Aug 20, 2018, Loudoun Now, Leesburg, VA: Loudoun’s Special Education Ad Hoc Committee Begins Work https://loudounnow.com/2018/08/20/loudouns-special-education-ad-hoc-committee-begins-work/ The 26-member committee tasked with taking a deeper look at how Loudoun County Public Schools serves special education students began talking last week about what improvements need to be made and how to make them…. The School Board voted in April to form the ad hoc committee after the school system faced scrutiny over allegations that discipline of special education students had included leaving them in isolation rooms for hours at a time. Many parents making those same reports have said they experienced retaliation for raising concerns about how their children have been treated, in some cases by being reported to Child Protective Services. School Board Chairman Jeff Morse (Dulles), who initially suggested creating the panel, said it’s charged with “reviewing polices, practices and procedures, so we can determine ways to improve our services to the special needs community.”… Chris Croll, who represents Gifted Services Advisory Council, said improving communication and staff-parent relationships are key. “When parents do speak up and say this IEP isn’t being followed, there’s a fear of retaliation. I’ve heard that over and over again. … it’s a real concern we need to address.”
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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