PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Catherine Encarnacion, Parent of a Child with Disability
5:58:44
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Catherine Encarnacion, a parent from the Bronx, testifies about the significant delays and challenges in obtaining special education services for her 4-year-old son with a disability. She highlights the lack of response from the DOE and CPSE, and the impact of these delays on her son's development and her own employment.
- Despite being approved for speech and occupational therapy in August 2023, her son has not received speech therapy, and occupational therapy only started after hiring an advocate.
- The family has resorted to paying for private speech therapy they can barely afford, as the DOE has not provided the mandated services.
- Catherine emphasizes the crucial nature of early intervention and pleads for the council to ensure timely provision of services and greater accountability from the DOE.
Catherine Encarnacion
5:58:44
Honorable members of the council, thank you for the opportunity to speak.
5:58:47
My name is Catherine, and I live in the Bronx.
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I am the parent of Luke, a 4 year old student with a disability.
5:58:54
My son transitioned to CPSC from early intervention in August of 2023, wherein his IEP meeting, he was approved for speech and occupational therapy and then a c a.
5:59:06
After over a year of no response where I had sent countless emails and phone calls to the DOE and CPS e one, I had to hire a student advocate as my son's behavior and development were severely declining.
5:59:21
Only after this was I finally able to get an actual copy of my son's IEP and have occupational therapy start after over a year of waiting.
5:59:31
To this day, I'm still waiting for my son to receive the speech therapy he desperately needs, and no other alternative options or vouchers have been offered.
5:59:41
I've missed work, nearly lost my job because of my son's needs have not been met.
5:59:47
My son's teachers have pleaded for help, and they also as well have received minimal to no response from the DOE and CPSC 1.
5:59:57
Twice, I myself have found DOE approved speech providers only to be met with silence and lost opportunity for my son to get services.
6:00:05
As a last resort, I recently started to pay for a private speech therapist only 30 minutes a week that I can barely afford when he is approved for 3 30 minute session a week on his IEP.
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The IDE under the IDE, my son should be getting these services as per his IEP without any cost or burden.
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My son is falling behind.
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His behavior is being impacted because he can't communicate clearly.
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You can only imagine how frustrated a child grows who cannot communicate.
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The first few years of a child's life are crucial.
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We are witnessing precious developmental time slip away, a time that can never be recovered.
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Please ensure that enough providers are hired and that the DOE is held accountable to respond to parents, and services are provided in a timely manner.
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There should be visibility on the efforts that have been done to get services.
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The older a child get, the it's harder for a child to get these services.
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Imagine if this was your child.
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Would you stand for this?
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I am begging you to intervene.
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Help my child.
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Help all the children like him get the services they desperately need.
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These are not just names on a screen, your honorable members.
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These are real children with real needs and real families facing immense stress and anxiety.
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While the school day ends, the challenges for parents like me do not.
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Thank you.