nws commoncore

Pat Tricardo, a Sunnyside mother of four, looks over her children as they do their homework assignments. Seated from left are, Andrew, 13; Nicholas, 10; Christopher, 7, and Madison,10. Andrew and Nicholas both have an IEP. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

(Staff-Shot)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The number of special-needs students in Staten Island schools is increasing at an unprecedented rate, outpacing Department of Education programs and resources in the district.

Special education advocates here said the figures come as no surprise. They attribute the steady rise to several factors, in particular the increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Nationwide, one in 68 children have autism, according to Centers for Disease Control estimates. The city Health Department does not track the amount of people living with autism spectrum disorders in New York City, but based on the amount of births each year in the borough and the CDC figures, they estimate that as many as more than 1,100 have an autism spectrum disorder.

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND INTERVENTION A FACTOR

Another factor is early diagnosis and intervention.

"We've made great strides in diagnosing children from birth to toddlers, and getting them the proper early intervention services," said Laura Kennedy, a long-time advocate for special needs children, who serves as director of the Staten Island Early Childhood Direction Center.

Laura Kennedy (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano

"You have children getting help now that their parents might never have sought," said Mrs. Kennedy, an Advance Woman of Achievement.

The development of inclusion classes and collaborative teaching in the schools, such as the successful "Nest" program for students with ASD, has also led to parents reaching out for services, and more children being placed, she said.

"Before the development of these kinds of services, you saw many parents who didn't reach out for fear of labeling their child in some way," she said.

"But now, between early intervention and inclusion programs, we're seeing a better outcome of success for these children."

ADVOCACY, VIGILANCE MUST CONTINUE

"It doesn't surprise me at all that nearly a quarter of our students have an IEP. Every child is an individual; every child learns differently; every child's education needs need to be met. That's the law," said Community Education Council (CEC) member Laura Timoney, whose two children have IEPs.

"We need to take a really hard look at the services being offered to see if they meet the students' needs, and continue to advocate for funding, especially for those program and services we know to be successful," Mrs. Timoney said.

An example of a successful program she said, is the Transitional Asperger's Program, or TAP, whose funding was initially cut, and then restored, after vigilant parents contacted the Advance and the CEC.

SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES

Mrs. Timoney said City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, as well as her deputy chancellor, Corrine Rello-Anselmi, face inherent challenges with implementing the DOE's ambitious plan to revamp the special ed system.

Known as the Shared Plan for Success, a central policy shift in the reform is "home-zoning" of special education students.

In the past, a student with a particular special need would often be placed at a school with the resources best suited to meet that need.

Under the reform, the student remains at his or her zoned school and the school is now responsible for providing the service.

INADEQUATE RESOURCES

While the intended benefit is to keep students close to home, challenges surface when the school does not have the required programs or staffing in place.

Teachers and special education staff complain that resources are scarce; parents say their children are not being served, and those responsible for delivering services to students in need complain they are mired in bureaucratic paperwork, hampering their efforts.

Mrs. Timoney said she has high hopes for Christina Foti, the DOE's new chief executive officer of the Office of Special Education. "It's all about understanding the children and their needs. It sounds really simple, but to find someone who really understands a child is not easy," she said.

A SUCCESS STORY

Patricia Tricardo of Sunnyside, is a mother of four children, two of whom have an IEP. She said she hasn't encountered problems with the schools meeting their IEP.

Her younger son Nicholas, 10, a fifth-grader, receives speech therapy at PS 35, his zoned school.

Her oldest son, Andrew, 13, an eighth-grader at Prall Intermediate School, West Brighton, was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. He is in an ICT (integrated co-teaching) class, where there is both a special ed and general ed teacher, and he can interact with classmates who have special needs, as well as general ed students. He also receives occupational therapy, as per his IEP, to improve his social and interactive skills.

"They are both getting the services they need in their zoned schools," Mrs. Tricardo said. "We've seen Andrew especially, come a long way. He still has some diffuiculty, but he's better prepared to enter high school. The system seems to be working for us."

(PARENTS: Does your child have an IEP? Is the system meeting your child's individual education needs? What would you like to see happen to change or improve the system? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.)