[FEAT BC Admin]

In this discussion area, please feel free to share your experience in implementing A.B.A. programs in the school system. We would particularly like to hear from those parents who converted their school teams to A.B.A. We’d like to hear the nightmares as well as the success stories.

Any insight that can be shared by school-based special education assistants to help parents would also be very meaningful.

Topic

[Nicole Patrick]

Angela,
There is a definate difference between a modified and adapted program.

An adapted program means that adaptations are in place for a child to work towards the learning outcomes. (A different route to the same goal as other students). While the adaptations are often noted on the report card, your child is not penalized and their letter grade should reflect how your child is doing in relation to the intended learning outcome.

Being on a modified program means that a child is not working toward the learning outcomes and upon completion of grade 12, the child will not have met the required learning outcomes for a dogwood certificate -instead, the child recieves a "completion certificate". This will affect the student's eligibility for attending university. The students therefore do not recieve letter grades for some or all subjects.

Modifying a child's program is a big step your child's case manager (often the resource teacher) should discuss with you. It needs to be outlined in the IEP.
If you would like a further explanation, feel free to contact me at nicolepatrick@telus.net. I'd be happy to chat if you would like.

[Dave Collyer]

Found it! Go here if you are interested in this sort of thing: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/nr/07.02/autism.html

Dave.

[Dave Collyer]

Hi all,

Ontario seems to be expanding access and support for ASD in the schools.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/02/24/3661247-sun.html, LondonFreePress}

or if you prefer the G&M has the same story:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070223.wautismontario0223/BNStory/National/

I do worry that the result will be rather hit and miss as I suspect that OSTF is rather like our BCTF in that it's membership also lacks the experence, training and supervision in the design and delivery of ABA (and other) supports. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

I would love to read the 34 reccomendations the panel generated. Does anyone have a link or a source?

Dave.

[Barbara Rodrigues]

Hi:

Is anyone going to the meeting tomorrow night that might be willing to take notes – just broad form ones to pass along to those of us up in the Okanagan? If so – could you email them to me at
westernad@hotmail.com

Thank you so much in advance.

Barbara Rodrigues

[Brad & Roxanne Black]

Anyone parent who has a child in school please come out to the meeting tommorrow night in South Surrey at The Semiahmoo House. Jean Lewis and Sabrina Freeman will be discussing the Hewko decision and what it means for your child. As we all know the school system can be a tough thing to deal with, join us in knowing your child's rights and what you can do to ensure your child gets what he or she needs. This is a meeting you will not want to miss.

Please rsvp to Eleanor MacDonald at elledubois65@shaw.ca

[Claire Spencer]

I received this email through a contact, but thought others might be interested.
Claire Spencer

—- Original Message —–

From: Smith, Adrienne

Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 9:33 AM

Subject: special needs cases

The legislative session is approaching, and the NDP is still looking for stories about students with special needs who are not getting the services they deserve in the public k-12 system.

Would you mind passing this message on to your various networks?

We are looking for families willing to have their name and their child’s name used in the House.

People can feel free to contact me directly.

Thanks.

Adrienne Smith
Research Officer
Caucus Research
New Democrat Official Opposition
250 356-0916
250 387-4680(fax)
Email Adrienne.Smith@leg.bc.ca

[Mike & Jean]

Below is a copy of a letter sent to each School District in the province

The Autism Society of B.C. and Families for Early Autism Treatment of B.C. are pleased to be able to provide you with the following summary of the recent BC Supreme Court “Hewko” judgment relating to a child with autism within the Abbotsford School District. This judgment is seen as a key precedent in education and school law in British Columbia. Our organizations urge you to distribute this information widely amongst your Board and staff.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact FEAT of BC (Dr. Sabrina Freeman) at 604-534-6956 or the ASBC (Michael Lewis) at 604-434-0880

School Districts have to Hire Aides
with Child-Specific Training for Autistic Students
B.C. Supreme Court Rules

In November 2006 Madam Justice Koenigsberg ruled that the Abbotsford School District breached its duty to consult and accommodate when it repeatedly failed to provide a classroom aide who was capable of demonstrating instructional control of a student with autism, Darren Hewko.

In this groundbreaking precedent, the Judge set out a number of steps that all School Districts must follow in order to meet their duty to consult with parents of children with special needs:

 Before any decision is made regarding the placement of a child within the school system and the persons who will have the responsibility to implement an IEP, the parents must be consulted.

 The depth of consultation and the concomitant obligations for the parties to accommodate the requirements of the other will vary with the known need of a child’s requirement for a modified curriculum.

