[nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl, service dog - The Athens Messenger: News

Tue Aug 27 01:49:18 UTC 2013

Hi Michael,
What is CCI? Can you tell me more about what they do? Thanks.
Janice
On 8/26/2013 5:38 PM, Michael Hingson wrote:
> Given that the child is autistic in fact the dog may well have been trained
> by an organization like CCI.  Many times the dog does act as a calming
> factor while the dog is actually commanded by someone else like the mother.
> This is not an unusual situation, but the dog is, by any definition, a
> service animal.  I have been to CCI and heard lectures on how animals are
> trained to work with autistic children.
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> Michael Hingson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ann Edie
> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 02:33 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl,
> service dog - The Athens Messenger: News
>
> Other interesting aspects of this case:
>
> The mother plans to attend school daily with her daughter.--This indicates
> to me, as does the age of the child, that the partnership between the girl
> and the dog is not that of a person with a disability working independently
> with a service animal.  It seems more that the parent handles the dog and
> the presence of the dog has a calming effect on the child or something like
> that.  The dog may or may not be trained to perform specific tasks to
> mitigate the child's disability.  It might be more of a "social dog" as I
> have heard them referred to, something to encourage interaction with peers
> and others in the environment.  Or it may be that the dog does specific
> things to help the child regain control when she is feeling overwhelmed or
> upset, or keeps her on route when she is going somewhere.  But I doubt that
> this young a child is being allowed to go anywhere alone.  If the mother
> weren't there to handle the dog, the district would probably have to hire a
> 1:1 aide to handle the dog, and that person would have to be trained in how
> to manage the dog.  This is an expense that most districts could not justify
> educationally, I believe.
>
> In my experience the school may have more of an issue with the mother
> wanting to attend school with her child than with the dog.  Today's
> confidentiality regulations make it very hard to have parents as well as
> other members of the public in classrooms where they would have access to
> protected information about other children.  Nowadays everyone in the school
> building, including volunteers, must be fingerprinted and background
> checked, and they wouldn't be allowed there on a regular basis unless they
> were employees of the district, only on specific parent visiting days or
> other special events, at least in the schools I have worked with.
>
> As I said, this is a very interesting case, and we'll see how it shakes out.
>
> Ann
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ann Edie
> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 1:51 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl,
> service dog - The Athens Messenger: News
>
> Perhaps the family never let the school know that the girl would be
> accompanied by the dog, just presuming that the school would have to accept
> the dog under the provisions of the ADA, although the law as it applies to
> students attending public schools is not completely straightforward, as far
> as I know.  It's different for a student (child) than it would be, for
> example, for a teacher with a disability who uses a service animal or even a
> parent visitor to the building who uses a service animal.  It will be
> interesting to follow this case and see how it progresses.
>
> Ann
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of minh ha
> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 9:43 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl,
> service dog - The Athens Messenger: News
>
> I agree with Julie. Something smells super fishy. ... Didn't the article say
> that the teacher wasn't even there on the first day and that somebody else
> told the family that she was allergic to dogs?
>
> Minh
>
> On 8/26/13, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
>> The thing I'm confused about is how the teacher didn't know the girl
>> was going to be accompanied by her service dog.  I'm convinced there
>> had to be IEP meetings.  I'm pretty sure the classroom teacher attends
>> these.  I'm also pretty sure that the topic of the dog would have come
>> up.  Couldn't the
>>
>> teacher have mentioned the allergy so arrangements could have been
>> worked out in advance?  Waiting until the first day of school to
>> figure this out seems like a plan for failure.
>>
>> Or maybe that was the plan all along?
>>
>> Julie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Marsha Drenth
>> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 11:28 AM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic
>> girl,service dog - The Athens Messenger: News
>>
>> I'd like for one of the legal minds to comment on this. Whose rights
>> have to
>>
>> be  observed here? personally my opinion is that the teacher, needs
>> then to
>>
>> move schools, not eh child. Again that is my opinion. I am curious...
