Special Ed Misdiagnosis?

[Brian99]

State:Michigan

Anyways I am a person with ADHD (21 yrs old) and was also diagnosed with autism by the school district in 1990. In the fall of 1991 I was placed in a "self contained" classroom for students with autism. (this lasted from 6th grade until second semested 9th grade) Anyways I belive that being in this program screwed up many needed skills teens need at these ages. Being islolated most of the time from "normal" peers of my own age did the majority of the damage as well as being placed with students that were 10x more impaired than I was in the same classroom. The being with other students that were more impaired also rubbed off on me so I started picking up on thier behaviors. This was a place I did not want to be, this had many painful memories for me in all the areas that are considered vital areas for teens/young adults. I was returned to the normal school halfway thourgh my freshman HS year and started gaining lost ground, but that still wasnt enough, Sure I made friends as well as re-established old friendships from times past. As a result of my prior placement (in the Autism classroom) I do not have social skills that someone my age should have. I still find it painful at times to ask a girl on a date or even to make simple friendships with aquanitances.

I also have another issue here. I belive that I really never had autism, the schools wanted to get my case resloved so they did as little work as possible and hurried up and slapped a label on me and rushed to judgement. As an FYI, I was considered LD prior to my autism diagnosis and doing just average in a regualr LD class. After seeing an shrink this past summer I began to realize that the schools may have made a big mistake. Was I really autistic like I was made to belive? I dont think I was. Anyways the doctor and myself came to the conclusion that I had ADHD. The doctor was unsure of what to place for the autism diagnosis so he put down remission of autism in progress and I agreed with that unsure either. I know that there are symptoms and signs of both autims and ADHD that are simialr as well as different. My goal is to get the fine line drawn between the two. I had and autism consultant visit me thorhgt HS and in my junior year, the teacher I had in the autism classroom became a consultant herself and I found myself on her caseload. I know in some states there is a time statue on how long I can leave something unresloved so this needs to be taken into considereation also.

I also belive many good opportunites for potential were lost due to this placement.

Another question, is there any length of time I should act in such as time of limitiatoins and that type of thing. Im about to turn 22 in July so I would like to find out. Thanks

 

[dorenephilpot]

Unfortunately for you, the time to have challenged the placement and diagnosis was when you were in school.

If it followed the law, the school convened a case conference committee meeting for you every year to review your education and devise an IEP (Individualized Education Program) based on your individual needs.

If your parents disagreed with that IEP, they should have stated so then. If they signed off on the IEP, they in essence consented to the school's placement and diagnosis.

You could possibly have a civil suit for damages afterwards, but I'm guessing that the statute of limitations in your state has run by now, given that you're 22.

It would be best to check with an attorney in your state as to the statue of limitations issue, though.

Your situation is one of the reasons that I passionately advocate students' rights -- the school administration often means well, but just as often they just want to warehouse kids and get them to "age out" of the system so that they don't have to deal with the problems anymore.

It's really a shame because of all the lost potential.

From your message, you appear to be pretty high functioning, and I think most people feel awkward asking for dates. Don't be so hard on yourself! ;-)

 

[Libertarian]

I have a similar experience and I have been trying to gather as much information as I can regarding rights and any case law that might apply.

In the state of Michigan there is a bounty system where the schools recieve a substantial financial reward for every child they put into special education.

In 1976 the school district told my parents that unless they had me put on drugs they wouldn't let me attend school, or I had to go into special education. The school violated my civil rights by making drugs a condition of my attending school. In 2003 the federal govenrment ordered the states to enact laws specifically banning this practice. I think it's wrong that teachers who have never been to medical school let alone become liscensed doctors are playing doctor and trying to practice medicine.

From the time I was twelve till I was almost sixteen I was told I had a mental illness and had to be in a class called adjusted studies because of it.

One of the things that the teachers in adjusted studies took a perverse delight in doing was confining the children in a small wooden box about the size of a coffin. If we refused to go into the box we would be charged with school incorrigability and sent off to the prison camp.

Another thing they did was make us carry around a sign that signaled we were special ed students. Every hour of regular class we had to go up to the teacher and get it signed. It was the most humiliating, degrading, dehumanising, experience of my entire life. The rest of the class would laugh at me and make derogatory remarks. What made it even worse, was when the social studies teacher was teaching us about the supreme court, he told us that in the 1920's the court had ruled that it was a violation of the 8th amendment to publicly humiliate children by making them wear a dunse cap. When I complained to the special ed teacher that I felt it was a violation of my civil rights based upon that ruling, the teacher picked me up off of my feet and threw me into a wall and told me that civil rights are a priviledge that I was going to have to work for, and if I ever said I had civil rights again I was going to be sent to the prison camp.

