Learning the basics and benefits of good IEPs

Germaine - posted on 01/09/2010

Thank you Diana!! I also agree, be a strong ADVOCATE for your child. Always keep constant communication. If the school system does not follow through the IEP process there is a Due Process Hearing you can ask for. I would recommend you also contact the Georgia Advocacy Office http://www.thegao.org/. They have resources they can provide for you if they are unable to assist and/or if you qualify for legal services will let you know.

Diana - posted on 01/07/2010

Maureen,

You're so welcome for the information. To provide you further information, let me first say in defense of your child's birth parents and so many others out there, not everyone knows the full ill-effects of lead poisoning. And unfortunately, children continue to be the indicators of lead paint in older housing (built before 1978), of which there are millions of these buildings in the U.S. alone. While lead paint during the 1930's was known in several countries including Europe, Asia and more, to be highly toxic with detrimental effects, those countries banned the use of lead in paint. Mostly due to greed, paint companies in the United States continued to use lead. It wasn't until the 1950's that the U.S. government encouraged paint companies to cut back on their use of lead and finally in 1978, it was banned in the U.S. In performing a visual test, any paint in these buildings that is chipping, peeling, or flaking should be painted with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved encapsulent paint. Tenants should educate themselves and if they find paint in poor condition, they need to bring this to the attention of the landlord and insist that those areas be corrected. Also, check your state's laws regarding eviction protection if this is brought to the attention of your landlord as eviction may be illegal. With the EPA's new law effective this April, anyone disturbing more than 6 square feet of interior painted surfaces and more than 20 square feet of exterior painted surfaces are required to be certified by the EPA in lead-safe practices. You can find this information on their website.

Logically speaking, from what I have learned and read over the last 6 years, the disabilities my own son has (he did not eat lead paint, however I feel that his disabilities are hereditary) and the conversation I had with Dr. Michael Shannon, I see a direct correlation between the effects of lead poisoning and ADHD, ADD, ODD, LD, Bipolar and other disabilities. I do know that research continues in an attempt to find the sources of disabilities and some facts have been published. It just amazes me that as the United States is considered such a leader among world countries, how we can be so ignorant and/or greedy to put money ahead of human lives and contribute to our environmental damage to the degree it is now!

What happens when a child or an adult is subject to lead poisoning, it enters the body and is absorbed into the blood stream and the soft tissue. At high levels, chelation therapy may be ordered by the physician where some of the lead adheres to the drug and is excreted in the urine, but even this therapy does not eliminate all of the lead from the body. Therefore, it eventually settles into the bones and as we age and our bones become soft and brittle, the lead leaches out back into the blood stream and the soft tissue (muscles, organs, the brain, etc.). This is why Dr. Michael Shannon said that once a child is poisoned, they are essentially brain damaged - this is a lifetime problem. He also suggested that this could be a cause of dementia.

I'm sorry to provide such negative information, but these are the facts as best I know them. Much information is available through the internet and the medical community. However, from the number of calls I receive from the medical community, there are a fair number of doctors and nurses that can use more information in the treatment or prevention of lead poisoning. I would suggest looking for your state's childhood lead poisoning prevention program or contact your closest EPA office for assistance and information.

I wish you the best of luck and encourage you with the deepest amount of patience and understanding you can find within yourself, dependent on the degree of poisoning of every child who is diagnosed. Please, take this seriously, gain information and educate yourself, fight for broad communication between yourself, your child's teachers, doctors, counselors, psychologists - essentially anyone and everyone who has any interaction with your child. I cannot stress that enough. Good luck and let me know if you need anything further.

Diana

Maureen - posted on 01/07/2010

Thanks for the great post! I am interested in what you wrote regarding lead poisoning. My son ingested lead paint while he was living with his birthparents. He apparenlty ate leaded paint chips. His lead level was high enough to necessitate chelation. I worry how much of that explains his current diagnoses of ADHD, ODD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction. I can't believe that, with all that is known about the danger of lead paint, his parents exposed him to it. Of course, looking back, that's probably the BEST thing they did for him. My poor baby suffered such abuse.