Quote Originally Posted by Jim3k View Post
As for the child who is autistic, is there a way that the county's/state's child protective services can be brought to bear on the parents? It seems to me that a decent argument can be made that these parents are neglecting their child to his/her detriment.

I admit I dunno what the rules are for CPS to become involved in this type of neglect, and I suspect that there are some school district political issues in taking such a step. (Who makes the complaint? Can a complaint be made by another parent? The principal? A teacher on his own? What about the teacher's union? The PTA? School nurse?) Someone must be out there.

BTW, I wouldn't get too concerned about a suit. I expect that even if the district is operating on a tight budget, it has insurance to cover this sort of thing. Maybe the County or State would defend it as well if there is no insurance. Heck, maybe the insurance company has a loss protection expert to call upon.
Is this really neglect? Mis-guided - absolutely. But neglect to demand a child be mainstreamed even if it isn't in the child's best learning interest?

Every situation is different, but the autistic community looks at Temple Grandin as an inspirational example of not giving into professional educators' desires to only teach autistic kids in special ed classes.