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Join us for our
1st Annual Spring Dinner Dance
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Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Spring Dinner Dance Fundraiser
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Case Management Services Available in Manhattan
For more information please visit our Website:http://sinergiany.org/node/1302
Friday, October 31, 2014
Education Committee Hearing of the City Council
On October 28 the Education Committee of the City Council
held a hearing to examine DOE’s ongoing efforts to improve instruction for
students with disabilities. The Metropolitan Parent Center submitted testimony
on behalf of the many parents it serves stating that it believes “the DOE falls
short in its endeavor to meet its responsibility to provide students with
disabilities with their right to a Free Appropriate Public Education.” Under
IDEA the District has a mandate to oversee and supervise the progress of the
special education programs. As such, the MPC recommends that the DOE conduct a
comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of its initiatives. See more at: http://sinergiany.org/node/1297
Thursday, August 14, 2014
People with Developmental Diabilities and the Police - A Safety Issue
One year ago on Long Island, a 29-year old resident of a group home for people with developmental disabilities died after police used stun guns and pepper spray during a 10-minute struggle in the home where he lived.
Dainell Simmons had lived in the group home in Suffolk County on Long Island since it opened six years earlier. Police reported that staff at the facility called 911 to request assistance transporting him to a psychiatric emergency room after he "created a disturbance" in the facility, running around and banging into the walls for about half an hour.
By the time police arrived, Dainell had calmed down and was sitting on a couch talking to staff. Police claim he assaulted them when they attempted to handcuff him for transport to the emergency room. A struggle ensued, and police used stun guns at least twice, as well as pepper spray. After being handcuffed, Simmons lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Dainell Simmons had lived in the group home in Suffolk County on Long Island since it opened six years earlier. Police reported that staff at the facility called 911 to request assistance transporting him to a psychiatric emergency room after he "created a disturbance" in the facility, running around and banging into the walls for about half an hour.
By the time police arrived, Dainell had calmed down and was sitting on a couch talking to staff. Police claim he assaulted them when they attempted to handcuff him for transport to the emergency room. A struggle ensued, and police used stun guns at least twice, as well as pepper spray. After being handcuffed, Simmons lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Police characterized him as "emotionally disturbed," a term that appeared in many of the news stories. Comments following one of the stories on the web included two former staffers who said they knew Simmons, and that he was diagnosed with autism. Both said that, handled competently by properly trained professionals, the situation could have been resolved without the use of weapons.
In response to Simmons' death, one parent of an adult group home resident began a petition to mandate training for first responders on interacting with people with disabilities.
In February, 2013, a 26-year old man with Down Syndrome died of asphyxiation after police restrained him face-down on the ground when he failed to leave a theater at the end of a movie. The death was ruled a homicide, but a grand jury failed to indict any of the officers who responded.
In response to Simmons' death, one parent of an adult group home resident began a petition to mandate training for first responders on interacting with people with disabilities.
In February, 2013, a 26-year old man with Down Syndrome died of asphyxiation after police restrained him face-down on the ground when he failed to leave a theater at the end of a movie. The death was ruled a homicide, but a grand jury failed to indict any of the officers who responded.
In Toronto in 2011, a 45-year old man who was unable to speak as a result of traumatic brain injury he sustained as a child was beaten with batons when he failed to respond to police questions. He collapsed and died later, possibly of a brain hemorrhage.
The civil rights movement for people with disabilities resulted in massive "deinstitutionalization"--the closure of long-term facilities where people with disabilities were locked up and forgotten--and the right for people with developmental and psychiatric disabilities to live in the community. What was supposed to follow--support and services in the community to ensure the opportunity for full and equal engagement in society--has never fully materialized.
While the demand for more training for police as a short-term response may prevent some tragedies such as the killing of Dainell Simmons, longer-term solutions involve more and better housing with clinical support available at home, and more and better care in the community. This would minimize the need for trips to the psychiatric emergency room and short-term hospitalizations, which are traumatic and disruptive of people's lives.
Crisis response, when still needed, should be performed and supervised by trained, knowledgeable people, rather than police officers primarily trained to take lawbreakers into custody.
The civil rights movement for people with disabilities resulted in massive "deinstitutionalization"--the closure of long-term facilities where people with disabilities were locked up and forgotten--and the right for people with developmental and psychiatric disabilities to live in the community. What was supposed to follow--support and services in the community to ensure the opportunity for full and equal engagement in society--has never fully materialized.
While the demand for more training for police as a short-term response may prevent some tragedies such as the killing of Dainell Simmons, longer-term solutions involve more and better housing with clinical support available at home, and more and better care in the community. This would minimize the need for trips to the psychiatric emergency room and short-term hospitalizations, which are traumatic and disruptive of people's lives.
Crisis response, when still needed, should be performed and supervised by trained, knowledgeable people, rather than police officers primarily trained to take lawbreakers into custody.
High Temperatures on School Buses
The Office of the Public Advocate, Leticia James, has received complaints regarding high temperatures on school buses. Children with special needs who receive bus service may have certain accommodations, such as an air conditioned bus, on their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). If your child requires a properly air conditioned bus but has not been provided with one, or if your child is riding a bus with a broken air conditioner, Public Advocate James' staff will mail you a thermometer that can record temperature changes by the hour and store the information. The thermometer can be easily attached to your daughter's or son's clothing and is a great way to get an accurate read on the temperatures within buses.
