Dear Linda,
I am deeply saddened that Dr. McGehee has taken this position. I can understand his frustration because I deal with the same frustration twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I understand that the district is frustrated with us. We are frustrated with the district, but this frustration is small compared to the anxiety that parents of a child affected by autism go through.
We wanted nothing more than a series of productive meetings with the district. It has been my personal passion since September, 2005. I freely admit that Dr. McGehee was the first in this district to offer us that opportunity.
I am afraid that there must have been a misunderstanding on his part. While the district continued to submit press releases to the Lee's Summit Journal, Lee's Summit Tribune, The Kansas City Star, the Lee's Summit R-7 email list, the newsletter and the website that were not completely accurate, I continued to come to the table with a hope that one day the district would truly make the changes that are warranted.
However, our children can't wait for opinions to change. Their lives depend on all of the people in their lives doing the right thing. It is our constitutional right to free speech and to voice our opinion, just as the district has the right to voice theirs. I did not stop meeting with Dr. McGehee simply because I was embarrassed or angered by the acts of the district. There were always hurt feelings and distrust on both sides of the table. I thought the district would return the same courtesy to us. We can not sit back and be quiet, hoping that the district will start doing what is ethically, morally, and legally right. I did not realize that Dr. McGehee thought that I would remain silent if he agreed to meet with me. I would never have agreed to that. My voice is one the only tool that I have to help advocate for the children that are affected by autism. There are sacrifices to be made on both sides. Our children are sacrificing their future potential and their future independence each day that we delay. We want to work with the district, but that doesn't mean that we are no longer entitled to our own opinions and that we are agreeing to no longer state our opinions. I was told that I didn't belong on the board, but that I belong at the podium. So, I stand at the podium of life and shout my message that our children could be more if they were given the right opportunities. The district continues to spread their opinion and we continue to spread ours.
The protest at the conference was just that. It was a protest of DESE and the fact that they picked two school districts to present their autism programs had no background, data, information, or criteria to warrant their selection. That is exactly what Heidi Atkins Lieberman stated. A few friends told her that it might be a good choice. The citizens of the state of Missouri deserve to know exactly how these decisions are made.
I truly hoped that we could work together. I am and have always been willing to give it a try. However, I can not be made to be quiet in the hopes that the situation will work out in favor of the children. It's a gamble that is too risky and too many lives are at stake. Our children don't have the luxury of time. If we spend three more years trying to come to an understanding, many more lives will be lost. I was not under the impression that our ability to work together was going to be paid for by our silence. I truly hoped that our children could benefit from our conversations. I hope that the time we did spend together might have opened your eyes and heart to what our children face every day of their lives and will continue to face if they don't receive the services that they so desperately need and should rightfully receive.
Sincerely,
Sherri R. Tucker
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