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S02.E02: F-I-- FIRST S-E-- SECOND F-- FIRST DAY

Drogo

By Drogo
in Speechless [V]

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Drogo

Drogo

Maya assists other parents of special-needs kids by telling them to demand full-time aides, but this may backfire on her. Meanwhile, Dylan develops a hooky habit; JJ pushes Kenneth toward romance with his teacher; and Jimmy wants an interrupted shower.

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GRChereck

GRChereck

Lots of funny stuff in this one (including such callbacks as JJ's "Emma Watson" search-history and Ray having used Kenneth's hot tub), but also sweet how it touched on issues of privacy and boundaries between Kenneth and JJ -- I'm guessing that little glimpse we got into Kenneth's dating life will be just the beginning of how much more we'll get to know him this season...

The Jimmy plot was a little silly -- if he wanted an uninterrupted shower that badly, he could've started as soon as everyone else left the house, spent as long in there as he liked and possibly been done by the time Dylan was playing hooky in the yard (though I suppose by getting sweaty / dirty first and then shopping for the perfect sponge, he really must have wanted to make the most of it) -- but I loved how it converged with Dylan's plot (their conversation about the all the family's prior moving and how it had been affecting her) and then Maya's (when she was prepared to move the family to yet another school district, and Jimmy stood up to her). :)

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71dude

71dude

(edited)

I was almost disappointed. The opening scenes were pretty sluggish, the Maya plot (with strangers, as in OSCAR PARTY) just didn't interest me, Ray was sidelined and Jimmy was isolated from the others. But they turned it around with the Jimmy/Dylan car scene, Ray and JJ thinking Kenneth is dead ("that's sad"), JJ's bawling and Jimmy standing up for Dylan.

Edited by 71dude
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neuromom

neuromom

I have to rewatch because MY special kid was making too much noise to catch half the show.

However, I did catch Dr Millers reaction when Maya asked HER for help !  Lol!

and I caught part of the convo with JJ and Kenneth talking about boundaries..as JJ was there in a towel, and needing assistance for dressing.  

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bros402

bros402

That episode was good.

However, parts of the episode were making me crazy since I was like "That isn't how it is done! That's not legal under the law!"

But it had some good parts (JJ's search history, pretty much any JJ-Kenneth scene, Dylan & Jimmy).

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readster

readster

4 hours ago, bros402 said:

That episode was good.

However, parts of the episode were making me crazy since I was like "That isn't how it is done! That's not legal under the law!"

But it had some good parts (JJ's search history, pretty much any JJ-Kenneth scene, Dylan & Jimmy).

Yes, there were parents, the legal situation was a bit too much. Even the "I must have my special shower moment" grated a bit even if it segwayed into Maya's plot nicely. Also, good to know how some schools still go: "I can't fire these people, so I can't hire others. Yes, some people who have tenure or find a niche who go: "Oh wait, I have to teach or do my job" play the system, but depending on things, with federal and state laws changing from California to New York. These people aren't as lucky as others and the real problem is, kids with special needs, many states want to just dump them off on schools that have limited budgets or so forth and go: "You figure out how to pay their aids, they just have a right to an education, but pay for it? Good luck." 

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kathyk24

kathyk24

This episode wasn't as good as last week. The show lost me when they claimed that JJ was taking extra money from the Special Education budget. Where are the other disabled kids? I did like the Jimmy Dylan plotline I felt bad for her.

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GRChereck

GRChereck

(edited)

Though Maya's plot in this episode made way less sense to me than her "first-second-first day" bit (which somehow managed to confuse even Ray), I have a feeling it was just to set up the upcoming ep “T-R—Training D-A—Day” (2x4, airing Oct. 18 -- I've already seen the press-release and promo pix for it), which supposedly finds her training the staff and faculty members who have just been picked as the new aides. :\ 

Edited by GRChereck
clarity
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neuromom

neuromom

What I don't get is how all the parents assume that their kids will get one on one aides. It depends on the severity of the disability. It's not "one size fits all". Like, a blind student may only need a part time transcriber. JJ has some severe physical issues that require an aide. 

And Maya should be counting her blessings if she gets 15% more of the budget. Someone isn't doing their job in accounting! It's not that easy to go "over" on what is allotted to you. And like readster said, some districts like to dump their kids. Our district gets the most severe kids from the adjoining affluent district because the kids affect their "high" test scores. Because, good education is all about the "high test scores" right...(sigh) 

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bros402

bros402

3 hours ago, neuromom said:

What I don't get is how all the parents assume that their kids will get one on one aides. It depends on the severity of the disability. It's not "one size fits all". Like, a blind student may only need a part time transcriber. JJ has some severe physical issues that require an aide. 