 All necessary information in regard to either parties’ position on a proper placement and IEP must be provided in a timely way so that each will have an opportunity to express their interests and concerns and sufficient time to ensure that their representations are seriously considered and wherever possible demonstrably integrated into the proposed plan.

 Each party to the consultation has an obligation to provide timely information and an obligation to make whatever accommodations are necessary to effect an educational program which is in the best interests of the child.

…

 The bottom-line requirement for each side in a meaningful consultation is to be able to demonstrate that the proposal put forward can produce instructional control of the child.

The Judge found that there is a lack of training and expertise in Intensive Behaviour Intervention/Applied Behaviour Analysis (IBI/ABA) in School Districts and that as a result Districts may have to hire persons from students’ home-based ABA/IBI therapy teams in order to meet their duty to accommodate autistic students. The Judge continued:

Reasonable accommodation is an integral part of the duty to consult. Reasonable accommodation in this case involves providing the best available teaching staff for Darren Hewko in school. In Darren’s case, as in that of all children, special needs or not, the best teaching staff are persons who can demonstrate instructional control of him. Any consultation with Darren’s parents must include an accommodation of his home-based program – at least until instructional control is gained and maintained of him in the school setting.

… I find that the school board failed to discharge its consultation obligation by failing “… to ensure that [the plaintiffs’] representations were seriously considered and, wherever possible, demonstrably integrated into the proposed plan of action…” . Most importantly, the District through its proposals and by failing to seriously accommodate the Hewkos home-based program, failed to demonstrate it could produce instructional control of Darren.

The Judge held that:
 There is a serious gap in the “expertise” of educators in the area of effective learning systems for children with autism.

 There is no evidence that ABA-IBI is not, at this time, the most tested and effective learning system for many children with autism.

 Learning “on the job” is obviously no substitute for having basic training.

 What is required to provide access to an education for Darren Hewko (and other students with autism) is strict adherence to an ABA based learning system and the availability of ABA-IBI programming and teaching assistants trained to carry it out.

 The parental/student appeal procedure set out under section 11 of the School Act is not an absolute bar to a subsequent hearing on the merits in the Courts.

 In the Hewko case, a reasonable apprehension of bias resulted from the way the section 11 appeal had been prepared and conducted and as a result the decision of the Trustees (upholding the District position) was of no legal effect whatsoever.

This important case, Hewko v. B.C., 2006 BCSC 1638, will remain a key precedent in education and school law in British Columbia. The decision was not appealed by any of the parties.

School Trustees, District Administrators and Special Education Staff and others are urged to read this case and learn more about the details of the duty to consult and accommodate students with autism.

The full Reasons for Judgment in Hewko v. B.C. can be accessed at: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/06/16/2006bcsc1638err1.htm

[Stephanie Spence]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for a preschool in Maple Ridge for my son who has autism. Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences with any ? good or bad.

my email is gsspence@shaw.ca

thank you,
Stephanie

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

PLEASE REPLY IF YOU CAN:

Dear FEATers,

I am again posting this because I haven't gotten many answers and, I've had about ten other families ask me to pass on the information to them. If anyone had information regarding Kindergarten in the Vancouver School District could you PLEASE take the time to fill me in.

I am in the midst of finding my way through choosing a school that is appropriate for her.

I spoke on the phone yesterday with Sabrina and she said that posting here would be the *best way* of getting HONEST information regarding schools.

I would like to know which school your child
attends and if you like it or not.
I want to hear BOTH good and bad.

Simon Fraser is in my district, Edith Cavell is in my ex-husband's, I've been told that Mount Pleasant is good, but for what reason, I have not yet been told. (I've put in a cross boundry application for there.)

Please e-mail me if you have ANY advice that you could share with me. It would be oh-so helpful.

Thanks So Much,
Cathy

scissorhappy@shaw.ca

[Cathy Fitzhugh]

Dear FEATers,

My daughter is entering Kindergarten in the Vancouver School DIstrict this fall and I am in the midst of finding my way through choosing a school that is appropriate for her.

I spoke on the phone yesterday with Sabrina Freeman and she said that posting here would be the *best way* of getting HONEST information regarding schools. I would like to know which school your child attends and if you like it or not. I want to hear BOTH good and bad.

Simon Fraser is in my district, Edith Cavell is in my ex-husband's, and, I've been told that Mount Pleasant is good, but for what reason, I have not yet been told. (I've put in a cross boundry application for there.)

Please e-mail me if you have ANY advice that you could share with me. It would be oh-so helpful.

Thanks So Much,
Cathy

scissorhappy@shaw.ca

[Author]

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