Special Education: An Overlooked Factor to the Newtown Tragedy

[Jefferson23]

** Not a story of blaming autism, nor defending the shooters mother.

Last year, unfortunately, the Ct. State Dept of Ed declined to investigate Newtown's Special Ed Dept.
despite calls from state legislature representatives pleas.

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Susan Moffitt

Something has been tugging at my heart in the wake of the unfathomable tragedy in Newtown, CT. The obvious broken systems have been laid bare. Gun control issues must be wrestled away from special interests and mental health must be recognized as an urgent public health issue.

But there’s another broken system in America that has yet to be fully addressed in light of Friday’s incident: special education.
I venture to say that every parent of a special needs child knows what I speak of.

Certainly, here in Seattle, it is common knowledge that school districts fail to provide a free and appropriate education to every child it serves. A scathing article in the Seattle Times lays out what everyone knows all too well – teachers are without the proper training and resources to address the needs of their most vulnerable of students.

Because of this, I can certainly relate to certain elements of the Adam Lanza story. I, too, have been forced to homeschool my high school-aged son with Asperger’s because he was unable to withstand the hurly-burly of a huge, urban high school, nor thrive in the self-contained setting they offered with other children who were extremely low functioning. Like Lanza, my son would become easily overwhelmed and take flight from what he was supposed to be doing. When a beloved classroom aide transferred to another school, no one had my son’s back anymore and the school would not be proactive about his triggers, despite my myriad exhortations.

in full: http://www.autismkey.com/special-education-an-overlooked-factor-to-the-newtown-tragedy/

[HiPointDem]

1. Washington used to be one of the highest-funded states for education. Now it's on a par with

Mississippi & tons of unfunded mandates.

A sped teacher:

Funding? what funding? In my current school, I see elementary classrooms of 28-30 students, at least half of them speak languages other than English at home, including refugees who speak zero English but are placed in regular classrooms, at least 8-10 have IEPs, and these students see interpreters or specialists for such a short, maybe an hour if that, a day.

The rest of the day, it's up to the regular ed teacher - many who do not have sped degrees and/or ELL training, - to figure out what to do with them at the expense of the few high achieving kids who simply aren't being challenged. sad but reality.

There are people who say that's why this state needs charter schools. Well, public charter schools will have the right to not admit these non English speakers and/or sped students, just as private schools now. It will be a matter of choice.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?thread=757967&direction=DESC&column=rating&offset=0#post_4281487


However, the family of the shooter didn't live in washington.

They are upper-class to wealthy & Fairfield county schools are well-funded (it's the 6th-richest county in the US).

The parent chose to pull the kid out of school & homeschool him. She was a stay at home mom with plenty of resources to buy add-on services.

So don't try to blame special ed.

[Jefferson23]

2. Thanks, there it is right there, " what's available". We spend trillions on destructive wars,

but no funds for the most vulnerable..pathetic.

snip* I once had a student who was identified with a 62 IQ = MR. This student was in Seattle SD with a 1-on-1 aide for 5 hours each day, according to IEP. When student moved to my district, the child was placed in my regular ed classroom and only saw the sped teacher perhaps 15-20 mins 3 times a week because all the sped students were in regular classrooms. I, myself, challenged the legality of this drastic IEP change and was told that because the student switched districts, the IEP changed in accordance to the service that was available at the school. The IEP service is to follow the student! I challenged it and was severely reprimanded for it.

on edit: The author is not trying to blame special ed for this tragedy, you missed the point. She
is stating she understands why she battled with the school.

[HiPointDem]

3. talk to the democrats in DC because part of it is their fault. but washington state has

absolutely NOTHING to do with the connecticut shooter's situation -- and neither, i'll warrant, do special ed services.

you want to post about special ed, just post -- don't try to attach your personal concerns to this shooting.

the family of the shooter didn't live in washington.

They are upper-class to wealthy & Fairfield county schools are well-funded (it's the 6th-richest county in the US).

The parent chose to pull the kid out of school & homeschool him. She was a stay at home mom with plenty of resources to buy add-on services.

So don't try to blame special ed.

[Jefferson23]

4. And you're certain he was served well in his school? do tell..since you seem so sure of

what is connected to this story and what is not.

[HiPointDem]

5. FYI, the kid was HOME-SCHOOLED after elementary, so get off your hobbyhorse.

i think you wrote that essay about washington state sped yourself, personally. it has nothing to do with this shooting.

