Last week, the students and staff of SDSA were lucky enough to be featured as part of a story pertaining to the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. If you missed the story, you can read more about it and see the video here.
I was disappointed by the response from Don Peters, Attorney for the AZ School Board. Mr. Peters expressed his disapproval with the program, and questioned why it is fair for the state to pay for private school for a child with disabilities but not for "any other kid." What Mr. Peters fails to realize is that "fair" in education does not mean everyone gets equal. "Fair" means everyone gets what they need. The students at St. Dominic Savio Academy are there because they need a specialized program in order to make progress and be successful. Any parent at SDSA would happily inform Mr. Peters that their child attends SDSA not out of luxury, but rather out of necessity.
Mr. Peters went on to question why we don't use the model that works at private schools and employ that very model in public programs. Unfortunately, the parents of the students at SDSA don't have time to wait for public programs to utilize the research based and proven methods of applied behavior analysis, hire teachers with autism and ABA experience, provide the necessary student to staff ratios for success, keep classroom sizes small, support staff and teachers, or the multitude other supports and strategies that private programs have been utilizing for years. They simply aren't willing to waste their child's precious time in programs that aren't demonstrating success. If the members of the Arizona School Board and the Teacher's Union want to know how to better serve students in their classrooms, they are welcome to visit my classroom any time.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Empowerment Savings Accounts
Just this week, the Arizona Department of Education posted more information on their site about the Empowerment Savings Accounts.
For those of you who don't know about this bill, it was passed just a few months ago and enables qualified students to use state funds to go towards a private or home-schooled education. Read more about this exciting legislation here: https://www.azed.gov/ESS/ESAsFAQs.pdf
I hope you all consider whether this funding stream might be an option for your family!
For those of you who don't know about this bill, it was passed just a few months ago and enables qualified students to use state funds to go towards a private or home-schooled education. Read more about this exciting legislation here: https://www.azed.gov/ESS/ESAsFAQs.pdf
I hope you all consider whether this funding stream might be an option for your family!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Temple Grandin
Last week, I had the opportunity to hear Temple Grandin speak at Arizona State University. Dr. Grandin with autism as a child, and still considers herself a person with an autism spectrum disorder. She is a pioneer in the cattle industry, inventing a corral that would decrease stress in animals led to slaughter. She is a professor at Colorado State University and a bestselling author. Dr. Grandin speaks worldwide on the experience of being a person with autism.
Dr. Grandin expressed some of her concerns regarding the treatment of children with ASD in recent years. One of her chief concerns is what she considers the over-medication of children on the autistic spectrum, particularly SSRI medications. She says she has seen children as young as five and six years of age being prescribed medications such as Seroquel for mild issues such as sleep disturbance. These are heavy medications, and we need to be extremely cautious in prescribing them to children with limited verbal skills.
She explained that in her opinion, it is very simple and obvious as to what treatments, including biomedical treatments, should be utilized for any particular child. If the treatment seems to be helping, continue using it. If a doctor has prescribed a particular supplement, treatment, etc. and you have seen little change in using it, discontinue it. To Dr. Grandin, treatment is quite obvious.
A particularly interesting comment Dr. Grandin made was regarding self-stimulatory behaviors. Dr. Grandin was asked how much a child should be allowed to engage in stimming behaviors, and she emphatically agreed that children, especially young children, should be allowed to engage in these behaviors very little. Some stimming is ok, because it can be relaxing and a mental "escape" for the child. However, the more time a child is allowed to engage in that behavior, the more difficult it will be to decrease. Stimming can become like a drug of sorts, and the more you engage in it, the more you need it.
Seeing Dr. Grandin speak was a highlight of my career, and an experience I will not soon forget. There were more than a few wet eyes that night, and we all left with a new energy and excitement for the work we do with our students.
Dr. Grandin expressed some of her concerns regarding the treatment of children with ASD in recent years. One of her chief concerns is what she considers the over-medication of children on the autistic spectrum, particularly SSRI medications. She says she has seen children as young as five and six years of age being prescribed medications such as Seroquel for mild issues such as sleep disturbance. These are heavy medications, and we need to be extremely cautious in prescribing them to children with limited verbal skills.
