November 26, 2009
Family of special needs child seeks educational solutions
Kate Haake/Valley Journal
Nick Zorotovich shows off his bike-riding skills in his home outside of Charlo. Though he suffers from childhood schizophrenia, cognitive delay and mild mental retardation, Nick enjoys riding his bike and playing with his brothers like any other adolescent boy.
Valley Journal
CHARLO — Nick Zorotovich looks like a normal kid. With short blond hair and loose fitting jeans, he seems a little distant as he plays video games with his younger brothers, Quin and Sean. Other than an apparently reserved personality, there is not much on the outside that is noticeably different.
But throughout the years, the 13-year-old child has been diagnosed with everything from Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to Tourrette’s Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
The most recent diagnosis classifies him with two types of childhood schizophrenia along with previous diagnoses of mild/moderate mental retardation and cognitive delay.
“It was the first time my wife and I said, ‘Yeah, I think he got it right,’” Nick’s stepfather Marty Stewart said of the recent diagnosis by Dr. Robert A. Velin, a Neurobehavioral Specialist in Missoula.
Because of these disabilities, Nick is prone to random violent outbursts, spitting and cursing at peers and adults and inappropriate touching. He reads and writes at first grade level, has trouble with simple arithmetic, and loses motor skills and previously-learned abilities at random. Nick has trouble sitting in class and is easily frightened by loud noises and activity during assemblies and in class. But Charlo Middle School is treating Nick like any other special education student, trying to mainstream Nick into regular classes.
Clearly, his parents disagree with the approach.
“It’s absolutely wrong to do that with Nick,” Kerry said. “It’s setting him up for failure.”
Nick’s parents believe the reason that Charlo Schools seem reluctant to modify their special education program to accommodate Nick is because his disability is not constantly visible.
“If they had a full-blown autistic kid with violence, they would see the difference (between the disabled student and other students),” Marty said.
Two years ago, the Stewarts moved their family from Polson to Charlo, seeking a better education for all their children. They had heard only positive things about the 330-student school, and the first year was a very good experience for all three of their sons. However, the 2009 school year and has been nothing but a bitter disappointment for Nick and his parents.
“Their problem is that they don’t know how to deal with (his disability),” Marty said of the school’s administration.
According to the Stewarts, they have tried to alleviate the situation, even offering to purchase some of the tools, such as a swing, necessary for Nick. But they say the school refuses to change or accept the donations.
“Why are they so reluctant to provide a quality education for special needs kids?” Kerry asks, frustrated.
Charlo Superintendent Paul Jenkins has a different view of the special education department at Charlo School.
“The OPI (Office of Public Instruction) has been here to look at our program,” Jenkins said. “And the Co-op (Special Education Cooperative) have found that everything is in compliance. Not to say that when these people come in, they may find some tweaks.”
The Co-op supplies rural schools in western Montana with specialists for special needs students.
Though Jenkins was not allowed to speak on specific special education cases due to student privacy laws, he believes that the school’s special education department is up to par.
“I think the teachers do a great job in meeting the needs of the students,” Jenkins said.
He also mentioned that 100 percent of the special education students are mainstreamed; meaning a that special education students, regardless of their disabilities, will spend a significant part of their school days in the regular classroom with other students.
But for Nick, whose IEP lists goals such as remembering his home address with 100 percent accuracy, and who is sometimes prone to violent outbursts, a regular classroom may be counterproductive for his education, according to the Stewarts.
Kerry compared Nick in a regular classroom to entering a wheelchair-bound child in a marathon.
“He just panics,” Kerry said. She explained that without his comfort zone, which would ideally be located within a special education classroom, Nick may become increasingly agitated and not be able to concentrate on schoolwork and may have a violent outburst.
The Stewarts say they have received no progress reports notifying them of their son’s activities at school. They have asked the school to supply their son with tools necessary to learn, such as a calming swing and reading devices. They have also asked the school to provide the teachers with trainings, such as MANDT, a technique that is necessary to restrain a person who becomes violent without hurting the themselves and others. According to the Stewarts, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. They say their son sits in mainstream classes with a coloring book and colors while the rest of the class studies subjects that are way beyond his level of comprehension.
Nick has an IEP (Individualized Education Program) that is 46 pages long. The IEP is used in special education to identify the child’s special needs and list goals for the teachers and administrators. The IEP recognizes four different disabilities that plague the 13-year-old boy, who takes four different medications daily to mitigate these disabilities.
It also states Nick’s strengths.
“Nick is very polite, has great attendance, keeps his locker very organized and is willing to share with others,” the IEP states. “He likes to know how things work and is interested and curious about emotional vocabulary.”
According to federal law, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) the school must abide by the IEP for each special education student.
Unsatisfied with the response from Jenkins and Charlo Elementary and Middle School Principal Clair Rasmussen, Marty spoke with the Charlo School Board as a measure of last resort.
Asking the board to recognize the failures of the school to abide by the IEP, Marty spoke in a school board meeting Oct. 20. But after the meeting, the situation at the school only became bleaker, culminating with the Stewarts pulling Nick out of Charlo school for a few days and searching for solutions elsewhere.
“These kids are falling through the cracks,” Kerry said. “It’s like having a football field but not telling anyone they can play football.”
The Stewarts believe the school has gotten by in recent years not abiding by IEPs mostly because the parents of the special needs children are busy with their farms and ranches and don’t have the time to participate in their children’s education. The preoccupied parents don’t put pressure on the administration to follow the IEPs, the Stewarts say.
Like any parents, the Stewarts would like the best for their son. They know that he won’t ever ace calculus, but they would like their son to develop basic life and social skills. And according to the law, their son has the right to be educated in his own district, and the school must bend to meet the need of each special education student, they insist.
“He’s entitled to a free education like everyone else,” Marty said.
For now, Nick remains in Charlo Middle School, while his parents attempt to enroll him in Polson Middle School. They will pay the out-of-district tuition and the gas money it takes to transport Nick to and from Polson everyday.
The Stewarts have also reached out for assistance from The Childhood Development Center of Western Montana. The CDC, which assists families who have developmentally delayed children, has just approved the family for a grant of $16,800 for services for Nick and will help the family find a hab-aid (habilitation aid) and other aids. These aids will help Nick with social and life skills, while providing Kerry and Marty with an outlet to spend time with each other and their other two sons.
While the difficult situation is complicated for all involved, Marty and Kerry Stewart remain proactive in their approach to their son’s education.
“Nick being happy is my main concern,” Kerry said. |
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