This morning

klmno

Active Member
I spent about 2 hours on the phone with the office of child protection & advocacy (VOPA) getting their opinions and seeing if they could help- they let me apply to see if they can provide free advocacy and/or legal services to try to get difficult child more services- in any way.

Then, I spent about 1 1/2 hour on a conference call with a couple of people from PEATC. They are going to email me some stuff that might help me at the iep meeting. They would provide me with a lits of advocates but apparently, they don't have any for my area. Now, I'm in an urban area near the capitol- I can't believe the lack of resources here. And the few resources that appear "on paper" have walls thrown up around them. At least I'm finally talking to a couple of people around here that see that and acknowledge it, too! I mentioned to them about the discovery yesterday that on our state's website for special education (thru the state DOE website), there is a list of resources and at least 1/3 of them are non-existent- the links only list inconsequential advertisements. One lady said she already was aware of it- and it is a shame. They said I was lucky that VOPA even let me apply - that most people don't even get that far.

Now, as soon as my phone charges up, I need to call social services and see what they say. But, I had planned to go to work for a while- I desparately need to and take difficult child with me, then go run errands- including getting his script filled and picking up groceries. Any I can get all that done in the next 4 1/2 hours?
 
B

bran155

Guest
I am exhausted for you!!! Just the phone calls alone are tiring, not to mention FRUSTRATING. I hope you make some headway.

Hang in there. :)
 

maril

New Member
Hey, warrior mom - hang in there! Hopefully, all will get done by the end of the day. Hope you can find time to relax and enjoy things with family over the holidays.
 

everywoman

Well-Known Member
Have you tried calling your local legislators office? Sometimes they can step in and get the ball rolling and break down some walls.
 

eekysign

New Member
Hey! I think I know which area o' the world you're in. I saw you posted in TerryJ2's thread earlier----honestly, give a call over to the Children's Clinic at UR Law, and see if they are accepting new cases when the new semester starts. If they have room, and you're the type of case they think they can help, they're a good resource.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I think you should definitely apply at Children's. Also call the head honcho at the Dept. of Family Services or whatever it is called in VA. I mean the very head person in Richmond at the top of the list. I called the head honcho in Raleigh and got help for Cory years ago.
 

klmno

Active Member
Thank you all for the support and suggestions of places to call! Janet- are they through social services or are you talking about the service board that funds extra services?
 

CrazyinVA

Well-Known Member
Staff member
HUGS. Great suggestions by all. VOPA gave me some decent advice when I talked to them a few years ago.

Another resource I found was the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation... I know it's not local but their education director spent an hour on the phone withe me a few years ago and was VERY helpful.

HUGS.
 

klmno

Active Member
Thank you! I use that website a lot- it's a great resource- I didn't realize that they had anyone, much less a director, who would talk to a person on the phone....thank you very much!!
 
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