"Lucia* was so scared she was hiding under the table and shaking," her mother recalled. A smart, nine-year-old girl with autism, Lucia was in a loud classroom with 30 children. She was terrified to go to school and failing academically.
When we first met Lucia, her mother told us that the school principal ignored her requests for testing and refused to make any changes to her class. Lucia only had two hours every week dedicated to specialized classroom instruction. Her grades were horrible, and she was understandably depressed. Children's Law Center secured an independent evaluation that showed Lucia has anxiety and autism. With the right diagnosis, we helped Lucia get into a new school and a classroom specifically structured for students like her, with an Individualized Education Program that matched her needs. Lucia now balks at the idea of missing school. The girl who once dreaded her classes now loves to go to school. She is already dreaming of being the next Jane Goodall when she grows up. Our lawyers see, over and over, the difference it makes when we advocate to get a child into the right classroom. It can transform a child with a disability from being a frustrated, failing student into a proud, achieving classmate.
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