[Jefferson23]

6. You're as informed about this story as AC 360....so save it for someone else. n/t

[Jefferson23]

7. I'm from Connecticut, bright light. n/t

[libdem4life]

12. Jr. High School can be a traumatic change from the security of one desk, one teacher, one room

shifting to a noisy hallway locker, multiple teachers, multiple classes, huge cafeterias, friendship re-alignments, and teachers with over a hundred students. Especially for an introverted, socially challenged young man or woman. Even the smaller print in the textbooks is challenging for kids with dyslexia.

And "get off your hobbyhorse" is an unworthy elementary grade language snark....kind of like "take a time out", ya know?

Could also tone down the caps on "home-schooled" like it's a dirty word.

Just sayin'...

[HiPointDem]

15. the caps are for emphasis. the poster is riding his personal hobbyhorse. an article about problems

in seattle schools has nothing to do with this shooting.

fairfield county = 6th-richest county in the US, shooter's family was wealthy. if they didn't like the services they could have bought their own -- which is what they chose to do. the kid was HOME-SCHOOLED for at least the last 2 years of his education.

so special ed classes have fuck-all to do with this story.

[libdem4life]

19. You do not know that. The school may have required that he be totally medicated to attend school.

That would be standard for a school or special ed department. I know about what I write. She may not have agreed with the psychotropic medication which does not necessarily "work" like the drug folk say it will, or he might have refused to take it, as it can have multiple effects...many of them negative.

And you think wealth has to do with this? Home-schooling, again in caps? Charter schools have been formed nationwide to deal with the piss-poor public school ability to serve all students.

Define for me ... Inclusion education ... well, it means we don't have any classes for "special" kids so you classroom teachers are on your own. Good luck...and don't ask for a raise.

[HiPointDem]

20. the school MAY HAVE required him to wear a clown suit and wave his dick to music, too. there's

no information about *that,* either.

in fact, there's no information at all about any of it, and the poster presents none. just an article about trouble in seattle.

the only information we have is that the kid spent his last two years in high school being HOME-SCHOOLED.

[libdem4life]

23. OK. Carry on. Wave his dick????? Yikes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. Baloney. Schools cannot require kids to be "totally medicated".

Where do you get this stuff? I'm a special ed teacher. No you don't know about what you write.

[libdem4life]

44. No? Maybe in Kansas. And I've been out of the CA system for awhile, but if a child has been

diagnosed, medication prescribed, and the parents do not enforce it, the public school is required to enforce it, or refuse services. Also the parents may be referred to Child Protective Services.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. That is false.

SCHOOLS CANNOT LEGALLY REQUIRE KIDS TO BE MEDICATED.

Please. Stop spreading misinformation. This doesn't help.

Schools don't provide medical services and do not have the legal right to force parents to medicate kids. Parents are free to choose to medicate their children - or not. And we have to educate them - medicated or not. Child protective services will not take reports from schools regarding parents refusing to medicate their children, with rare exceptions. An example would be a child who is an insulin dependent diabetic, because that is considered life threatening.

And no, this is not just in Kansas. This is federal special education policy. We can't even provide special education services without parental permission. We absolutely cannot force parents to medicate their children.

[libdem4life]

48. Relax. It's not the schools prescribing. It's the referral and if the psych prescribes meds, yes,

the parents are responsible. And an ADHD kid, for instance, not taking his meds, there are consequences. Please read my post. Again, schools do not prescribe nor do they provide therapy. But they do test and refer.

But it's been a few years, I admit, so please tell me that nowadays kids who are diagnosed are placed in a regular classroom without meds???

[proud2BlibKansan]

50. Parents have the legal right to choose whether or not to medicate their children.

Schools can't force them to do so. Neither can doctors. There are no consequences for parents who choose to not medicate an ADHD kid. This is becoming more and more common. Lots of unmedicated ADHD kids are in regular classrooms. And kids with other psych disorders who aren't medicated are also in regular classrooms. And in special ed classrooms too.

But this all has nothing to do with the kid who killed the babies in CT. A relative claims he had Aspergers. Another one said there was nothing wrong with him. One article says he was enrolled in high school. Another says he was enrolled n college. And another claims he was home-schooled.

Bottom line - we still don't know enough to draw any conclusions. And connecting this murderer to failures of special education is completely inappropriate.

[libdem4life]

51. If the kids are not endangering the other kids, that's one situation. If they are, it's another.

I had a student...as did other teachers... that had to be removed as a danger to the other kids. Medication was definitely an issue.

And I'm truly sorry if you think I'm aiming for special ed...I'm not. In my day special ed wasn't even available to most of the kids. We lived under "full inclusion" excuses and went on strike partly to fund special ed. Please accept my apologies for anything that inferred that. My sister is a special ed teacher. Apologies.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. So now it's the school district's fault?

