experiences and people, I am extremely grateful.

But for those negative, blind-siding, gut-wrenching meetings, I offer some humor. Because sometimes all we can do to save our sanities, is take a chill pill, maybe along with a mild sedative, and laugh. So here’s a new twist on an old favorite to help get us all through the aftermath of those difficult days. [Feel free to comment with a few of your own].