other day, and may appear withdrawn and fatigued the next. It's a real challenge for the classroom teacher! So what can be done to educate these children? First lets look at the issue of free and equal public education, a wonderful and radical gift our democracy has given us. Free and equal public education gives all children a right to an education in this country, this state, this county. The law protects the disabled through entitlements
, to level the playing field, so that they can benefit from an education, just as those who are not disabled can. There are state and federal bodies of law that provide for those entitlements, and they are available to all those who are disabled. They are not granted at the discretion
- the teacher, administrator, school superintendent!!
Some of these benefits are costly. There is always a push on the part of those responsible for
balancing budgets to protect our tax dollars. There is always controversy regarding which
programs should be prioritized. The result is that not all entitlements are easily gotten by those
entitled to services. But parents of kids who are seriously ill with Lyme disease need to know
that these entitlements exist, and that it is YOUR CHILD'S RIGHT TO HAVE ACCOMMODATIONS, AS
LONG AS THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE NECESSARY
I'd like to discuss three stages of supports the schools can provide. Most children will only need
the first stage, and when a school is cooperative, coming from an understanding that these
children are indeed ill, and that the school can be a partner in their recovery, the first stage might
be all that is needed.
The first stage is "Informal Educational Supports." These are supports that can be given to
children without any formal plans, without classification, without formal meetings.
A school administrator, for example, knowledgeable about the child's illness, and the resulting
impairments, might carefully select a classroom teacher or teachers that can develop flexible
schedules for a child, permanently excusing a percentage of the required homework, giving extra
time for testing, seating a distractible child near the source of instruction. These teachers give
support and encouragement, without blaming the child for erratic performance.
Depending on their teaching styles, some teachers have an easier time providing this flexibility
than others, and if the administrator realizes this, and appropriately matches the child's unique
needs to the particular teacher, problems can be avoided from the beginning. Late assignments
can be accepted, without penalty, misspelling on tests that are not spelling tests can be excused.
There is no battle ground here between the school and the parents. All are partners in providing
this child with the education she deserves, and there is little if any cost to the school district, or to
There are two reasons why informal accommodations don't always work.
The first is that the school refuses to believe that this child, who looks healthy, or is laughing
with his friends in the hall, is in fact sick. Parents should certainly be prepared with
documentation, to back their assertion that their child has an illness that effects her learning -
clear detailed letter from the treating doctor, neuropsychological evaluation, even brain SPECT
scan, if there is one. The child has a right to an education, but the school has a right to the
evidence that a medical problem that effects learning DOES exist.
The second reason that informal supports might not work is that the child needs more than can be
provided without a formal plan. If this is the case, a 504 committee needs to be convened, and a
504 plan is put into place.
Section 504 is Federal civil rights legislation. Under it, a child with a disability has a right to
accommodation to compensate for the disability. And, as I said earlier, it is
By law, a letter from the treating physician should be all that is needed in order to convene a 504 meeting, and develop a 504 plan. This is the easier of the two types of accommodations to put into place, and usually leads to a q