First of all, we have no idea yet what this kid was dealing with. It's all rumor so far. One family member says he was a bright kid but quiet. Another says he was Aspergers. Friday we were told his mother was a kindergarten teacher at the school. Then an aide, then a substitute, then - oops - she didn't work there at all.

We have no idea if he was a special ed student. So it's a giant leap to imply a lack of or improper services are to blame for the tragedy in CT. And as has already been pointed out, a problem in Washington state doesn't connect to a murderer in CT.

[Jefferson23]

10. Where does it say it's the school districts fault?

He was homeschooled because she preferred it?? The Mom writing the OP is only relaying
her OWN frustrations.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. In the title and all through the piece.

Who is responsible for special education? SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

But seriously, we don't have enough information yet to come to any conclusions or place any blame. This is just a silly piece from a frustrated parent who wants to jump on the Sandy Hook bandwagon.

[duffyduff]

24. Yep.

My b.s. detector went right off.

[Jefferson23]

25. You know she is not blaming the shooting on the school district.

She is discussing her frustrations with special ed, which is a highly contentious area
for all districts...that is not a difficult concept.

It is relevant to the topic as we know the young man had difficulty in school, she shares
her own situation..it is a worthy topic.

[Corgigal]

31. agreed

and not to mention the moment the parent pulls the child out of the public school we lose the communities ability to monitor the student. Poof they are gone, now no one knows anything. If use to be when they were gone we might be glad because of what happened at Columbine (yes I know neither offender were in special ed) and we didn't have to worry about them going postal at our school one day. However this incident has taught me it's not so simple anymore.

Maybe we need to fund a special home school special ed area. Make the parent and student come to the school once a month and provide free books or information on group activities that the school is offering that the home school student can join. While we monitor the student and the parents to see how it's going. Yeah I know this will upset some, but we need to do threat assessment too. Secret Service is the specialist in this area but we have more profoundly disabled children coming down the pike and we owe it to them, their parents and society at large to try.

Please try to be kind educators, I'm just thinking out loud because I do understand the Special Ed system fights I had with my local school and we did work it out but not all parents were as lucky as I was with my son. Not to mention, at times it's the parents that can tube the whole system but again the minor student really takes the fall.

Again, I'm not blaming anyone. I 'm just thinking how we don't allow any humans to become so isolated.

[Jefferson23]

34. It is appropriate to look at situations surrounding problems from

such a tragedy..that is all I see her attempting. Not assigning blame at all.


I would like to see much more in federal funds for special ed, but that is another story.

[libdem4life]

42. This is not the case in California. The home-schooled student/family is assigned a credentialed

teacher for oversight.

And "pulling the child out of school" is hyperbole inferring the government knows best. Not always...sometimes the actual parents have some knowledge that a BA in, say chemistry, with a few units in education, doesn't have. Been there...done it all...not the panacea it's advertised to be.

[riderinthestorm]

9. Another red herring. If Adam Lanza had NO easy access to guns, NOBODY would have been killed

by guns.

While more focus on special ed and its current failings under budgetary and NCLB guidelines is welcome, the reality is that if Adam Lanza had not had easy access to guns, regardless of his mental health or educational status, nobody would have been killed in a murderous rampage.

[Jefferson23]

11. She is not disputing the gun issue...not sequestered to one issue.

Not blaming but examining her own situation, which is not such a terrible conversation.

[HiPointDem]

16. the article about special ed in seattle has nothing to do with this shooting. this is a stupid OP.

actually, it's just another public school-bashing op.

yeah, probably the kid shot all those public-school kids & staff in revenge for the poor autism services he got.

Including the special ed teacher he killed -- the one who tried to tackle him to make him stop.

[Jefferson23]

26. You're clueless, truly. This is not about bashing schools. n/t

[Zoeisright]

45. Yes it is sequestered to one issue.

Guns are the common denominator. Period.

[Jefferson23]

60. Ok, don't look at any other variables..good plan. n/t

[treestar]

52. I agree, this is no time to worry about special education

of all things. Most kids don't snap, get a gun and kill people. Anything to take the attention off of easy obtaining of guns, apparently.

[davidpdx]

13. I can relate a little

I have a mild learning disability and was diagnosed in the 4th grade. My mom had to fight to get help for me (this was back in the early 80s). In 4-8th grade I was in some remedial classes. By high school I had shed almost all of them with the exception of a study period I was given. My special ed teachers had a lot on their plate and most of the students were way worse off than I was. I was bringing in Geometry, business and anatomy books.