And Maya should be counting her blessings if she gets 15% more of the budget. Someone isn't doing their job in accounting! It's not that easy to go "over" on what is allotted to you. And like readster said, some districts like to dump their kids. Our district gets the most severe kids from the adjoining affluent district because the kids affect their "high" test scores. Because, good education is all about the "high test scores" right...(sigh) 

I was also thinking that about the 1-on-1s. When I was in HS, there were three kids that shared an aide - they all took the same classes and the aide would help the three of them.

The district JJ goes to sounds like a mythical school district where JJ is the first child to require a paraprofessional - because otherwise, why wouldn't they have been providing one from the first day? Sure, they had a stack of resumes after Maya complained about Kenneth, but, yeeaaaah - Maya seems like the kind of person who would've arranged things with the school ahead of time, especially since the school had a meeting about Maya to prepare for her.

Though all of those students with disabilities suddenly transferring into the school would probably set off some alarm bells at the state - since they probably went from 0% to 5% in a year - or at least "hey they need more Section 611 funds!!!!"

Maybe JJ had all of the funds to himself.

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AllyB

AllyB

2 hours ago, bros402 said:

The district JJ goes to sounds like a mythical school district where JJ is the first child to require a paraprofessional - because otherwise, why wouldn't they have been providing one from the first day? Sure, they had a stack of resumes after Maya complained about Kenneth, but, yeeaaaah - Maya seems like the kind of person who would've arranged things with the school ahead of time, especially since the school had a meeting about Maya to prepare for her.

The school did provide JJ with an aide on the first day but JJ hated her as she refused to speak the words he chose as she thought it was rude.

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readster

readster

(edited)
2 hours ago, AllyB said:

The school did provide JJ with an aide on the first day but JJ hated her as she refused to speak the words he chose as she thought it was rude.

Which is more common than you think. I do agree, the way they set up the school's SpEd program really doesn't make sense in many ways. It's like a kid with an IEP because they have a breathing issue, they don't require an aid or anything, but since they have a minor medical condition, the Fed law requires that students have it because "they are different". Yet, you get kids and parents who play the system because they have a minor condition. Yet, they choose to sleep in class, avoid going to after school detention or even bothering to do any work because: "What's the point, my parents course by in life." Yet their doctors or counselors say: "Cut them some slack." Yet here with JJ, they act like he is a drain on them, but seriously, he as normal outside of unable to speak and ability to walk. He's a kid I loved to teach. 

Edited by readster
than not that.
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Crs97

Crs97

Not as good as previous episodes.  

I do remember when we moved here from another state, hubby visited several school districts to discuss their available special services.  He said some schools were more welcoming than others when hearing we would add a preschooler and kindergartener to their numbers, and both would probably require an aide.  Having that many families show up at once would wreak havoc on the school budget I am sure.

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bros402

bros402

21 hours ago, AllyB said:

The school did provide JJ with an aide on the first day but JJ hated her as she refused to speak the words he chose as she thought it was rude.

I believe the aide was provided by an outside agency - remember, they went somewhere and they were introduced to the aide? I was under the impression that that wasn't the district, otherwise they might've fleshed that out more.

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SnarkySheep

SnarkySheep

On 10/4/2017 at 10:22 PM, GRChereck said:

The Jimmy plot was a little silly

Yeah, not to mention that he seemed to be home all day...and we know he leaves the house early for work, essentially when the kids go to school. Did Jimmy take time off work just to shower?

 

On 10/6/2017 at 2:53 AM, bros402 said:

What I don't get is how all the parents assume that their kids will get one on one aides. It depends on the severity of the disability. It's not "one size fits all". Like, a blind student may only need a part time transcriber. JJ has some severe physical issues that require an aide. 

Right. And it's not really a matter of funding - if a student has a legit need for an aide, for specialized transportation, for whatever adaptations are deemed necessary in the IEP, the school district MUST provide them. An IEP is a legal document, meaning that if you do not provide what the student needs for any reason, you can be hit with a serious lawsuit. The school can't just say, "Oh, we don't have the money," and expect the family to go away. It's the same as when you have homeless students. You are legally obligated to do whatever it takes for those students to be in school each day and to be able to learn to the fullest of their abilities.

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GRChereck

GRChereck

(edited)
3 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Yeah, not to mention that he seemed to be home all day...and we know he leaves the house early for work, essentially when the kids go to school. Did Jimmy take time off work just to shower?

In the season premiere, when JJ reunited with his family, I recall somebody saying that "tomorrow is the last day before school"; and the next morning, while they were on the road to find JJ's camp friend, Jimmy called at work to say he was going to need the next 2 days off (or something like that).

