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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Tanesha Grant, Director of Parents Supporting Parents New York, on Special Education and Autism Services
5:44:19
·
3 min
Tanesha Grant, director of Parents Supporting Parents New York and grandmother of four children with special needs, testifies about the lack of adequate support for students with autism in NYC schools, particularly in District 75. She emphasizes the need for more AIM, Nest, and Horizon programs to meet the growing demand for autism services.
- Highlights the personal toll on families when children with autism don't have access to appropriate programs
- Criticizes the DOE's plan to expand capacity by only 100 children in the next fiscal year as insufficient
- Calls for the City Council to prioritize funding for autism services in the budget
Tanesha Grant
5:44:19
I'm Tanisha Grant, director of Parent Supporting Parents New York.
5:44:24
I am also the grandmother of four children who have special needs and are on the autism spectrum.
5:44:32
My oldest grandchild is not verbal and high on the spectrum.
5:44:37
He's eight years old and has been in a d 75 school.
5:44:42
Thank you.
5:44:44
With no AIM program.
5:44:49
Often the school calls my daughter when my grandson has a meltdown.
5:44:56
Their only answer is to send him home.
5:45:02
These 75 schools do not have the support he needs.
5:45:09
In my neighborhood, there was only one less program.
5:45:14
Please understand the toll this takes on our kids not having access to these programs, and it also weighs heavy on our families.
5:45:30
I heard the DOE talk about expanding capacity by a little over 100 children in the next fiscal year.
5:45:41
It's not even the floor of what they need for access to AIM nesting horizon.
5:45:47
Chair Brennan and Chair Joseph, I have been an advocate on the front lines of education for decades, way before my grandkids were born.
5:45:58
I am an experience in education and have context in education, but still my grandkids don't have access.
5:46:06
So we know parents that might not be as knowledgeable as I am have children with no access to AIM, Nest, or Horizon.
5:46:16
More than thirty six children are diagnosed with autism nationally, and it's extremely irresponsible on the Department of Education Park to not meet the needs of our students who are autistic.
5:46:29
We have money to pay the chancellor over 400,000 a year, but we don't have the money to fully fund all the services that our children deserve.
5:46:42
Not only does it take a toll on my on my on my grandchildren, but it takes a toll on my daughter.
5:46:48
I don't get to spend the time that I need to spend with them because I'm too busy advocating for everything that they're supposed to get.
5:46:56
I thank y'all for your advocacy, and y'all know usually I'm the strong one, but it's it's it's coming to the point where we don't know what to do.
5:47:07
Even us who stand out here, we don't know what to do and where to get these services, so I really when y'all think about this budget, please think about our children who are on the spectrum that are not getting the education that they deserve.
5:47:22
Thank you.