Ruling supports autistic student, District told to pay for specialized care

By Kevin Vaughan,
Rocky Mountain News
July 15, 2005

A ruling requiring a Northern Colorado school district to pay for an autistic student's stay at a specialized Boston treatment center - a bill that's at $200,000 and growing - could set a dangerous precedent, harming thousands of students in an effort to help a handful of youngsters, administrators say. The Thompson School District in Larimer County was ordered earlier this month to reimburse the family of 10-year-old Luke Perkins for his stay at Boston Higashi School, where he has lived with other autistic students since Jan. 12, 2004.

Read full article at:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3928350,00.html


Read a response from Luke's father:

Speakout: Special ed reimbursement will pay off in end
By Dr. Jeffrey D. Perkins,
Special to the News
July 31, 2005

I feel that many people, the editors of the News included, are forming opinions based on incomplete and faulty information regarding the recent decision about education reimbursement for my son, Luke Perkins ("When is special ed bill too high?" July 26 editorial, and "Ruling supports autistic student/District told to pay for specialized care," July 15).

First, the News editorial, as well as many of the other stories in the press, imply that our concern as Luke's parents centered around Luke not making enough progress at Berthoud Elementary. In fact, Luke was regressing at an alarming rate, both educationally and behaviorally.

Full article available at:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_3964803,00.htm

For more information and resources on autism, go to:
http://www.autismconcepts.com/.