Special Education Law Blog

The Importance of Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory integration therapy (SIT) has been one of the treatment mainstays for thousands of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, ADD/ADHD, or other developmental disorders.  According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), approximately 5 to 15% of children in the general population have sensory processing issues.School-based and private occupational therapists and parents have brushed, swung, and bounced on balls countless children in an effort to improve their ability to process sensory input.  Yet, the effectiveness of this therapy, despite accolades it has received from therapists and parents, has been questioned.  Now a new study by Lang et al that assesses the benefits of SIT by reviewing 25 existing studies adds additional fuel to the debate.  In a nutshell, the study authors state that SIT is neither effective nor research-based and that agencies (such as schools) that are mandated to provide research-based interventions should not be using SIT. 

Lang et al culled electronic data bases for different studies that purported to measure the effectiveness of SIT.  To be included in the Lang review, the study had to meet certain inclusion criteria; namely, at least one participant had to be diagnosed with an ASD and some form of SIT had to be implemented in an effort to ameliorate the symptoms of the ASD.  The SIT was then classified as positive, negative, or mixed depending on its effectiveness.  Additionally, the methodological rigor of the study was examined to determine if the study had a true experimental design that among other things could be replicated. 

Demonizing Parents: Orange County Special Education Alliance

That you can’t fight city hall is a time-honored truism, but how much harder does it become when different city halls join forces to fight you?  Parents in Orange County, California unfortunately are discovering just this fact as they advocate for services for their children with special needs.  Since 2005, 28 school districts plus the Orange County Department of Education have formed an alliance, which among other functions, contributes financially to school districts engaged in legal battles against parents. 

The Orange County Special Education Alliance was ostensibly formed to ally school districts in their ongoing campaign against parents. A single school district is a formidable opponent but fighting a coalition of districts that gives me a headache just to contemplate. Again lets remember they are not the victims of parents in the vast majority of cases.

Keeping the Mental Illness Conversation Going After Sandy Hook

Even 6 months after the tragedy at Shady Hook Elementary School, we’ve all been asking what may have caused the horrific shooting.  We may or may not agree that the ready availability of assault weapons and the playing of violent video games may have contributed to the rampage, but we can surely agree that failures in the mental health system also played a significant role.   We don’t know if his mother struggled to obtain mental health services for her son, although we know that she had home-schooled him for a time.  What we do know, however, is that for many families, providing mental health services for their desperately ill children is an extraordinary challenge.  And many, many children, as well as adults, are falling through the cracks. I see the struggle for mental health services occur on a daily basis.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 4 million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school, or with peers.  Additionally, 21% of children between ages 9 and 17 have been diagnosed with a mental or addictive disorder that causes at least minimal impairment.  Despite this high prevalence rate, NAMI reports that in any given year, only 20% of children with a mental disorder are identified and treated. That’s a lot of kids to not receive treatment, and the consequences can be tragic.  Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 24.  Of those children who commit suicide, over 90% have been diagnosed with a mental disorder.   Additionally, 50% of teens with a mental disorder will drop out of school.  Many of these youth will wind up in the criminal justice system.  The National Institute of Mental Health found that 65% of boys and 75% of girls in juvenile detention have at least one mental disorder.