I did see first hand the needs of other students who had a tougher time, maybe because I was around them more.

[Jefferson23]

30. Thank you for the post. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

14. My sister is a teacher in La. She tells me it's happening there. Must be happening everywhere.

Very disturbing. The special ed kid schools have been closed & moved to regular schools. I don't know who to believe...my sis says they are not being adequately educated; my righwingnut brother says that's not true, that in the regular schools those kids still have special ed teachers, just not a separate school (to save money).

But clearly my sister is a teacher, and I think she should know if something wrong is going on.

Although, would Lanza have qualified? He was very smart. Just had some sort of problems...don't know what problems. Sounds more like a mental dysfunction than a special ed issue.

[Jefferson23]

29. The funding is terrible and the teachers are left to figure it out without proper support,

training and supervision.

We do not know what his issues were, the reporting has been horrific. Yet, he was
homeschooled, and if on the spectrum, the OP shares her frustration for resources.

The mainstream was overwhelming for her son and the special ed resource room
was too low functioning..so where do we help these kids fit in so they are successful
is her point. Not an easy task.

[Honeycombe8]

32. Bobby Jindal is hte gov. in La. He diverted public school funds to private schools via vouchers.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven. And oh, yeah...the public schools WILL be teaching creationism as well as evolution.

I don't even know if my sister is Republican, Democrat, or apolitical. We don't talk politics outright, and though I've hinted a few times, she has never said, so doesn't want to discuss it. But she is going to try to retire early. She says the teachers are being treated horribly, and she's afraid they'll do away with the retirement benefits and all. She's a good teacher, too, by all accounts.

[Jefferson23]

35. She has my sympathy and respect. Arnie Duncan is a nightmare too, and I'll

leave it at that.

[duffyduff]

54. Louisiana is a mess

I am surprised there aren't a flood of lawsuits being filed against Jindal and his Eli Broad crony John White.

[spedtr90]

40. Autism spectrum disorders fall under the special ed "umbrella"

Identifying students under the spectrum is pretty murky. There is a lack of teachers trained in this area, and districts are reluctant to hire a teacher for a relatively small population.

[FarCenter]

18. Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza was assigned psychologist

Connecticut school shooting: Adam Lanza was assigned psychologist

Adam Lanza caused so much concern because of his social awkwardness at high school that he was assigned a psychologist, according to a former school official.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9750422/Connecticut-school-shooting-Adam-Lanza-was-assigned-psychologist.html

What I'd like to know is whether the Newtown school district has more than one psychologist or whether that was the psychologist murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary. Another source seemed to indicate that she was at least the coordinator of these services for the district.

[HiPointDem]

21. the mom took the kid out of school during the 10th grade and homeschooled him thereafter.

Marsha Lanza, who is Adam's aunt and Nancy's ex-sister-in-law, called her former sister-in-law an "awesome ... giving person..."

Marsha... said that Nancy had home-schooled Adam after pulling him out of the Newtown public school system. "She mentioned she wound up home-schooling him because she battled with the school district," said Marsha.

She did not know when Adam had left school. According to former classmates, Adam had attended the local high school at least through part of 10th grade.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/adam-lanzas-mom-pulled-school-relative/story?id=17985433#.UM_k1qyVZkg


Whatever the mother's problem with the district, it's completely IRRELEVANT to this shooting FIVE YEARS LATER.

[FarCenter]

27. Actually, she also started him in college during what would probably have been his junior year.

Adam Lanza, Newtown shooter, took classes at Western Connecticut State University as teen

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/12/17/news/doc50cf454ba60f8602653638.txt

[HiPointDem]

28. Gee, I wonder if he got special ed services in college, because HE WASN'T IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL.

[FarCenter]

38. Deal with the facts. He was a very disturbed child from an early age, and in school for years.

Andrew Lapple sat next to Lanza in homeroom in their senior year at Newtown High.

Lapple described him as a skinny, reserved kid "who never really talked at all."

Lanza tried his hand at Little League baseball but wasn't very good. He was more of a "tech-geek," Lapple said.

"He was always carrying around his laptop holding onto it real tight,'' Lapple said. "He walked down the halls against the wall almost like he was afraid of people. He was definitely kind of strange but you'd never think he'd do something like this."

Rebecca Jaroszewski said she was in the same first- and third-grade classes with Lanza at Sandy Hook Elementary. She said the memory that stands out most is Lanza standing alone while other children played at recess, straining himself to make his face turn red and making animal-like noises.

