Jennie Bourgeois

By Raymond Castile
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 3:13 AM CDT

Julie Zatorski did not believe a learning disability could just disappear.

So she was baffled when a middle school removed her daughter, Melissa Zatorski, from a special education program last year and placed her in a regular seventh-grade classroom.

“They threw her in the shark tank,” said Zatorski, 51. “Her grades plummeted and her self-esteem went down.”

Melissa, 13, had an individualized education program (IEP) that called for basic math courses. The school took Melissa off her IEP after its own testing showed she no longer had learning disabilities, said Zatorski, of St. Peters.

She contacted Family Advocacy and Community Training (FACT), a nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. FACT’s advocacy program educates parents about their public school rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

FACT had already helped Zatorski with her son, Daniel, who has autism.

“It’s very intimidating to be a parent by yourself in a room full of school administrators,” Zatorski said. “They are sitting around, spouting jargon. It is almost like you need an interpreter. But FACT case workers can speak their language.”

Lynn Foust, FACT advocacy supervisor, took Melissa’s case. Foust collected the girl’s school files, reviewed her records, and met with school officials.

“I know the federal regulations in my sleep.” Foust said. “I know the IEP process. If they start using acronyms, I can tell the parent what they mean, what they are proposing, what they are refusing. I also teach the parent advocacy skills, so eventually they can advocate on their own.”

An independent test revealed Melissa still had multiple learning disabilities, but the school refused to accept the results, Zatorski said. Foust helped convince the school to retest Melissa. The school’s second test confirmed the independent test results. The school restored Melissa’s IEP and put her back in special education classes.

“It makes a big difference,” Zatorski said. “Her self-esteem has gone up. She is doing better on her grades.”

Foust said she does not want to create an antagonistic relationship between parents and school officials.

“I need to strengthen the relationship between the school and the parent,” Foust said. “After the file is closed, that child still has to go to that school.”

Denise Gould, FACT executive director, said parents ultimately are their children’s best advocates. They just need help navigating the maze of school procedures and government regulations. FACT conducts workshops to teach parents about the special education process and trains them to communicate more effectively with educators, Gould said.

Audrey Yarbrough and Judy Young founded FACT in 1987. Yarbrough said she was frustrated with trying to obtain school services for her two sons with learning disabilities.

“I was hearing that my sons were not trying, not fitting in,” Yarbrough said. “I was told I was the only parent asking these kinds of questions at school.”

In 1984, Yarbrough started a support group for parents of children with learning disabilities.

“I thought starting a support group would verify whether I was crazy, or if other parents had the same issues,” she said.

In one year, the group grew from eight parents to more than 100. Two years later, the support group had evolved into FACT.

The organization employs 15 staff members. Three years ago, it moved into its current offices at 800 Friedens Road, suite 200, in St. Charles.

FACT also runs the Partnership with Families program in partnership with Crider Health Center. The program focuses on children in danger of being removed from their home and placed in foster care, residential homes or the juvenile justice system. FACT works to keep the families intact, sending “parent partners” to the families’ homes.

The FACT People First program teaches adults with developmental disabilities to impact their communities and push for change in state and federal laws.

“Everyone who works at FACT is the parent of a child with developmental disabilities or emotional disorders, so we have walked a mile in those shoes,” said Gould, 54.

Gould, of St. Peters, began her walk 25 years ago with the birth of her son, David Gould.

“We immediately knew something was wrong,” Denise Gould said. “He wouldn’t feed, wouldn’t suck. He would vomit 10 or 12 times a day. He spent his first 18 months in and out of the hospital.”

David’s symptoms puzzled doctors, who could offer no diagnosis besides “failure to thrive,” Gould said. It took four years for doctors to diagnose more specific conditions, including oral apraxia, an inability to coordinate oral muscle movements. David also had learning disabilities, Tourette syndrome and a seizure disorder. Functionally non-verbal, he communicated using sign language and computer devices.

“The doctor said we need to put him in an institution and get on with our lives,” Gould said. “We didn’t want to do that.”

Gould wanted David to attend public school with his neighborhood friends, children who understood him and looked out for him. But the school district wanted to place David in a special state school. Gould turned to FACT and Yarbrough for help.

“Audrey taught me strategies and how to use my voice in effective ways to communicate with schools,” Gould said. “She told me what David’s rights were and she went with me to the school. That made me feel empowered and supported. She was my guide.”

The school hired additional staff to work with David, keeping him in regular education classrooms. David graduated with the rest of his class in 2003. He now has a hotel job and lives on his own.

“He has a full life and many friends,” Gould said. “Now he can advocate for himself. That is the outcome of successful educators and advocacy.”

For more information, visit www.factmo.org or call 636-949-2425, ext. 256.

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