{"id":9820,"date":"2019-04-20T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maderatribustg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=9820"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:29:25","slug":"daisy-has-autism-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/daisy-has-autism-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Daisy has Autism II"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Author\u2019s note: Today\u2019s column is Part II of a review of the book, \u201cDaisy Has Autism,\u201d by Aaron J. Wright, a graduate of the 1993 class of Madera High School. The story tells of the trials of Arthur and Annie Russell, parents of a daughter, Magdalena, who has autism. The Russells also have a dog, Daisy, that has autism. The book, using psuedonyms, describes the struggles the Russells have with their school district in the attempt to obtain \u201cspecial education\u201d for Magdalena. \u201cMagda,\u201d as the child is called, meanwhile, clings to the dog for friendship.<\/em><\/p>

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>

\u201cMagdalena Mae Russell does not meet California qualification criteria for special education.\u201d Thus did the Yolano Union School District make its first conspiratorial move in its determination to deny special education services to Magda Russell, daughter of Arthur and Annie Russell.<\/p>

Magda was the victim of autism, and the Russells knew that she would never make it in school without help. What they didn\u2019t know was the extent to which their school district would go to save money by denying their daughter special education services.<\/p>

The list of conspirators and co-conspirators is long and distinguished. It begins with Diego Braeburn, a YUSD counselor for special education, who issued the first denial of the Russell\u2019s request for services based upon tests he administered to Magda.<\/p>

Notwithstanding the fact that Arthur demonstrated that Braeburn\u2019s assessment was patently flawed, the administrator held fast to his contention that Magda Russell was not in need of special education services. He claimed that she scored higher than 80 percent of her peers on a crucial language test. Never mind that he helped her with the answers.<\/p>

When Arthur and Annie protested Braeburn\u2019s conclusions, the conspirators took a second step. They scheduled a meeting between the Russells and Braeburn and Adam Del Norte, YUSD site administrator for special education. Del Norte was notorious for blocking kids from special education.<\/p>

Del Norte confirmed Braeburn\u2019s evaluation. He said that Magda\u2019s needs could be met in regular classrooms; she didn\u2019t need special education. In the same breath, he decried the use of private therapists in educational matters. At that point, the Russells asked for an independent evaluation, which moved them up one notch in the conspiracy.<\/p>

In order to get an independent evaluation, the Russells were told they would first have to go to \u201cTier Three,\u201d a trio of specialists headed by psychologist Alice Sutter.<\/p>

In the Tier Three meeting, Sutter began by stating she wanted to test Magda for a disability other than autism, which made the Russells shake their heads in disbelief. Sutter went on to say that she would allow an independent evaluator, but he would have to attend a four-hour meeting, be interviewed by Sutter, and conduct classroom observations. The Russells hired Ben Seckel as their independent evaluator, and he tested Magda.<\/p>

Seckel\u2019s private evaluation showed that Magda definitely qualified for special education according to the state\u2019s criteria. Her ability to express and understand language fell well below the required 7th percentile, which radically contradicted Braeburn\u2019s conclusion. This moved the conspiracy to the next level, an Independent Education Plan (IEP)<\/p>

When Arthur and Annie walked into the IEP meeting with Seckel, they found Del Norte and Sutter, joined by two teachers, a principal, and Jonathon Calaveras from Hire Psych, a private consulting firm. The district had obviously decided to engage its own independent evaluator.<\/p>

Sutter took charge of the meeting and announced its purpose \u2014 to hear the results of an Independent Educational Evaluation.<\/p>

The lion\u2019s share of the meeting was spent on abundant self-congratulations by the school district. By the time Seckel got a chance to talk, he only had 10 minutes left before he had to leave for another appointment.<\/p>

After Ben\u2019s departure, Calaveras took the floor. When he attacked Seckel\u2019s report, it became clear that the real purpose of the meeting had been to lay a trap for Arthur and Annie. Hire Psych was YUSD\u2019s hired gun. It was also clear that the district had given Magda\u2019s records, including Seckel\u2019s report, to Hire Psych without their consent. In addition to that, Sutter had violated board policy by engaging Hire Psych; only the Triumvirate \u2014 the district\u2019s top three administrators \u2014 could hire a consultant without board approval. That\u2019s when the Russells went to a lawyer.<\/p>

Attorney Ruby Reyes told Arthur and Annie that their case was the \u201cWorst example of a school district trying to block a child from special education that I have ever seen.\u201d That\u2019s when they went to see the triumvirate.<\/p>

The meeting with YUSD\u2019s top three administrators went very fast. They introduced the Russells to Mary Ellen Lake who was going to \u201cinvestigate\u201d their allegations thoroughly. In the meantime, Lake reminded them that she was \u201cinvestigating for the school district, not you.\u201d<\/p>

Shortly thereafter, the district called another meeting, this time including Hire Psych\u2019s Calaveras and a Mr. Rangpur, YUSD\u2019s lawyer. Not able to afford an attorney, the Russells filed a complaint with the California Department of Education.<\/p>

The conspiracy wound more tightly at the next school board meeting when trustees officially hired Hire Psych, weeks after Sutter had engaged the outside firm, on the same day Ben Seckel submitted his report to her.<\/p>

One more nail was pounded into the Russell\u2019s coffin when the district agreed to provide Magda with an aide \u2014 for one month \u2014 and that aide was employed by Hire Psych, not the district!<\/p>

With that, everything drew to a close. The district\u2019s investigator white-washed her client, and the CDE, relying only on statements from the district, found that YUSD was in compliance.<\/p>

Understanding that he was fighting against a stacked deck, Arthur found some resolution with an in-depth look at the innards of the Internet. There he found the motivation for the conspiracy. YUSD\u2019s website stated that concern over the rise in its general fund contributions to special education was forcing it to limit the number of students placed in the program.<\/p>

Further confirmation of the conspiracy came when Arthur found out that it was the district\u2019s own attorney, Rangpur, who recommended that Sutter employ Hire Psych in the beginning \u2014 AT THE SAME TIME THE RUSSELS\u2019 INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR, SECKEL, SUBMITTED HIS REPORT.<\/p>

The Russells are no longer living in Davis. Physical assaults on Magda constituted the last straw. They are now living in the Bay Area, and she is being helped.<\/p>

Daisy died, but Magda has a new dog; they have fun together, and it helps her forget her nightmare at Putah Creek Elementary.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author\u2019s note: Today\u2019s column is Part II of a review of the book, \u201cDaisy Has Autism,\u201d by Aaron J. Wright, a graduate of the 1993 class of Madera High School. The story tells of the trials of Arthur and Annie Russell, parents of a daughter, Magdalena, who has autism. The Russells also have a dog, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_angie_page":false,"page_builder":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[32,40,50],"class_list":["post-9820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-culture","tag-health","tag-schools"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maderatribune.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}