She explained that in her opinion, it is very simple and obvious as to what treatments, including biomedical treatments, should be utilized for any particular child. If the treatment seems to be helping, continue using it. If a doctor has prescribed a particular supplement, treatment, etc. and you have seen little change in using it, discontinue it. To Dr. Grandin, treatment is quite obvious.
A particularly interesting comment Dr. Grandin made was regarding self-stimulatory behaviors. Dr. Grandin was asked how much a child should be allowed to engage in stimming behaviors, and she emphatically agreed that children, especially young children, should be allowed to engage in these behaviors very little. Some stimming is ok, because it can be relaxing and a mental "escape" for the child. However, the more time a child is allowed to engage in that behavior, the more difficult it will be to decrease. Stimming can become like a drug of sorts, and the more you engage in it, the more you need it.
Seeing Dr. Grandin speak was a highlight of my career, and an experience I will not soon forget. There were more than a few wet eyes that night, and we all left with a new energy and excitement for the work we do with our students.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Children's Museum of Phoenix
This week, both preschool and elementary classes took a field trip to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. It was so much better than I even imagined! What a great addition the CMOP is to our city! Every single "exhibit" is hands-on, sensory, stimulating, and very developmentally oriented. We stayed for four hours, and I don't think a single kid got bored or burned out. It was so great to see the kids engaged with the exhibits, their classmates, and other children at the museum! We had students holding hands with each other (adorable), chasing each other through the "treehouse," and making pizzas in the play kitchen. The CMOP is definitely a new SDSA tradition and we can't wait to go back.
SDSA Holiday Party
*I began working on this blog post after the Holiday party, and forgot to post it! Here it is :)
Tonight we had our first annual holiday party for the staff and parents of SDSA. Somehow organizing a party last year got away from us, but the party tonight more than made up for it! Thank you to all the parents who put it on, I know that's never easy!
It was really so moving to me to look around the room and see just how much our little school has grown in one year. What was even more meaningful was looking around and seeing the faces of friends...both the parents and the staff. I feel so blessed to work with people who I value, trust, and enjoy spending time with. I appreciate having student's parents who are so supportive and give so much of their time, resources, and talent to make the school operate more effectively. Between fulfilling volunteer hours, planning student parties, fundraising efforts...you guys are tireless! Thinking back to the beginning planning stages of the school, I never imagined we'd have the success we've had, and so quickly. It has been an amazing year so far and I am more than humbled to lead such a wonderful organization.
Tonight we had our first annual holiday party for the staff and parents of SDSA. Somehow organizing a party last year got away from us, but the party tonight more than made up for it! Thank you to all the parents who put it on, I know that's never easy!
It was really so moving to me to look around the room and see just how much our little school has grown in one year. What was even more meaningful was looking around and seeing the faces of friends...both the parents and the staff. I feel so blessed to work with people who I value, trust, and enjoy spending time with. I appreciate having student's parents who are so supportive and give so much of their time, resources, and talent to make the school operate more effectively. Between fulfilling volunteer hours, planning student parties, fundraising efforts...you guys are tireless! Thinking back to the beginning planning stages of the school, I never imagined we'd have the success we've had, and so quickly. It has been an amazing year so far and I am more than humbled to lead such a wonderful organization.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Santa is coming to SDSA!
Hi parents!
SDSA is going to be visited again this year by Santa on Wednesday, December 8th! We think this will be a lot of fun for the kids and are excited for them to get to see Santa in a less stressful (not to mention overstimulating!) environment than the mall! Feel free to join us!
SDSA is going to be visited again this year by Santa on Wednesday, December 8th! We think this will be a lot of fun for the kids and are excited for them to get to see Santa in a less stressful (not to mention overstimulating!) environment than the mall! Feel free to join us!
Friday, November 26, 2010
SDSA on Twitter
Hi everyone,
I wanted to let you know that SDSA is now on Twitter...follow us at www.twitter.com/stdomsavio!
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Everyone at SDSA is so thankful for our amazing students and parents! I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.
I wanted to let you know that SDSA is now on Twitter...follow us at www.twitter.com/stdomsavio!
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Everyone at SDSA is so thankful for our amazing students and parents! I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.
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