it was said in a recent discussion :
If you didn't believe 100% that vaccinations caused autism, what you are doing would be morally reprehensible because you stand to make a lot of money yourself, don't you?The statement about my standing to make a lot of money from my family's claim in federal vaccine court is erroneous, offensive, and just ignorant. For those who do not know, every single vaccine that is under federal vaccine court's guise has a fee that each and every one of us pay wit…
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Added by Debi on November 3, 2009 at 10:44pm —
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It's been what, about 3 months since Ms. Massie took over as Special Education Director? I was open about the profound displeasure with Dr. McCook's tenure, so I wanted to take a minute and congratulate Ms. Massie. I have heard some very positive comments about her leadership.I have not had any IEP meetings for my own child since she took over, at least I don't think so! But several of my friends have, and this is what I'm hearing. The cloud of doom and fear that seemed to hover over administrat…
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Added by Debi on April 11, 2008 at 11:30am —
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I would imagine some of you have heard the news of the past 24 hours or so regarding the case of little Hannah Poling developing autism from vaccines & the government's concession. What you're not hearing is the entire story.My husband laughed at my ignorant thought that the news media would actually report the story as factual. I think my favorite report was NBC's constant emphasis of autism SYMPTOMS.
Please let me clarify: Hannah Poling has autism. Autism, in its most simple form, i
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Added by Debi on March 7, 2008 at 2:00am —
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I've participated in several lively discussions recently regarding the myth that special education students take resources from the general ed population. It got me thinking. How cool would it be if we received an itemized statement at the end of each school year showing exactly how much was allocated for each child, sped and general ed alike, and where the money went.
I know with hospitalizations now ANYTHING you get has a bar code that goes on a sheet of paper, and from that the hosp…
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Added by Debi on December 10, 2007 at 10:57pm —
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I had the extreme honor of attending the NAA conference in Atlanta. Some have asked about autism, thought this might help explain some of the issues we parents are dealing with. I did have the extreme honor of speaking to Dr. Andrew Wakefield, as well as telling Jenny McCarthy about TN's dismal services, particularly early intervention. Her jaw dropped open as I explained what we do not have.
Friday morning. The first speaker was Katie Wright. She was very clear in
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Added by Debi on November 14, 2007 at 9:39pm —
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This story was posted on Yahoo! regarding the high percentages of students dropping out of high school.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071029/ap_on_re_us/dropout_factories
One part of the story got me thinking in regards to special education of those with disabilities. Probably not realistic, but bare with me for a minute. In the story it says the renewal of NCLB will put emphasis on graduation rates by giving more money to schools with higher graduation rates:
Make…
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Added by Debi on October 29, 2007 at 5:56pm —
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To finish my story, I need to pick up a Fort Sanders. Allie attended there for 2 years fo 3 1/2 hrs daily. One of those days she got ABA, the rest of the time was in a class with an ABA focus, sensory integration, etc. They helped me work on potty training. Finally just before 5 Allie was potty trained. We decided since she has a summer birthday that holding her out of kindergarten an extra year would be very helpful. She ended up going to a near-to-zoned-school special ed pre-k.
This…
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Added by Debi on October 18, 2007 at 12:14pm —
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Well, I was going to pick up on my personal story where I left off yesterday. But what I am feeling is that this will be an ongoing blog addressing various aspects of this issue. It took me at least two years before I felt semi-competent about autism and all the aspects. Before I continue, I want to add to what Cathy wrote about her son's exclusion.
First, you don't have to go any further than the school board itself to find at least one member who privately told Tara Mallory (and he a…
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Added by Debi on October 17, 2007 at 4:06pm —
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I was asked by a mom on this site what families of typical kids can do to support those who have disabled kids. This question, as wonderful as it was and probably a question I've longed to hear, left me dumbfounded. The best way I know how to answer is to explain my perception of what life has been like. I'm not looking for sympathy and not all the references are about me personally. I'm proud to have my daughters, the typical ones as well as the one with autism. But here's what autism life is l…
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Added by Debi on October 16, 2007 at 9:13pm —
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Some of you may know that Norwood Elementary School is on the crapper list for not making AYP in regards to NCLB. Norwood gets a lot of bad press, not to mention bad breaks. At any rate, I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts I have regarding Norwood Elementary.
I have felt this way to varying degrees over the past five years. But this year, more than ever, I have had the priviledge of sharing my children with some of the finest teachers and staff I could imagin…
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Added by Debi on October 13, 2007 at 12:00am —
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