IN THE ASBURY PARK PRESS - OCEAN COUNTY EDITION 1/31/08

[lmel...@optonline.net]

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/NEWS02/801310691/-1/NEWS10

JACKSON — Parents whose children require occupational therapy met with
school officials Wednesday night to discuss changes in their
children's care that caused half of the school district therapists to
resign in protest.

The meeting at Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School, which more than 50
parents attended, was the second in a series of three. Some of the 338
students districtwide who need the therapy are receiving reduced
services, while others are not receiving care at all because five of
the 10 therapists have quit, some abruptly, since September.

"We want to let the parents know that we are not changing the
students' (individual education programs)," school board president
Marvin Krakower said earlier Wednesday. "Their children are still
going to get the therapy they need."

The therapy tactic, known as a transdisciplinary approach, changed
students' regimens from individual sessions to a mix of group and
individual sessions. Many of the therapists believed there was not
enough adequate training for the other faculty and staff, district
spokeswoman Allison Erwin said.

"The idea was to get as many members of our staff exposed to the
therapy as possible," Erwin said. "We still think it is a good idea,
but there were some flaws with the way we implemented the new
program."

The number of students receiving the reduced services is changing all
the time, officials said. The district recently hired a part-time
assistant, and a part-time therapist is set to start during the second
week of February. Another part-time therapist currently employed in
the district will soon start working full-time.

But the parents who attended Wednesday's meeting complained about a
lack of communication and the environment that caused five people to
resign within several months.

"This is a joke," said Lou Melograna, who was there advocating for his
daughter in the third grade. "Obviously, there is a problem. Every day
my daughter doesn't get what she needs is a day that slows her
development."

The director of special education, Jeanne Pollock, took full
responsibility for the changes and their aftermath.

In the group sessions, a student's general education teacher, the
teacher's assistant and the therapist would all work with the student
together.

"If a student needs help with sitting up straight in their chair, the
other staff would be exposed to the therapy and could help the student
outside of therapy," Erwin said.

The regimen for each student is different depending on need. The
therapists mainly work on students' fine motor skills, such as holding
a pencil or copying from a blackboard, which they would need to help
them learn, Erwin said.

The district still plans to go forward with a transdisciplinary
approach for students' therapy, but it wants to return its staff
levels to an acceptable level first.

For now, the district is committed to replacing as many of the
therapists as soon as possible, and it has reverted to the therapy
system that the parents, student and therapists are familiar with.

A third meeting is scheduled for tonight at the district's
administration building. Parents with children in middle or high
school are invited to attend.

In your voice
Read reactions to this story


bethgotr wrote:

I am one of the OTs that resigned due to the changes that were being
implemented by Dr. P. I have 20 yrs. of experience as an OT, 6 in
Jackson. I have worked in schools that successfully used the
transdisciplinary model. The watered down version that Dr. P wanted to
implement was a ruse to squeeze in as many OT sessions as possible in
a short time. Schedules were handed to OTs that grouped children
together from different grades without any regard for their individual
needs. When we voiced our concern and disgust at this we were told to
do what we were told. So instead we found jobs in school districts
where we are once again respected and our professional opinions are
valued. I am sorry that so many of your children that I really care
about and worked so hard with are not getting any OT right now, but
sometimes you have to stand up for what is right !
1/31/2008 9:11:30 PM
Recommend Report Abuse


shep07 wrote:

JacksonMills talks about the facts, yet she/he states, as I understand
several times, those aren't facts. Obviously she/he knows the Director/
is a friend of hers Question: What qualifications does this Director
have for Special Ed? Being principal of a school is not sufficient.
Dr. Pollock admits that she made a mistake, she should pay for her
mistake, stepping down is in order. The District lost the best OT, the
children are now paying the price. IT IS ABOUT THE CHILDREN! I would
like to know if the Director met with the OT regarding the
transdisciplinary approach. The OT are the ones with the experience
and expertise or where they being forced into doing something that
they knew was not in the best interest of the children. I thank and
admire the OT who stood up for what they believe in, they have done an
excellent job with the children. The system worked, it should have
been left alone.
1/31/2008 7:19:26 PM
Recommend Report Abuse


JacksonMills08527 wrote:

Let's not get the facts mixed up here. As I understand the issue the
director only asked that those children with "group therapy" to be
part of the transdisciplinary approach as that was permitted in their
IEP. She can't change an IEP as she doesn't have access to them. As I
understand it some of the therapists didn't want the extra burden of
working with more than one kid at a time. Having a staff of people
that only work one or two days a week for two or three hours a day
make the schedule almost impossible if one was to consider that the
most important part of the kid's day should be in Language Arts, Math
and Science. Why was it that the school that the director was
principal in the year before not loose anyone? Answer: she wouldn't
tolerate any slackers and got the best from all her staff. She had
among the best scores for a school with the demographic and mobility
rate in the district. Check the record and look at her prior work in
the district.
1/31/2008 3:04:26 PM
Recommend Report Abuse


PlainJane wrote:

The issue for most parents is not the transdisciplinary approach to
delivering OT, but the method of implementing the change. If the
student�s IEP states individual OT, then the special ed director
cannot arbitrarily change the student to a group session, even if
using the transdiciplinary approach is a better option. That change,
without the recommendation of the CST and authorized in an amended
IEP, is a violation of IDEA This is not the first time this action
occurred. Earlier in the school year, the director, decided to
initiate the transdisciplinary approach in Jackson�s pre-school autism
class. The same tactics were used - not notifying parents and bullying
OT professionals. The director was criticized at that time but
apparently has chosen to use the same route again. This director
continues to disregard the professionals in her district, the NJ
Administrative Code and the federal IDEA. It's time for this director
to step down as the director of special education.
1/31/2008 2:01:21 PM
Recommend (1) Report Abuse