Advocacy for the Special Ones in Your Life

Dr. Shlok Kharod joins me in a conversation about mental health. 

This is a snippet of a longer eposide still to come!  So Stay Tuned!!!

Name: Dr. Shlok Kharod

Title: Clinical Outreach Manager, Illinois

Company: Charlie Health

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (312) 351-0667

Website: www.charliehealth.com

Interviewed by: Laurie McDevitt Founder of Advocacy for the Special Ones in Your Life

[email protected]

advocacyforthespecialones.com

The Ah-Ha moment came during COVID when her son was online with his para and Lela heard the paraprofessional tell her son the answers.  She sat in disbelief as the paraprofessional was repeatedly telling her son, "Say this. Write this".  

Prior to this she knew there was a struggle, from a 504 Plan to an evaluation for an IEP, she knew her son struggled to tie his shoes, ride a bike, do math.  He had sleep issues and was regressing in other ways, not wanting to attend school.  Teachers were telling her he was struggling, but she would attend IEP meetings and hear how great he was going.  "Great" was relative.  It was only during COVID at home online teaching, that Lela fully understood his struggle and realized the paraprofessional was telling him the answers, not helping him to arrive at his own answers.  Mama Bear jumped into gear and her son was soon placed in a therapeutic day school to better help students with severe learning challenges.  He began to love school, become a leader, and grow academically.  

Andi and Joe have two children with disabilities. Andi shares her Band-Aid story and how a simple request for a Band-Aid from a child with autism made the parents realize the staff really did not “get” their child. After peers told her child with autism she had no friends and should just die the student with autism went to the lunch mom, teacher, and principal and all 3 dismissed her. This school had a pattern of not understanding autism and parents escalated this to the district office to get autism training for grade level peers and school staff. Andi tells about her relationship with her spouse and shares her story about loving her children and letting them know that even Superman needed help as a child to become a functioning adult!

Reference of Superman video clip

https://youtu.be/OATPjlMcRKo

https://chadd.org

https://www.additudemag.com

advocacyforthespecialones.com

One daughter was diagnosed with Moyamoya which led to the whole family getting genetically tested. Angelica was having mini strokes. As a mom, it was hard to convince doctors her 5-year-old was having mini strokes. There had to be a series of tests before the one test that confirmed Moyamoya. Mom says to trust your gut feeling don’t stop fighting. Don’t give up.

Trust your mother’s instinct. Nothing is wrong but something just isn’t right.

Second daughter, Marjorie,  has a genetic duplication, 22q11.2

Eye shape and hairline were indicators and additional genetic testing was suggested.

Later, there was an ADHD diagnosis along w a report with recommendations. However, getting her evaluated by the school, for services other than her current speech services was harder and longer than expected. Once Marjorie got more services, she became happier, less frustrated and reports from school and home are better.

advocacyforthespecialones.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHSOse2hKwk

#moyamoya

#22q11.2

After 3 denials for an IEP evaluation, failing to get high school credit for a course, 4 F’s, repeated reports about bullying, and ineligibility for sports, family hired an advocate and got an IEP for their son. Family was frustrated that the 504 Plan was not enough and wasn’t being followed. Parents started to feel like maybe they were overreacting, because the district made parents feel like they were at fault, when really the district failed to do their job.  District told parents IEP eligibility is based on grades and standardized test scores and their son was in the average range.  He had to be failing to get an IEP. 

Laurie McDevitt, Founder of Advocacy for the Special ones in Your Life,  talks about her work, her clients and the “Why” behind hiring an advocate to partner with you in school meetings. 

advocacyforthespecialones.com

Laurie McDevitt, founder of Advocacy for the Special ones in Your Life,  talks about her work, her clients and the “Why” behind hiring an advocate to partner with you in school meetings. 

https://www.advocacyforthespecialones.com/

Paula cried at IEP meetings. They made her sad, and reading her son’s IEP was heartbreaking. She trusted the school team and has felt gut punched more than once.  She has become stronger and has developed mantras to live by, including: “Comparison is the thief of joy” and “A life lived differently is not a life less lived.” She wants to remind us that kids with special needs are still kids, deserving of being included to play with, to laugh with, and to be known.

Find out more about Laurie and her advocacy business here! 

advocacyforthespecialones.com

https://www.mlb.com/yankees

Marie is a mom of an only child and shares her story of betrayal and why she listened to her gut when determining placement for her child.

She refers to the story of David and Goliath as stood up for herself to the  school which she believed was retaliating by making  multiple DCFS calls about the family. She believes some children have different ways of learning….One size doesn’t  fit all. She believes schools expect your child to fit in a box, and when they don’t, schools try to steer the direction of IEP meetings to get the outcome they want. Schools have hundreds of meetings a year and she got the feeling it was like a well oiled machine, not an individual plan. If your Mom gut is saying something is not right, it’s probably not. Marie talks about her beautiful  child and how she was able to get the help she needed, but decided not to stay with public school education.

Advocacyforthespecialones.com

neurohealth arlington heights Neuropsychological Testing

Montessori Education.

The Cove School

DCFS

Annie is a mom who insisted on the least restrictive environment (LRE) when the school wanted to put her daughter into a self contained life skills class early in her schooling.  The family wanted their daughter to have an LRE school experience with general education peers. The family wanted their daughter to have life skills, and believed they can be learned in the general education settings and within the family community.  When the school district wanted to place her daughter in a one size fits all transition program, Annie wanted a more individualized plan, even if it had never been done before!

advocacyforthespecialones.com