A little surprised (Fullerton, Glendora: school, live in, beach)

[movingoutofCA]

I don't know what would cause me more stress than worrying about the health of one of my children.. I'm not crazy about CA either, but I think you are more stressed than anyone needs to be.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by Christine Joan

Here is some information from the ASK, Advocates for Special Kids, website:

BTW, I have contacted Protection and Advocacy in the past, to help a person with a disability and they were very helpful. Hope something here helps you and your son.


The first thing to do is learn about the law as it relates to special education. Do not assume that the school district will provide you with accurate or complete information about your child’s rights under the law. The best way to gain this knowledge is to learn about the law and your child’s rights under it by becoming familiar with the information on the following web sites:

Paper Trails: Letter Writing and Documentation http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ltrs.index.htm

The Special Ed Advocate - Special Education Law http://www.wrightslaw.comWrightslaw: (broken link) From Emotions To Advocacy - The Special Education Survival Guide http://www.fetaweb.com

Reed Martin, J.D. , Special Education Law http://www.reedmartin.comCalifornia Department of Education, Special Education Division http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/

In addition, you may want to take a step-by-step tutorial about special education, IEP’s and the law, including Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, found at:

Education Advocacy: Self-Help Tutorial for Parents
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net

Another excellent resource which includes valuable information regarding California law is a publication from Protection and Advocacy Inc., entitled “Special Education Rights and Responsibilities.” You can order this manual by calling (213) 427-8747 or (800) 776-5746. A $20.00 donation is requested upon mailing. This volume is in a “reader-friendly” “Q and A” format and can also be accessed online http://www.pai-ca.org/pubs/401601.htm (broken link)

Laws and regulations related to special education can be found at the following sites:

Federal – Laws 20 United States Code Section 1400 et seq

Federal - Regulations 34 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 300

California – Laws CA Education Code Section 56000 et seq

California – Regulations CA Code of Regulations Section 3000 et seq

JerZ, I don't know who your son is insured with, but for $8 a month you can have Kaiser Permanente for kids which has a complete childrens facility for disabilities and evaluations. You can go through Healthy Families or Kaiser when your income falls to a certain level and it includes eyes and dental with $5 copays for anything. I wish you the best.

[mover007]

hi Jerz
It's very brave of you to share this with us. I'm glad we have such a caring community here on City-Data.

One thing that struck me about your child's illness was how the doctors ignored the seriousness of his ear infections--from what I understand, ear infections can spread and cause brain damage. I'm sorry, but i can't help thinking that the doctors should take responsibility for what happened.

There's lots of info on ear to brain infections, out there, but here's two:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-6245155.html (broken link)
and: www.growingkids.co.uk

Good luck with everything; i wish the best for you and your family.

BTW, I'm in LA now, (ex-NYer...lived in London and NZ, too) so that's why the discussion caught my eye. I have lots of theories about the differences between these cities, but...some other time.

[JerZ]

Thank you all so much for the fantastic information. I'm going over it right now.

[Invisible]

JerZ,

I'm with you on L.A. rudeness. I grew up here, have lived in Boston and Tucson for 2 years each, and now I'm back in Cali. Although I hate Tucson with a fiery burning passion and I'm glad to be back home, I do see how fake people are here. To be honest, it's not the rudeness that bothers me. It's the "smile in your face, stab you in the back" disease that gets me. Californians seem to have polite hatred down to an art. Even though they smile, you can read the real thoughts on their faces. And don't get me started on Hollywood. There are soooooo many pretentious and obnoxious people walking around with their cell phones and ear pieces doing their best to look important while looking down at you as though you're not good enough to stand next to them. I heard a joke once that in New York, "F*** you" means "Have a nice day", but in L.A. "Have a nice day" means "F*** you". I love the weather, but the people are scary. If I didn't need to be around my family so much, I would go back to the East coast.