To be mailed a thermometer, please email the following information to bsherman@pubadvocate.nyc.gov :
1) Your name
2) Your address
3) Your child's name
4) School
5) Bus Route
6) Bus Company
7) Bus #
8) Complaint #s
9) Documents
10) Your child's IEP
11) Any correspondence concerning your child's transportation
If you know of other parents who might have the same problem with poor or non-working air conditioners on buses, please forward this email.
1) Your name
2) Your address
3) Your child's name
4) School
5) Bus Route
6) Bus Company
7) Bus #
8) Complaint #s
9) Documents
10) Your child's IEP
11) Any correspondence concerning your child's transportation
If you know of other parents who might have the same problem with poor or non-working air conditioners on buses, please forward this email.
Safety Kit for Parents of Children and Youth with Autism
We are all aware of situations via the media where children with autism wander off from their parents, programs and places. Sometimes this behavior has tragic results as in the case of Avonte Oquendo, a teenager with autism who liked to run and was able to leave the school building he was in. Unfortunately, wandering behavior resulted in the death of this young man.
For families affected by autism, having a safety plan is always important and the organization, Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, has risen to the occasion by providing to parents and caretakers of individuals with autism, the "Big Red Safety Box." This is a valuable tool designed to educate, raise awareness and share simple tools that can assist in preventing, and responding to, wandering-related incidents.
The Big Red Safety Box contains educational materials, such as a caregiver checklist, a Family Wandering Emergency Plan, a sample IEP letter that can be used to implement prevention and response protocols in school, along with safety products, including two GE Door Alarms, one Who's Shoe ID, and five laminated adhesive stop sign visual prompts for doors and windows.
The Autism Initiative Program of Sinergia has received a number of these safety kits that have been distributed to families of children and youth with autism. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact:
autisminitiative@sinergiany.org
It is very important to note that if you have a family member who experience behavior that interferes with their ability to recognize danger or stay safe, it is critical that you maintain close supervision and security in all surroundings and situations. For more information and ways to prevent wandering-related incidents, please visit http://awaare.org. You can also find additional resources at:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/wandering-resources
For families affected by autism, having a safety plan is always important and the organization, Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, has risen to the occasion by providing to parents and caretakers of individuals with autism, the "Big Red Safety Box." This is a valuable tool designed to educate, raise awareness and share simple tools that can assist in preventing, and responding to, wandering-related incidents.
The Big Red Safety Box contains educational materials, such as a caregiver checklist, a Family Wandering Emergency Plan, a sample IEP letter that can be used to implement prevention and response protocols in school, along with safety products, including two GE Door Alarms, one Who's Shoe ID, and five laminated adhesive stop sign visual prompts for doors and windows.
The Autism Initiative Program of Sinergia has received a number of these safety kits that have been distributed to families of children and youth with autism. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact:
autisminitiative@sinergiany.org
It is very important to note that if you have a family member who experience behavior that interferes with their ability to recognize danger or stay safe, it is critical that you maintain close supervision and security in all surroundings and situations. For more information and ways to prevent wandering-related incidents, please visit http://awaare.org. You can also find additional resources at:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/wandering-resources
Inclusion of English Learners with Disabilities in English Language Proficiency Assessment.
The office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), in July released guidance to States and LEA’s regarding inclusion of English Learners with Disabilities in English Language Proficiency Assessments. To read the full document……….
For parents of EL’s with disabilities, two important questions regarding the role of the IEP team were included in the question and answer guidance document to States and LEA’s.
The Role of the IEP Team
For parents of EL’s with disabilities, two important questions regarding the role of the IEP team were included in the question and answer guidance document to States and LEA’s.
The Role of the IEP Team
What is the responsibility of the IEP Team in determining
how ELs with disabilities participate in the annual State ELP assessment?
Decisions
about the content of a student’s IEP, including whether a student must take a
regular State assessment (in this case, the ELP assessment), with or without
appropriate accommodations, or an alternate assessment in lieu of the regular
ELP assessment, must be made by the student's IEP Team. These decisions cannot
be made unilaterally by a single teacher or other school employee outside of
the IEP process described in 34 CFR §§300.320 through 300.324.
The IEP
Team is responsible for developing the IEP for each student with a disability,
including each EL with a disability, at an IEP Team meeting which includes
school officials and the child’s parents.
(i) A statement of any individual appropriate accommodations
that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional
performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments consistent with
section 612(a)(16) of the Act; and
Should IEP Teams for ELs with disabilities include persons
with expertise in second language acquisition?
Yes.
It is important that IEP Teams for ELs with disabilities include persons with
expertise in second language acquisition and other professionals, such as
speech-language pathologists, who understand how to differentiate between
limited English proficiency and a disability. The participation of these
individuals on the IEP Team is essential in order to develop appropriate
academic and functional goals for the child and provide specially designed
instruction and the necessary related services to meet these goals.
It is
important that IEP Teams for ELs with disabilities include a public agency
representative who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of
specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of ELs with
disabilities. This representative should be knowledgeable about the
availability of agency resources needed to enable ELs with disabilities
to meaningfully access the general
education curriculum. This will ensure that the services included in the EL
student’s IEP are appropriate for the student and can actually be provided.
Source: Questions and
Answers Regarding Inclusion of English Learners with Disabilities in English
Language Proficiency Assessments – Guidance to Sates and LEA’s- Office of
Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services ; July 2014.
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