Blind toddler granted special education services

Filed by Kay Young

Posted: june 4, 2008 03:57 PM EDT

Updated: June 26, 2008 12:25 AM EDT

UPDATE: "She's going to go to school," Kim and Brant Edgar said, thrilled that their daughter Grace will receive special education next fall.

Two-and-a-half year old Grace is blind in both eyes. Her parents have been determined to get her special education services. Without it, they say they believe it would be impossible for her to find success in preschool. After a second meeting to see if Gracie qualifies for special education, the Edgars are excited about the future.

"Everyone really knew what was best for Gracie today. And I think that we couldn't have asked for better results," Kim told WAVY.com.

Brant added, "Everyone was professional. It was the way that it should have gone the first time."

The first time, an eligibility team from Norfolk Public Schools denied Gracie services. According to the Norfolk Public School Eligibility Summary, the team decided she is NOT DISABLED. WAVY.com met with the school system's Director of Special Education services who told us the public schools DO serve toddlers with significant visual impairments.

"In my professional opinion, it appears based on that, the child would be eligible for special education services," Dr. Joan Anderson told us earlier this month.

Thursday, the team agreed. The eligibility meeting only took a few minutes. Then the team went to work on an individual education plan for Grace.

Kim said, "She's going to learn a lot of braille readiness skills. She's going to have a vision teacher who's going to be working with her, as well as working with Gracie's teacher to implement the specialized things for Gracie that she's going to need."

The Edgars say they'll work to help Gracie get ready for the fall - now it's with a new excitement.

"I feel a huge relief. It doesn't feel like we're in a fight anymore," Brant said.

Previous Coverage:

Local blind child denied special education re-evaluated

Tuesday, specialists with Norfolk Public Schools re-evaluated Grace Edgar, a blind Norfolk child who was denied special education.

Last month a special education team told her parents, Grace was not eligible for services because she is *not* disabled.

Grace is blind in both eyes. Now the toddler and her parents will get a new eligibility hearing later this week. Thursday is the tentative appointment.

Previous Coverage:

Blind, but not disabled?

NORFOLK, VA. (WAVY.com) -- A child with a disability that could impact their education - is entitled to special education services under federal law - as outlined in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

Grace Edgar's parents say her blindness is a disability that could hold her back. They also say it's Norfolk Public Schools' responsibility to help their two and a half year old. So, Brant and Kim Edgar took steps to move Gracie from the Norfolk Infant Development Program to pre-kindergarten with special education assistance in the Norfolk Public School system. They hit a road block.

The Edgars say they were told their daughter is not eligible, because she is "not disabled."

Kim Edgar shared her reaction with WAVY.com.

"You're telling us our daughter doesn't get special education services, she's blind. We know that Gracie needs it. That's a horrifying thought to think she doesn't get it," Kim said.

The Edgars followed the process outlined for eligibility evaluations in March. They say they, Gracie, and her current therapist, met with a team of Norfolk Public School teachers and specialists in March. Sixty-five days later, in May, the Edgars received the decision. An "X" marks the box next to "student is NOT disabled" on Gracie's eligibility summary. Someone from the team typed NOT DISABLED in response to the question, "Does this student require special education?"

The Edgars were shocked.

"We were told that Gracie does not qualify for special education, because she is not disabled."

Grace uses a cane to navigate. Her mom said it really helps with curbs or steps.

"She knows not only is it a step down, but she knows how far it is. Sometimes that can be really horrifying for a blind child, to have to step down and not really know how far down it is," Kim said.

Grace's dad Brant was outraged, saying "You can't put our daughter in a general education class. There needs to be things to facilitate her learning....It's in black and white. Our daughter is eligible to receive special education. It's a federal law.""

Kim added, "We've kind of been thrown out on our own to figure out what we can do to get Gracie help. It's exhausting and it's frustrating and it just feels really wrong."

The Edgars worry that Grace will fall behind without help.

"She's at the point where she can begin learning that A is for apple and B is for bird, and all those things. But being in a classroom, she's not going to see that up on a wall," Kim said.

The Special Education Senior Director for Norfolk Public Schools explained to WAVY.com that Norfolk helps more than 49-hundred children under IDEA. Services even include specialized instruction for blind, preschool aged kids - like Grace.

Dr. Joan Anderson was not involved in Grace Edgar's initial eligibility meetings, or the decision that followed.

"Well we have books that have texture. So certainly a child would be able to feel the textures in the books and talk about the stories, and talk about the pictures, and learn the vocabulary," Anderson said.

Speaking only in general terms because of confidentiality laws, Anderson gave WAVY.com a list of disabilities that could qualify a student for services. Consistent with federal guidelines, the Norfolk list includes visual impairment.

During our conversation, Anderson gave a general example of how the school system could decide a child is eligible for service.

"For example," she said, "there could be a child with a significant vision impairment that we already can identify at that age. Then we would do that, however, the place we would serve that child would be in our preschool program."

That's precisely what the Edgar's had hoped for, for their daughter - until the team concluded Grace was not disabled.

My next general question for Anderson: "Would there be a reason not to provide services for that child, a child that can not see?"

Anderson's response: "In my professional opinion, it appears based on that, the child would be eligible for special education services."

After our interview, with the Edgar's permission, Anderson looked into Grace's case. She told WAVY.com that "after a preliminary look at the paperwork, there might have been an error in identifying the child as not disabled."

http://www.wavy.com/global/story.asp?s=8431866