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Law Offices of Sarit Ariam

Special Education Law and Advocacy

     school icon13             Newsletter             school icon13

                                                                                                                                                  November 2004

Text Box: Monthly Disability Focus Dyspraxia by Jim O’Keefe Dyspraxia is a term that refers to a specific disorder in the area of motor skill development. People with dyspraxia have difficulty planning and completing intended fine motor tasks. It is estimated that dyspraxia affects at least 2% of the general population to some degree and about 70% of those affected are male. Dyspraxia can affect different areas of functioning, varying from simple motor tasks such as waving goodbye to more complex tasks like brushing teeth. Dyspraxia is a lifelong disorder that affects a person's development in the area of motor development. Though many challenges can persist throughout a person's life, the types of difficulties experienced can change. Babies with dyspraxia may avoid crawling and rolling over, and may resist tasks involving motor skills. As they get older these children are prone to: ·       Difficulty with eye movements - they may move the whole head instead of just the eyes ·       Difficulty using eating utensils and holding a cup while drinking ·       Bumping into objects ·       Difficulty doing fine-motor activities such as tying shoelaces or buttoning clothing ·       Difficulty with handwriting ·       Sensitivity to touch - may find clothing uncomfortable; and may find hair-brushing and cutting, teeth-brushing and nail-cutting unpleasant ·       Poor sense of direction Text Box: New Jersey Girl Fights and Wins 2003 Decision and Win for Special Need’s Children   A suit to address the way a New Jersey school chooses their valedictorian has made national headlines.   A change in the school board’s policy on how a valedictorian is chosen led to a restraining order directing the school to name a student with disabilities as its top student.   The student would have been the senior valedictorian under the board’s original policy.  However, several other students and parents from the district complained, stating that the girl was getting an unfair advantage due to the accommodations that she was given through an IEP.   Feeling enormous pressure, the school board changed its policy, allowing several valedictorians to be named for that year.   Text Box: continued on page 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Inside This Issue

1

New Jersey Girl Fights and Wins  

1

Monthly Disability Focus

2

Special Needs Trusts

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Exciting Changes at the Law Offices of Sarit Ariam

4

Recommended Reading

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Text Box: However, the District Court said that the retroactive application was an act of discrimination against the student because of her disability.  The Court didn’t stop there though.  They also refused to throw out a claim for $2.7 million dollars in damages for alleged violations of the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, a state anti-discrimination law, and constitutional due process and equal protection. Although the Court wouldn’t throw it out, the case was settled without going to trial for $60,000.00.   Special Needs Trusts The Basics Every Parent Should Know   A “Special Needs Trust” is a trust which holds title to property for the benefit of a child or adult who has a disability. The Special Needs Trust can be used to provide for the needs of a disabled person to supplement benefits received from various governmental assistance programs.  A trust can hold cash, personal property, or real property, or can be the beneficiary of life insurance proceeds.   Special needs can include medical and dental expenses, annual independent check-ups, equipment, programs of training, education, treatment, and rehabilitation, eye glasses, transportation (including vehicle purchase), maintenance, insurance (including payment of premiums of insurance on the life of the beneficiary), and essential dietary needs. Special Needs Trusts may also include general items that are considered to enhance self-esteem. Parents (or other family members) of a disabled child can establish a Special Needs Trust as part of their general estate plan. The parents can send that child's share of their estate into this special trust and not worry that their child will be prevented from receiving benefits when they are not there to care for the child. Text Box: “New Jersey Girl” continued from page 1 Text Box: The manager of a trust is called a “trustee.” It can be any person over eighteen years of age, a bank, a financial planner, CPA , or a professional fiduciary. The trustee holds, administers, and distributes all property allocated to the trust for the benefit of the disabled person during his/her lifetime. In most circumstances when a Special Needs Trust is established by parents for the benefit of a disabled child, those parents serve as the trustee until they die or are no longer able to do such. When that occurs, a successor selected in advance by the parents or person establishing the trust continues to serve according to instructions contained in the trust and created initially by the parents. Any kind of asset may be held by the trust. While it is smart to place some assets into the trust and begin using the trust immediately, it is not required. Additional property may be added to the Trust at any time. Additions may be made by gifts, by will, by life insurance policies, employee plan benefits, or retirement plan benefits. Should you have any questions, please feel free to call our office.  We will be happy to direct you to the appropriate persons available to assist you in creating a Special Needs Trust for your child.                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 “Monthly Disability” continued from page 1