The next time the social studies teacher got me into trouble was when right after he taught us about the Miranda case. The next time I was being crammed into the box I said I wanted a lawyer, the teacher grabbed me by my face and shoved me head first into the two way mirror that he used to watch our discomfort through. I was terrified that I was going to go through it. He then screamed that if I ever requested a lawyer again I was going to go straight to a prison camp. If I hadn't been put in fear of being maimed, losing my life or getting raped in prison I would have kept on demanding a lawyer. I don't understand how the government can just incarcerate someone then deny them legal counsel. How is this legal?

Several months later when I and the rest of the class were subpoenad to witness a girl being sent to jail for refusing to go into the box, the matter of the sign we had to carry came up again, because she and I had gotten into an arguement and I tore hers up. The school filed this incident in their complaint against her. When I asked how she could be punished for not cooperating with a cruel and unusual punishment I was told the circuit court found nothing wrong with it. I still don't understand how a circuit court can just ignore a ruling by the supreme court. I also can't understand how the court can haul a group of twelve to fifteen year old children into court and threaten us with jail with out our parents or an attorney present to defend our interests.

To this day I am haunted by flashbacks of the violent physical assaults I endured and the smiling almost orgasmic expression on the teachers face as he beat me or one of the other kids. I'll never forget the overjoyed look of delight on his face when I told him "if you don't stop putting me in this box I am going to kill myself" he laughed then replied "good, that's another way to get out of here" then he violently grabbed me by the back of my neck and shoved me head first into the box. The kids in the class used to say the teacher was a pervert because he wouldn't keep his hands off of us. I don't know how someone with that kind of reputation has been able to keep his job but he still has it.

Then one day three years ago I learned the truth. I was listening to an interview on the radio with a clinical psychiatrist when he stated "I want to warn you about a class called adjusted studies" this caught my attention. He said he had done a study on people who had been put in there and what he found was a level of psychological damage that is only equalled in cases of torture.

What I learned is that my so called mental illness (emotionally impaired) was not a psychiatric term but merely a school system label (which is why you never see any adults with this) that school psychiatrists are wrong to be passing it off as anything else. I also learned that school psychiatrists are not at all qualified to be making psychiatric diagnoses, you must be a Clinical psychiatrist to do this and no reputable clinical psychiatrist would use such a vague meaningless term.

Another point he made is that putting a kid into special ed makes the kid a social outcast and a target for bullying. When the kids try to defend themselves from the bullying school says they are acting out. Twenty five years earlier when I told the schools psychiatrist the exact same thing, he dismissed it as something that was to be expected and it was entirely my fault for being in adjusted studies and that I should talk about something else. When I asked the school psychiatrist why I was in adjusted studies he became angry and yelled at me "You wouldn't be in there if there wasn't something wrong with you! now what is it?" I didn't know what to say because they would never tell me what I had done to deserve any of this. That in itself was a form of torture. I kept asking what did I do but none of the adults would tell me. The school psychiatrist told my parents that I wouldn't talk to him and he couldn't work with me anymore. This infuriated my father as he had had to pay this man a lot of money. This caused a rift in my family that has never really healed. The schools psychiatrist never mentioned the government grant money the school was getting. In the legal system it is considered unethical for someone to make a judgement in a case where they or a freind have a financial stake and not disclose that fact. Unfortuneately the schools are not required to be ethical.

Years later when my mother found out there was money involved she was upset. Another thing the school never told my parents about was the box. What the school told me was my parents gave their permission for them to do that to me. Lying is another ethical code that the schools are not obliged to follow.

The Clinical psychiatrist then went on to talk about what he called the ultimate isolation "The Box". He said that when the kids are segregated into special education they are isolated and cut off from their peers, which is bad for their development. But putting a child into the box is a technique of isolation and desocialisation that should never be used on someone going through the phase of life known as adolescent development. What you'll end up with is a person whose social skills never developed to a fully adult level of function. This problem will persist through the rest of their adult life. I would have to spend entire days in the box for stretches of more than a week. During lunchtime when the so called normal kids got to enjoy lunch we got what the school called "box lunch" where we had to spend the time confined in the box. Those days were crucial to my development and I can never get them back.