>>
>> Marsha drenth
>> Sent with my IPhone
>>
>> On Aug 25, 2013, at 8:54 AM, "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl, service dog - The
>>> Athens
>>> Messenger: News
>>>
>>> Athens Messenger
>>>
>>> Source:
>>>
>>> http://www.athensohiotoday.com/news/teacher-s-allergy-disrupts-plans-
>>> for-aut
>>> istic-girl-service-dog/article_5b4859e2-a4b1-568a-adb8-acc649e08556.h
>>> tml
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Shyanna Gretz, 6, of The Plains, is seen with her new service dog
>>> Spring last month. After attending her first day of school at
>>> Morrison-Gordon Elementary
>>>
>>> on Monday, the school informed Shyanna's family that their autistic
>>> daughter and service dog would have to transfer schools as Morrison's
>>> K-3 special education
>>>
>>> teacher is severely allergic to dog dander.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> By Sara Brumfield Messenger staff journalist
>>>
>>> As Shyanna Gretz, an autistic 6-year-old from The Plains, and her new
>>> service dog Spring attended their first day of first grade at
>>> Morrison-Gordon Elementary
>>>
>>> on Monday, her family was hoping for a smooth transition into Athens
>>> City Schools. But a special education teacher's severe allergy to dog
>>> dander has caused
>>>
>>> a hiccup in the family's schooling plan.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Messenger has written several stories about the Gretz family and
>>> their journey to get a service dog for Shyanna, who has had a history
>>> of extreme mood
>>>
>>> fluctuations and wandering off. After two years of fundraising and
>>> waiting, the family welcomed a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever,
>>> Spring, into their
>>>
>>> lives last month.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Since Spring's arrival, Shyanna's mother Charla told The Messenger
>>> that her daughter's moods have been more in line with her peers and
>>> that family outings
>>>
>>> that were once impossible are now achievable.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Shyanna attended kindergarten at Beacon School on West Union Street
>>> last year. Beacon, operated by the Athens County Board of
>>> Developmental Disabilities,
>>>
>>> is a school designed to serve students with special needs in all five
>>> of the county's public school districts.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> According to Charla, it was determined that Shyanna should be
>>> integrated into the Athens City School District this year and the
>>> family made plans for Shyanna
>>>
>>> to attend Morrison-Gordon Elementary, which is located next to Beacon
>>> School.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> However, at the end of the day on Monday, Charla (who plans to attend
>>> school with Shyanna on a daily basis) was told that her daughter
>>> would have to transfer
>>>
>>> to a different elementary school because the K-3 Individualized
>>> Education Plan teacher at Morrison is severely allergic to dog dander.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Athens City Schools Supt. Carl Martin told The Messenger on Friday
>>> that only two of the district's four elementary schools have programs
>>> for autistic students
>>>
>>> - Morrison-Gordon and East Elementary. He said that Morrison has two
>>> teachers for the program - one who serves grades K-3 and another
>>> serving grades 4-6
>>>
>>> - and East has one teacher. The district's middle and high schools
>>> also have such programs.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> He said it's not uncommon for special needs students to begin their
>>> education at Beacon School and then move into the public school system.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "We have a fair amount of autistic kids in the district," Martin said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While switching elementary schools may seem like a simple enough
>>> solution, Charla said her daughter doesn't cope well with change or
>>> riding the school
>>>
>>> bus. She told The Messenger that the bus ride to East Elementary
>>> would be longer and that the change in surroundings could be a
>>> setback for Shyanna.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Martin emphasized that East Elementary is only five miles from the
>>> Gretz's home in The Plains and the bus ride wouldn't be much
>>> different than it is
>>>
>>> to
>>>
>>> Morrison-Gordon.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> According to Martin, he was unaware that the Morrison-Gordon K-3
>>> special education teacher was allergic to dogs until Monday
>>> afternoon. Charla said the
>>>
>>> teacher was out sick on Monday, but the school told her that Shyanna
>>> and Spring could not return to Morrison because of the teacher's allergy.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> When asked if returning to Beacon would be an option for Shyanna,
>>> Martin said that would have to be worked out between the family and
>>> Beacon School.
>>> He
>>>
>>> said that it's not uncommon for students to return to Beacon after
>>> they've tried public schools.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Gretz' youngest child, Conner, attends pre-school at Beacon.
>>> Charla said her son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
>>> (ADHD) and oppositional
>>>
>>> defiant disorder (ODD).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Charla said she will meet with members of the Athens City School
>>> District
>>>
>>> on
>>> Sept. 3 regarding their options for Shyanna's schooling. Martin said
>>> the district
>>>
>>> had hoped to meet with the family sooner, but the family's schedule
>>> didn't allow for that.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "The dog is not the issue," Martin said. "The issue is where can I
>>> serve this child in a program that works for everyone. East is a
>>> wonderful school in
>>>
>>> a wonderful building."
>>>
>>> sbrumfield at athensmessenger.com
>>>
>>> ; Twitter @SaraBmessenger.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nagdu mailing list
>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nagdu:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/marsha.drenth%40gm
>>> ail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/julielj%40neb.rr.co
>> m
>>
>>
>> -----
>> No virus found in this message.
>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> Version: 2012.0.2242 / Virus Database: 3211/6110 - Release Date:
>> 08/26/13
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/minh.ha927%40gmail.
>> com
>>
>
> --
> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their
> dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/annedie%40nycap.rr.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/annedie%40nycap.rr.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/info%40michaelhingson.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/janice.toothman%40verizon.net
>