Text Box: Exciting Changes at the Law offices of Sarit Ariam   While we are hopeful that all of you have received our notice of new location, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you once again.  We are now located on the third floor of the Woodcourt building in Woodland Hills.  Our Beverly Hills office remains the same.  With this move has come a renewed energy as the school year settles in. Our new address and fax number are listed below, as are all of our email addresses.  Please feel free to contact us at any time.   20301 Ventura Blvd., Suite 338 Woodland Hills, CA 91364   Fax. (818) 992-6624   Sarit@saritlaw.com Nicole@saritlaw.com Michelle@saritlaw.com               Text Box:   Dyspraxia can make it difficult for children to develop social skills, and they may have trouble getting along with peers. Though they are intelligent, these children may seem immature and some may develop phobias and obsessive behavior. All young people must deal with their rapidly changing bodies. However many young people with dyspraxia may also have the added stress of dealing with coordination problems, as well as speech and academic difficulties.   Coordination difficulties can be particularly problematic in physical education classes and other sports activities Speech difficulties can interfere with casual conversation, which can result in social awkwardness and an unwillingness to risk engaging in conversation. Writing difficulties such as poor letter formation, pencil grip and slow writing can make school work frustrating.   Though not always, dyspraxia often co-exists with other learning disabilities, such as dyslexia (difficulty reading, writing and spelling) and dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematics); as well as AD/HD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). The symptoms from these learning disabilities can be similar to those of a person with dyspraxia; and regardless of whether there is an overlap in disabilities, the severity and range of difficulties can vary widely.   Other common difficulties facing people with dyspraxia include low self-esteem, depression, mental health problems and emotional and behavioral difficulties. Weaknesses in comprehension, information processing and listening can also contribute to the difficulties experienced by people with dyspraxia. There is no cure to dyspraxia, however early intervention can help a person learn to deal with his or her difficulties. Depending on the severity of the disability, work with occupational, speech and physical therapists can greatly improve a person's ability to function and succeed independently. James O’Keefe is the owner of About RSD offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice on how to deal with various physical and emotional challenges, based on his experiences as a special education parent.       Calendar of Events United Autism Alliance Conference Place   Pasadena conference  center Time       November 14-16                 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A conference focused on serving individuals and families touched by Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.  We will have a booth there, so be sure to stop by and say hello!   Autism Summit Conference: Developing a National Agenda Place   Washington Convention Center Time       November 19 and 20 Discussion of the agenda plans among government, professionals and representatives from the public will look to a melding of all the constituent ideas and produce a comprehensive plan of action for Autism for the education of the general public and government to use for direction.     Text Box:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: Keeping us posted   All of us here at the Law Offices of Sarit Ariam want to hear about all the wonderful accomplishments your child has made.  Please let us know of any exciting news, as we enjoy hearing about the changes and triumphs of every client!               Text Box: Recommended Reading   A Special Kind of Love: For Those Who Love Children With Special Needs By Susan Titus Osborne and Janet Lynn Mitchell   Sam’s Just Sam By Linda Morse   The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Safe Activities for Home and School: Sensory-Motor, Appropriate, Fun, and Easy By Carol Stock Kranowitz        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20301 Ventura Blvd., Suite 338 ● Woodland Hills, CA 91364 ● Tel. 818.992.5770 ● Fax 818.992.6624 ● info@saritlaw.com

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