Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend a state or district that will offer services for HFA teen? We will move given at least one job can be remote & spouse may have to stop working because we can’t afford to live here & the teen being recruited by Columbia is likely to be on disability & PSAT scores do not convey school refusal.
We’ve been fighting an unnamed local public school district since K. All that was initially diagnosed was ADHD-combined. School only offered a 504, despite neuropsych recommending IEP based on diagnostics predicting depression. Inflexibility was noted then. Psychiatrist wrote a letter adding for IEP based on my child becoming nonverbal in session in 2nd. Anxiety has manifested and the SCARED scores were relayed.
Fast forward to middle & high school, massive school refusal starting in 6th. We had a few good years when child was in in gifted classes but those ended in 5th. New neuropsych, more diagnoses, repeated request for IEP denied. That middle school also refused to give meds (I called central office of Civil Rights & that was immediately remedied). This is before pandemic.
When self-harm began, IEP granted but school gave As because student went to school one day and got an A on a test. No attendance in 9th, no homework completion =As (I can’t make this up).
Finally an autism diagnosis (some are verbal). Now district pays attention. They school in Utah they refer users headphones with blaring music to wake up teens who won’t get out of bed. Lights go on every 15 min at night for safety checks. Can’t go outside without an adult. Seems scary and punitive for teen who is not aggressive & has never had a suicide attempt. Lots of schools for substance abuse, but no substance use ever.
The super bright kid is not on track to go to college nor graduate high school. If sell house & remove ourselves from toxic school district, is there anywhere that will help her? We have a lawyer—that’s the only way we got an IEP. But we are drained of cash & can’t access retirement accounts because: a) we have to eat when older, and b) we will have age penalties. Continuing to pay legal fees at this point seems a waste of money.
What should we do, where should we go? Family that is still alive is not local & our mothers who survive have dementia. One spouse could probably switch to a different fed job out of state, but current/long-held job requires is “essential” so there was no travel in pandemic & when govt shuts down will have to work without income until Congress stops bickering.
We’re done with DC & mental health providers that don’t take insurance. We need to be elsewhere where all our neighbor kids are going to college & kids with autism did receive services all along—but white boys get diagnosed earlier.
-exhausted & scared parent
Before you referenced DC I had to say: this HAS to be MCPS. Super sorry Op. our experience was only dyslexia and it was a nightmare
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