I have had so many parents of my students with learning disabilities to call me with their worries over their child going from middle school to high school. I tell them they will have to remain vigilant.

A child's Individual Education Plan or 504 Plan is a very legal document and must be followed. Some teachers are most sincerely interested in teaching all students and some are much less interested in whether or not all students are learning.

Perhaps if enough parents voiced their concerns that their child is failing because accomodations are not given as stated on that child's IEP or 504 Plan, someone would get the message and some changes would be made.

For me, as a parent, it meant meetings upon meetings in order for some of the school personnel to fully understand not only what my son's 504 plan meant, but truly, why he needed one.

We, at home with our children, see their hopes and dreams destroyed or nurtured while in school. We are up with them when they are crying into the night. We are there for all the times they wish they could die because they feel like such a loser. It is difficult for teachers and principals to know the real, deep needs of a child unless they have their own personal experiences.

Parents, therefore, must be proactive at all times. They are our children and they deserve the very best education they can get.

Living with OCD

After spending thousands of dollars to have my son's teeth fixed, I see his gums inflammed. He won't floss because he can't quit thinking his hands will slip and suddenly the floss will slice through his gums.

His teeth got into the miserable shape they were in because after braces were put on, braces could not be removed for all the fears of how his teeth would look.

Most days he succeeds in hiding all the demons that sometimes jab into his mind. Some days he doesn't and he'll call me five times. Some days he is on top of the world and sometimes the first thing I hear on the other end is that he will drive his car off a cliff.

Somedays he is hysterically funny. There were too many days before he left high school, when I thought he might not make it another day.

Some of our kids have such serious disorders and yet there are still teachers who are more concerned that these same kids keep their lockers and notebooks in order.

I believe all teachers should have to complete training not only for the exceptional child but also for the child with mental issues. Until ALL educators truly get that some kids need more interventions and modifications than others and that we are not going to make them less responsible because we help them, we will continue to see the drop out rate increase.

Everywhere, we are told college is available for everyone.

The truth is, it isn't. We can no longer claim our son on our federal taxes, yet his ability to afford college is based on our federal tax return.

He has not lived at home in over a year. In fact, he has lived in another state for over a year and been self-supportive. He can't draw any kind of income through social services because he hasn't had a child and because he's single. He doesn't make enough income as a waiter, however, to pay for tuition.

My child's high school career was traumatic in every way. Even with his legal 504 plan in place, his accomodations were not enforced. His one connection with school, an excellent soccer player, was taken away due to poor grades which were due to his having ADHD. We all knew that. He finally had enough. I finally had enough. We all finally had enough. At 16, he walked in to our local community college and obtained his GED.

Now, this very bright young man, who has chosen not succomb to drugs, not to give up on life but to the contrary, insists on his dream of becoming a doctor--no matter the time or the effort. Yet this child cannot get the financial assistance he needs in order to simply begin his journey at a technical college.