Puberty is a one time deal. The brain goes through the most rapid development it has had since you were born. There is a window of opportunity that once it is closed you are out of luck. Humans are social animals there is no crueler thing you can do to a human being than deprive them of social skills.



One of the ways the doctor said he can identify an adult who was boxed up as a child is the boxes affect on the development of verbal social skills. For instance a person will rudely interject into conversations just like a child will. I have had that problem my entire adult life and I never understood why I couldn't get a handle on it. This one problem has cost me a lot both personally and professionally. It's cost me freinds, jobs and promotions. I make in a year what my father would make in a month.


The thing I find totally unfair about the schools and the courts being able to hide behind the statute of limitations is it totally explains why the schools are using torture to inhibit these children from developing to an adult level of functioning. They are doing it to cover themselves from having to take responsibility for the immoral manner in which they are enriching themselves. When I would have been elligable I was a total wreck from the schools torture.

end part 1

 

[Libertarian]

part2

Taking away a persons freedom in order to benefit financially is slavery. The Nuremburg charter lists slavery as a crime against humanity. There is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity. The 13th amendment outlaws slavery.

The 14th amendment grants due process. I had my character defamed and slandered. I was labled a criminal and treated as such. I was tortured and I had to witness other children being tortured. But I was never given a hearing and told what I had done to deserve this nightmare. When I requested a lawyer so I could get due process, I was violently, physically, assaulted. I can understand why the court denied me access to an attorney. I just don't understand how it's legal.

Brown vs board of education bans racial segregation in the schools.
Yet if you read the year 2000 22nd report to congress definition
R 340.1706 Determination of emotionally impaired. paragraph 5 states.
(5) A determination of impairment shall not be based solely on behaviors relating to environmental, cultural, or economic differences.

Culture is a roundabout way of saying race or ethnicity
I don't think it is fair that my ethnic differences from my classmates were considered a form of mental impairment that required punishment in the form of torture. There is a concept known as the spirit and intent of the law. I think the spirit and intent of Brown v the board of education has been ignored.

I guess that is enough for now, sorry if I rambled. I would like very much to learn any applicable case law that might relate to what I have written. I remember reading in the early ninetys that the supreme court had ruled the solitary confinement of children a cruel and unusual punishment, but I have not been able to find that ruling.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

You posted on a 4 year old thread, you should start your own thread. If your problems are like the original posters, then look up Asperger's syndrome, then you will understand why you were placed in Special Ed and why you were lucky to get help.
also try
http://www.faaas.org

 

[Libertarian]

Thank you for your input rmet4.

I would have started a new thread however I felt that what I had to say would be dismissed much like Brian99 was. I think it is much harder to dismiss two people telling a similar story. So that is why I brought this one back to life.

Back when I was in my twenty's my Mother initiated a conversation with me about how she had seen a psychiatrist on Oprah who was trying to warn parents to be wary of schools labeling kids and putting them into special education Just so they can get special education funds. My Mother told me she was sorry and I believe her. I know that my Mother is deeply remorseful that she ever trusted the school. Hindsight is twenty twenty. If she knew then what she now knows she would never have agreed to anything. So a big part of my motivation in posting is to hopefully spare someone elses family from going through what mine has been through.

Because my parents were immigrants they didn't know what the system here in America is like. If you read the report to congress you will see that this is something the schools are told to look for when they pick their mark. Ignorance on the part of parents is the allie of the schools.

I've been to the website you suggested before. They say Asperger's has only recently been recognized, which is something I find most telling since Hans Asperger first theorized this condition in 1944.

I find it highly suspicious that this new condition all of a sudden started getting noticed by the schools around the time members of the psychiatric started blowing the wistle on the emotionally impaired labeling scam.

One of my favorite tv shows is the Judge Mathis show. One thing I have noticed about Judge Mathis, is that when he starts asking difficult questions to a plaintiff if they all of a sudden start changing their story or even tell a completely new one he will call them a liar.

If you had read my original post which I suspect you didn't (it was rather lengthy so I understand) you would have learned that I was told I had a mental illness by a person who was not a doctor, he never even went to medical school. You also would have learned that they used illegal coercion on my parents to get ahold of me in the first place.

If you don't believe the schools don't engage in controversial practices with drugs you should go to http://adhdfraud.com/ and see what a doctor of neurology has to say about this practice.