Why We Need to Fully Fund IDEA

I want to tell you that my son Charlie has been doing good, and I want to tell you why.

This is a big deal for me to write.

When I started blogging here at Change.org back in December, Charlie was not doing all right and Jim and I were looking some hard, hard questions straight in the eye. After having devoted the past decade (since my son was diagnosed with autism in 1999) to ensure that Charlie had the schools and services he needed to help him learn and grow, Jim and I found ourselves facing an awful possibility: That Charlie would not be able to live with us anymore because his behaviors were becoming increasingly difficult for him and for us to control. Since entering puberty last fall and going through growth spurt after growth spurt, Charlie had become a danger to himself and to those who rushed to help him.

For much of this year, things have often felt drastic and disastrous, even desperate. Jim and I, working closely and constantly with Charlie's teacher in the public middle school he started attending in September, have been figuring out what to do. But implementing changes takes time and changes. The behaviors (I recognize this may not be the best word to use, but it is the simplest way for me to talk about this) that needed addressing are something Charlie has done on and off for years.

Jim and I and Charlie's Child Study Team met frequently and the conversations were serious and, at times, grim. Charlie's teacher requested that Charlie have a home program and she herself started visiting our house regularly to work with Charlie and to teach us. We also took Charlie to a new neurologist and are in the process of getting some tests done and looking to change his medication.

Then, on the eve of March, things started looking up on the docks and I was able to take 15 college students to Greece for a travel class planned over a year ago, when Charlie's school days had had their "moments," but seemed ok. The trip was amazing beyond description and, best of all, Charlie did very well with Jim and my parents.

Slowly and with a couple-plus backsteps and waverings, I think we've been pulling through.

And we're pulling through not because of any amazing novel treatments, miracle cures, or magic pills. It's been hard work, good work, and the usual copious amounts of sweat, blood, tears, and brainpower that have been part of teaching and taking care of Charlie. If I could point to one individual who has made the difference, it's Charlie's teacher as well as the four aides/instructors in her class, and the behavior consultant. And the reason that they're all working at teaching Charlie and in a public middle school with 1000+ students is because of IDEA---because of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IDEA is why Charlie attends school with the kids who live in our town and why the school can and has to provide a "free and appropriate" education for him----why he needs a teacher with specialized training and also aides, a speech therapist, an adapted physical education teacher. Like school districts across the nation, ours is facing significant budget cuts. While we haven't heard the staffing for Charlie's program being decreased, his Extended School Year program has been shortened (not good; Charlie needs that structure in the summer). We can need to get involved and speak up and keep on insisting that the teacher-to-student ratio in his class remains the same.

So act now and tell President Obama to fully fund IDEA by signing this action. Without IDEA, there'd be no teacher in the public schools for Charlie; there'd be no efforts to teach him and set him on the path to a good life. I'm beyond thankful that IDEA exists but we have to make it work, and that means fully funding IDEA.