A Critical Examination of State Agency Investigations into ...

RESIDENCY AT THE ANDERSON SCHOOLIn January 2003, at age nine, Jonathan was admitted to the Anderson School. Hisinitial psychiatric evaluation encouraged family contact. Additionally, his medicationswere reassessed. An education interview review sheet noted that, at his parents’ request,Jonathan was to follow a dairy-free and casein-free diet.Like other staffers, the former Anderson School Behavior Specialist who wasassigned to Jonathan described him as a sociable child. She told the Inspector Generalthat when she first met Jonathan:He came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder and I turned aroundand here’s this, you know, the cutest kid. It was these glasses that were allcockeyed and buck teeth and he was just so incredibly friendly. But hewas non-verbal. And he was very, very…I don’t know that I should usethe word bright, but he was a sharp little guy and he was a very social littleguy. And that’s all he wanted was, you know, people’s attention. And hisonly way, a lot of times, of getting it was, you know, by touching peoplebecause he couldn’t talk.... That little boy was, you know, one of myfavorites.Jonathan lived in a residence called the Birch Cottage with approximately nineother children in single and double rooms. He attended classes in a separate building.His Individualized Education Plan (IEP) called for music, occupational, physical, andother therapies as well as schooling. Goals were set for each of these activities. Theseincluded such goals as, “Correctly respond to the verbal prompt of ‘Stop,’ ” “engage in aplay activity with an adult for 2 minutes” and “eating using a fork or spoon [with]intermittent physical cues through an entire meal,” among others. The IEP also containeda medical report which included notes on Jonathan’s height, weight, and diagnosis.Jonathan maintained communication with his family through almost-daily telephonecalls, and he participated in family outings and weekend home visits.56