THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY STORY.  MY COMMENTS CONCERN THE PROPOSED CHANGE THAT WILL ELIMINATE PARENTAL CONSENT FOR TERMINATION OF SERVICES.

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MY NAME IS LINDA FALKERSON, I AM THE MOTHER OF A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL WHO HAS AN IEP FOR EMOTIONAL DISABILITIES.

MY DAUGHTER HAS A BRAIN INJURY FROM A STROKE THAT OCCURRED  IN UTERO.

AS A RESULT, SHE SUFFERS FROM MOOD DISORDERS, SHE IS ADD, AND, SHE HAS EPILEPSY.  TWICE AN AMBULANCE HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO SCHOOL GROUNDS WHEN SHE’S SUFFERED A GRAND MAL SEIZURE IN FULL VIEW OF CLASSMATES.

MY DAUGHTER HAS ABOVE AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE AND PRESENTS WELL, BUT EMOTIONALLY & SOCIALLY SHE IS BEHIND HER PEERS.  HER EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS ARE SIMILAR TO OTHER STROKE VICTIMS; SHE CRIES EASILY AND HER ANGER CAN JUMP FROM ONE TO TEN VERY QUICKLY.  BECAUSE OF HER BRAIN DAMAGE, SHE  LACKS FULL SENSATION AROUND HER MOUTH AND OFTEN DOESN’T REALIZE SHE HAS CRUMBS ON HER CHIN OR THAT HER LIPS ARE EXTREMELY DRY.  RECENTLY SHE IS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH BLADDER CONTROL.

MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN SOCIALLY ISOLATED IN SCHOOL BY CLASSMATES WHO FIND HER “ODD”. WHEN THE CLASS IS TOLD TO TEAM UP WITH A PARTNER, SHE OFTEN FINDS HERSELF WORKING ALONE. SHE’S SAT BY HERSELF ON A SCHOOL BUS FILLED WITH LAUGHING STUDENTS ON A FIELD TRIP.  SHE DROPPED OUT OF HER MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAY BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD SIT WITH HER AT REHEARSALS. 

THIS ISOLATION HAS PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN HER FRUSTRATION, HER EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY AND HER SENSE THAT SHE IS ‘NOT NORMAL.’    AT AGE 9 SHE TRIED TO HURT HERSELF, USING A KNIFE AND SCISSORS, LUCKILY, SHE DIDN’T PUNCTURE HER SKIN, BUT LEFT SMALL MARKS. SHE’S ALSO USED A PEN AND HER JAGGED FINGERNAILS TO POKE AND SCRATCH HER ARM. 

TEACHERS AT HER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN THIS, SINCE IT OCCURRED OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL.  I TOLD THEM WHEN SHE WAS FIRST BEING CONSIDERED FOR SPECIAL SERVICES.  LAST YEAR, WHEN I ASKED HER CASE MANAGER HOW MY DAUGHTER WAS DOING SOCIALLY SHE REPORTED BACK AFTER CONSULTING WITH HER TEACHERS,  THAT MY DAUGHTER WAS ‘DOING FINE.’  THEY DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS SITTING IN THE CAFETERIA AT A TABLE BY HERSELF, OR THAT WHEN SITTING ALONE BECAME INTOLERABLE, SHE WAS SKIPPING LUNCH AND HANGING OUT IN THE AUTISM ROOM WHERE SHE FELT ACCEPTED.

HER CASE MANAGER, TEACHERS AND GUIDANCE COUSELORS DIDN’T KNOW MY DAUGHTER WAS CALLING HOME FROM SCHOOL EVERY DAY, OFTEN SEVERAL TIMES A DAY, BEGGING ME TO PICK HER UP.  SEVERAL TIMES SHE TOLD ME SHE ‘COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE’ AFTER SOMEONE TEASED HER.  I  TOLD HER IEP TEAM ABOUT THE CALLS AT HER RE-EVALUATION MEETING.

JUST TWO WEEKS AGO SHE CALLED ME FROM THE BATHROOM ON HER CELL PHONE, CRYING AND THREATENING TO WALK OUT OF SCHOOL IF I DIDN’T PICK HER UP.  SHE HAD HAD AN ARGUMENT WITH TWO GIRLS IN THE CAFETERIA.  SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS SCRATCHING HER ARMS AGAIN WITH HER FINGERNAILS.  NO ONE AT SCHOOL WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS UNLESS I CALLED AND TOLD THEM.

TEACHERS ARE BUSY TEACHING, SO ARE CASE MANAGERS.  THEY CAN’T ALWAYS WITNESS WHAT GOES ON IN THE HALLWAYS OR THE CAFETERIA. THEY DON’T KNOW WHICH KIDS ARE ‘HURTING THEMSELVES’ BECAUSE THEY DON’T FIT IN.  BUT PARENTS CAN TELL THEM.

 I AM MY DAUGHTER’S BEST ADVOCATE.  IF SCHOOL STAFF IS GIVEN THE SOLE POWER TO DECIDE THAT SHE NO LONGER QUALIFIES FOR THE SUPPORT THAT SHE’S GETTING  BECAUSE OF HER EMOTIONAL DISABILITIES, THEY WILL BE MAKING THAT DECISION WITHOUT VITAL INPUT FROM ME.  AND THEY COULD BE CUTTING  THE ONLY SAFETY NET THAT PREVENTS HER FROM FALLING BACK INTO A SELF DESTRUCTIVE ABYSS.

YOU,  REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ARE HOLDING ONE END OF THE SAFETY NET, I AM HOLDING THE OTHER END.  IF YOU GIVE SCHOOL STAFF YOUR END OF THAT SAFETY NET, AND ELIMINATE ME, THE NET WILL FALL. AND MY DAUGHTER COULD FALL TOO.

THANK YOU.