Apparently, when the trip ended up not taking as long as he'd thought it would, I guess he decided to take off that time (the first day or two of school) anyway to do what he wanted, rather than call back at work to say he changed his mind and was coming in after all. :)

Edited by GRChereck
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bros402

bros402

5 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Right. And it's not really a matter of funding - if a student has a legit need for an aide, for specialized transportation, for whatever adaptations are deemed necessary in the IEP, the school district MUST provide them. An IEP is a legal document, meaning that if you do not provide what the student needs for any reason, you can be hit with a serious lawsuit. The school can't just say, "Oh, we don't have the money," and expect the family to go away. It's the same as when you have homeless students. You are legally obligated to do whatever it takes for those students to be in school each day and to be able to learn to the fullest of their abilities.

Yep. My school district did that with my parents when I was in 2nd grade and they bought it because they believed the school - had no OT after that and when I started OT again at 18, I wasn't able to make any more progress.

The first step most likely wouldn't be a lawsuit though, they'd probably file for due process first, see if the ruling of the administrative law judge is satisfactory, and go from there. Homeless students are covered under the MacKinney Act or something like that - even more complicated if it is a disabled homeless student.

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topanga

topanga

On 10/5/2017 at 1:02 AM, neuromom said:

I have to rewatch because MY special kid was making too much noise to catch half the show.

However, I did catch Dr Millers reaction when Maya asked HER for help !  Lol!

and I caught part of the convo with JJ and Kenneth talking about boundaries..as JJ was there in a towel, and needing assistance for dressing.  

I thought the episode was hilarious, though the Jimmy plot was a little weak. 

Maya had some funny moments: the flashback of the disability conference when she invited herself on stage and took over the presentation, and her fake American accent. Which was even funnier if you know that Minnie Drver has a great American accent. 

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Mrs. Hanson

Mrs. Hanson

On 10/10/2017 at 1:56 AM, bros402 said:

An IEP is a legal document, meaning that if you do not provide what the student needs for any reason, you can be hit with a serious lawsuit.

Yep - special ed teacher chiming in to say:  An IEP is a federal law document and it trumps everything.  Regular education teacher says she can't help?  Too bad - we all gotta make it work.  All IEP's are different based on the ability of the kid (not disability) and we go from there.  We "on the inside" cringe when we hear folks at a neighborood BBQ saying "Well just get in there and DEMAND IT!"  It does not work that way.  

 

On 10/10/2017 at 1:56 AM, bros402 said:

My school district did that with my parents when I was in 2nd grade and they bought it because they believed the school - had no OT after that and when I started OT again at 18, I wasn't able to make any more progress.

I am sorry that happened.  In a good (and ethical) district one has to provide services on the IEP or provide lots and lots (and lots) of documentation that the service is not longer needed.

 

On 10/6/2017 at 6:52 AM, readster said:

He's a kid I loved to teach. 

Me too.

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bros402

bros402

(edited)
13 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Yep - special ed teacher chiming in to say:  An IEP is a federal law document and it trumps everything.  Regular education teacher says she can't help?  Too bad - we all gotta make it work.  All IEP's are different based on the ability of the kid (not disability) and we go from there.  We "on the inside" cringe when we hear folks at a neighborood BBQ saying "Well just get in there and DEMAND IT!"  It does not work that way.  

 

I am sorry that happened.  In a good (and ethical) district one has to provide services on the IEP or provide lots and lots (and lots) of documentation that the service is not longer needed.

 

Me too.

I'm a certified special education (read: unemployed) teacher. Yeah, the district I was in stopped OT for me because they would've had to hire another OT - and they justified it in the paperwork because I was being removed from a self-contained classroom at the time. Even the special education teacher didn't want the OT stopped (They left documentation of it in my file). After I got my file after graduation, I read through the entire thing. Super fun read. One time they contacted my eye doctor because they wanted to know how bad the vision was in my bad eye. The letter they got back from the eye doctor was pretty much "Uhhhh you don't have a release from the parents, we can't release anything to you." with a note from the case manager on it saying "why won't they tell us??"

My district also didn't do triennials. Had my intake eval after I was transferred from county EIP, then an eval entering Kindergarten, then nothing. They did an evaluation in 10th grade when I was applying for SAT accommodations and the SAT people asked my case manager to send in my triennial, then my case manager was like "huh?" - called the sped head for the district, who wrote a letter to her saying to do the evaluation ASAP to cover the district. In the last decade when I graduated they have had to pay a bunch in DP settlements.

Edited by bros402
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