Winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing. ~Vince Lombardi (maybe)
When it comes to representing a child with a disability, winning is the only thing for us. An appropriate educational program is your child’s entitlement. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is an entitlement statute that ensures that once a child is determined eligible for special education services, he is entitled to a free appropriate public education. This is what we fight for every day. We fight to win. In two recent cases, we significantly prevailed on behalf of two children with autism.
In a case involving a 5 year old girl with autism, the hearing officer awarded her 460 hours of 1:1 ABA and 4 hours per month of in-home Parent Training and Counseling with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) as a “compensatory education” award. This award is intended to compensate her for the DOE’s failure to provide her with ABA during the school-year. ABA has been proven to be effective for many children with autism. We know that this child’s access to a quality ABA program will make a difference in her life.
Also important to this student is the hearing officer’s award of transportation to and from school in a mini wagon or car, with a paraprofessional and no more that three students in the vehicle. The hearing officer found that “the school district, which has the burden of proof, has utterly failed in its Prong 1 burden of showing that it has provided an appropriate education.” We couldn’t agree more.
Key to our success in these cases was our presentation of robust clinical evidence that each of these students required an intensive level of services in order to make meaningful educational progress. A successful outcome requires a strong and qualified team of professionals who are well prepared to present the evidence.
We work as a team to achieve the result your child needs. Contact Tracey at tracey@spencerwalshlaw.com.
My association with Tracey spans more than three years now and I could not have asked for a more knowledgeable, personable and high integrity advocate for our child with special needs… Tracey’s attention to detail and her ability to leverage her expertise to achieve the best outcome possible for her clients is exemplary. However, the most outstanding quality in her is the empathetic way in which she connects with her clients and their causes. Tracey is one of the most formidable allies and the most trustworthy advocate a client can hope for.”
I am happy to say that my son has just completed his first year of kindergarten at Rebecca School. Thanks to Tracey and her team, we received reimbursement of 100% of tuition fees from the NYC Department of Education. My son is so happy at school; he is so much more confident – improvements have been tremendous! It was a marathon, but Tracey’s unwavering support in a very difficult situation and proactive approach got us to where we needed to be. I believe Tracey’s extensive networking in the autism world helped us stay ahead of the game.
My daughter is learning disabled and her needs were ignored by the school district for years. They never followed her recommended IEP, and when the elementary school gave her a 504 plan, at the start of Middle School the district removed the Plan without notifying me or my husband. The district gave my daughter a middle school diploma even though she had bad grades the whole time. In high school, she continued to struggle and started avoiding school. I didn’t know the law then. I am a Spanish-speaking immigrant and we don’t know what our legal rights are for school issues. I believed the school staff until I started to research how I could help my daughter. I decided I needed a lawyer to help me with this mess. I talked to 3 lawyers. They all told me there was nothing they could do until I found Tracey Walsh and I sent her all of the information. She told me she could help my daughter, and she did make this happen. She proved to our school district that, in fact, my daughter has a learning disability and ADD, and they finally offered to help my daughter without us having to go to court. Tracey’s legal service made the district pay for all requested testing to prove my daughter had a disability, and after that, the school district held a resolution meeting with us and placed my daughter in a school that can help her with her problems. The district stopped ignoring my requests for help because they didn’t want me to bring Tracey Walsh around. So now, my daughter is going to get the help that she needed for all these years, and only because of Tracey Walsh – she was the only lawyer that would get involved in my daughter’s case.
I have worked with a number of attorneys at different times in my career I can easily say that Ms. Walsh is among the most diligent, talented, and dedicated I have known. In addition, Ms. Walsh is easy to work with in that she is very clear in her requirements, helpful in resolving problems, and always aware the details I may I have missed. I have no reservations in offering her my recommendation.