He did this often, Jaroszewski said. "He would seem really angry, but he wouldn't tell people why," she said.

When she heard the news about the shootings, "It clicked for me when I realized who it was," Jaroszewski said.

Another former classmate of Lanza's remembered him as quiet and shy and socially awkward.

Kateleen Foy, now an undergraduate at Hofstra University in New York, said she was in Lanza's seventh-grade class at St. Rose of Lima School in Newtown.

http://articles.courant.com/2012-12-15/news/hc-adam-lanza-newtown-shooting-1216-20121215_1_law-officers-asperger-semiautomatic-rifle

[HiPointDem]

49. he wasn't in public schools for at least five years before this shooting. but i'm sure he shot

all those kids and that special ed teacher because of the inferior services he received in the 6th-richest county in the country five years before the shooting.

[FarCenter]

53. CT schools are funded by town property taxes, not by the county.

While Fairfield County is wealthy on average, it is mostly due to the fact that many hedge funds, private equity fund and investment banking types live in Greenwich.

Newtown is not that wealthy.

When Bill Gates walks into a bar, everyone becomes a billionaire on average.

[Jennicut]

56. Newtown is wealthy, actually. Much wealthier then the Connecticut town of Terryville where I live.

$119,175 is the median family income there as of 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtown,_Connecticut

In Terryville, the median family income is $58,713.

I know people who moved to Newtown because the schools were rated very high there. We do not know how their special ed programs were run, however. It should be looked into.

[FarCenter]

58. It is probably still skewed by neighborhoods like the one the Lanza's lived in.

Also bear in mind that lots of high income people are not particularly interested in paying taxes, especially for things that don't benefit them directly.

[HiPointDem]

61. the median income is over $100K. which means half make more. which is a wealthy community.

[FarCenter]

62. Spending per student in Newtown is below the CT state average.

Connecticut State Department of Education
Bureau of Grants Management
2011-12 Net Current Expenditures (NCE) per Pupil (NCEP)
and 2012-13 Special Education Excess Cost Grant
Basic Contributions for the February Payment

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/dgm/report1/basiccon.pdf

[iemitsu]

41. According to the television news this evening

(I know the news is a bad source of information) Adam Lanza had been taking college courses since he was 16 years old.
The news interviewed some of his former classmates from those classes. While he earned As and A-s, in several of his college courses, his overall GPA was a 3.2.
Those interviewed remembered Adam as a bright student with varied interests and a sense of humor.

[libdem4life]

22. How does a school psychologist treat a developmental/social mental issue? They can only refer.

They are not hired for nor do they do talk therapy or dispensing psychotropic medication. I am pretty sure the referral was made, the parents followed up, the kid was likely prescribed major medication and from there ... who knows. Also, look up Social Anxiety Disorder. It's a crippling condition. And psych meds...check my other posts.

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx35.htm

[FarCenter]

33. More likely Schizoid Personality Disorder

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx30.htm

[libdem4life]

36. Not much can be done, other than medication, hope and somehow a home that can manage it.

Because the institutions are long gone.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. What does that even mean?

School psychologists don't counsel kids. They test them, and only with parental permission. Kids aren't assigned to psychologists.

[libdem4life]

43. Not to mention getting the child to special ed in the first place. Swinging from the chandeliers?

No problem. Deal with it. This is full inclusion.

[Mass]

55. Do we even know for a fact this kid was asperger?

I am so f*ng tired of people making their own conclusion. Yes, sped is not ideal, and I can concur with this parent's story, but please, stop making these connections. Newtown is not about YOU. It is about those kids who died stupidly.

[Jefferson23]

59. His dx of asperger's has not been confirmed through a review of his records, as far as I know. Yet,

it has been discussed by a Board member: Fmr Newton Board of Education Adviser, Richard Novia tells Nancy Grace: "I can say shooter had Asperger's Syndrome".

The author of the OP makes clear imo, she is not defending use of firearms by Mom, nor is she
assigning blame to the district. She IS discussing the frustration of how and where within the
school system her son could fit in AND attain an appropriate education.

There should be no factors removed from a discussion as to the difficulty the shooter may have faced
in school. There is no question that even if he were to have been on the spectrum that would in
no way rule out a possible co-morbid condition. There should be no assignment of blame to aspergers to play
the lead influence..and I do not believe she is suggesting any such thing.

[Vattel]

57. You are so right about special ed.

In many, many schools, special ed kids do not get what they need. That is a fact. It varies by state and district, but you are identifying a huge problem.