Ask Dr. Rose
A new column answering parents’, educators’ and students’ questions about special education, in response to the flood of letters and e-mails we have been receiving at Education Update.

Dear Dr. Rosen:

We are in the process of trying to get our 10 year-old son included in regular education. The special ed. classes have not helped him to read or write and he is just beginning to talk. We have been fighting for Assistive Technology for years. It looks as if this year he’ll be given such a device.
He understands everything that is said to him; however, he has Down’s Syndrome, so that comes with a big stigma attached–labels!
A proud Dad of five special children, looking for any sign of hope there is out there.

-Sky Anderson

 

Dear Sky,

Your son is fortunate to have you as an advocate. You have the right, under federal laws, to have your son attend classes in the least restrictive environment. You are also entitled to due process if the appropriate classes are not provided. I suggest that you first work through the school’s Special Ed. Committee and principal to achieve your goal before seeking a legal remedy.

-Dr. Pola Rosen, Ed.D.