[Sorcerer68]

I'm sorry to hear about your son's health misfortunes and your unhappiness. One thing I've found is that if I use the behavior of those around me to gauge my own emotional health. We often don't realise it but at our worst, we bring out the worst in others. If I encounter a bunch of a-holes, I find the a-hole is usually staring at me in the mirror. Believe me, this is insidious and creeps up on me. I firmly believe this happens to just about everyone, some get stuck in it and some don't. I've found amazing things happen when I work on me. That said, it sounds like you're still experiencing culture shock. I'm not one of those L.A. residents who's never been anywhere, I've traveled extensively and lived in many places and found people on the East Coast to be more straightforward. Rudest city? Las Vegas, hands down. I have a theory on that one...anyway, in my travels, I've found L.A. to be one of the least rude places when comparing with other [i]LARGE cities (not little towns or medium ones with a few office high rises in the center that's not comparison). I appreciate people from the East Coast for their frankness because you always know where you stand. I find L.A. residents to be less abrasive (in general of course). I've found (from personal experience) that when you live one place and are homesick for another, the current zip code will not make you happy. It will never, ever be the place you left and it can't be. I tell people (in my profession), love the area you're going for what it is, not what you wish it could be.

You're one of my favorite posters, I'm sorry to hear you so unhappy.

Have you pursued a holistic angle on your son's health?

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by Sorcerer68

I'm sorry to hear about your son's health misfortunes and your unhappiness. One thing I've found is that if I use the behavior of those around me to gauge my own emotional health. We often don't realise it but at our worst, we bring out the worst in others. If I encounter a bunch of a-holes, I find the a-hole is usually staring at me in the mirror. Believe me, this is insidious and creeps up on me. I firmly believe this happens to just about everyone, some get stuck in it and some don't. I've found amazing things happen when I work on me. That said, it sounds like you're still experiencing culture shock.....I appreciate people from the East Coast for their frankness because you always know where you stand. ....I've found (from personal experience) that when you live one place and are homesick for another, the current zip code will not make you happy. It will never, ever be the place you left and it can't be. I tell people (in my profession), love the area you're going for what it is, not what you wish it could be.

I really do like and agree with what I highlighted above. Deep down I know that "attitude" and "belief" makes a difference, but IT'S BEEN SO HARD FOR ME TO STAY POSITIVE about things here. Once I get into the mindset that everything will get better and things will FINALLY come together the way they're supposed to - IT DOESN'T. I'm not looking for LA to be like NYC, but I didn't expect things to be so far behind the times of the east coast either. Put it this way, I "expected" one thing and have been "surprised" by the combination of suburban/hick lifestyle all rolled into one. I can't explain it any other way. You'd have to be from the east coast and LIVING HERE to understand what I'm talking about. It's like LA is trying be like the Southern California version of San Francisco, but it's NOT San Francisco.

[Sorcerer68]

Originally Posted by marilyn220

I really do like and agree with what I highlighted above. Deep down I know that "attitude" and "belief" makes a difference, but IT'S BEEN SO HARD FOR ME TO STAY POSITIVE about things here. Once I get into the mindset that everything will get better and things will FINALLY come together the way they're supposed to - IT DOESN'T. I'm not looking for LA to be like NYC, but I didn't expect things to be so far behind the times of the east coast either. Put it this way, I "expected" one thing and have been "surprised" by the combination of suburban/hick lifestyle all rolled into one. I can't explain it any other way. You'd have to be from the east coast and LIVING HERE to understand what I'm talking about. It's like LA is trying be like the Southern California version of San Francisco, but it's NOT San Francisco.

Well, you either love or hate L.A. I've never lived in NYC, I've visited many, many times and dear friends there I consider family...I never need a hotel in NYC.

What part of L.A. do you live in?

[SouthBayTodd]

your neighborhood might suck? people in my town are not like that (hermosa beach)

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by SouthBayTodd

your neighborhood might suck? people in my town are not like that (hermosa beach)

I don't know. Perhaps. I live in Glendora.