Autism Advocates in Action-Open Letter to Gov. Nixon | Council for Autism and Neurodiversity
Autism Advocates in Action-Open Letter to Gov. Nixon | Council for Autism and Neurodiversity
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3222
Governor,
I am the mother of an 18 year old autistic child. He is kind,
honest, caring, and intelligent. He was forced to drop out of high
school at the age of 16. He was being emotionally and psychologically
abused by the system. He was forced to take medication just to walk
through the doors of school. The medication damaged his liver and we
had to discontinue its use. His psychiatrist said that he was no longer
learning and he was not receiving the services that he so desperately
needed so he might as well just drop out. He will never leave home.
My son has been abused by the Lee’s Summit R7 School District, the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the United
States of America Department of Education, and my own Missouri
Representative.
For the past six years I have fought for the rights of my son and
others that are not receiving the free and appropriate education that
they are federally entitled to.
I have not done this for money, for awards, for political power, or
to further my career. I have done this because there are hundreds of
children that are not going to have the future that they might have had
if they had received the services and education that they should have.
I attend IEP meetings with families that don’t have the time or the
resources to learn about their rights. I take dozens of phone calls a
week from crying mothers that don’t know what to do.
I don’t charge for what I do and I never will. The gas to drive to
meetings comes out of my pocket. The time I spend on this is taken away
from my family. The cost to me is far less than to the families whose
lives are being destroyed by a system that is corrupt and uncaring.
I was a member of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education Special Education Advisory Panel. It was a futile attempt to
work within the system for these families. I resigned because it
became obvious that DESE was just following OSEP regulations and that
nothing would really ever change.
I am writing to you because I believe that there needs to be a major
overhaul in Missouri. We can’t afford to rob these children of their
futures and their ability to be successful adults. Every day that we
continue to allow this we are adding to the population of adults that
will end up on SSI. If we refuse to look at this from a moral or
ethical point of view then we need to look at it from a fiscal point of
view.
Please take into consideration the information that I have provided
for you. I can provide you with concrete information if you need it. I
beg that you save these children.
Sincerely,
Sherri R. Tucker
Cc
Autism Advocates in Action-Open Letter to Gov. Nixon
Office of Governor Jay NixonP.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3222
Governor,
I am the mother of an 18 year old autistic child. He is kind,
honest, caring, and intelligent. He was forced to drop out of high
school at the age of 16. He was being emotionally and psychologically
abused by the system. He was forced to take medication just to walk
through the doors of school. The medication damaged his liver and we
had to discontinue its use. His psychiatrist said that he was no longer
learning and he was not receiving the services that he so desperately
needed so he might as well just drop out. He will never leave home.
My son has been abused by the Lee’s Summit R7 School District, the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the United
States of America Department of Education, and my own Missouri
Representative.
For the past six years I have fought for the rights of my son and
others that are not receiving the free and appropriate education that
they are federally entitled to.
I have not done this for money, for awards, for political power, or
to further my career. I have done this because there are hundreds of
children that are not going to have the future that they might have had
if they had received the services and education that they should have.
I attend IEP meetings with families that don’t have the time or the
resources to learn about their rights. I take dozens of phone calls a
week from crying mothers that don’t know what to do.
I don’t charge for what I do and I never will. The gas to drive to
meetings comes out of my pocket. The time I spend on this is taken away
from my family. The cost to me is far less than to the families whose
lives are being destroyed by a system that is corrupt and uncaring.
I was a member of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education Special Education Advisory Panel. It was a futile attempt to
work within the system for these families. I resigned because it
became obvious that DESE was just following OSEP regulations and that
nothing would really ever change.
I am writing to you because I believe that there needs to be a major
overhaul in Missouri. We can’t afford to rob these children of their
futures and their ability to be successful adults. Every day that we
continue to allow this we are adding to the population of adults that
will end up on SSI. If we refuse to look at this from a moral or
ethical point of view then we need to look at it from a fiscal point of
view.
Please take into consideration the information that I have provided
for you. I can provide you with concrete information if you need it. I
beg that you save these children.
Sincerely,
Sherri R. Tucker
Cc
- Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst, R-St. Louis County
- Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City
- Rep. Doug Funderburk, R-St. Peters
- Rep Kurt Bahr, R-St. Charles
- Rep. Mike Leara, R-St. Louis County
- Rep. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit
- Rep. Ira Anders, D-Independence
- Rep. Chris Carter, D-St. Louis
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