My name is
Dominique Soverall and I am the mother of Jaden Deshaun Soverall. Jaden was born
in Virginia May 11th, 2007, 6 pounds and 9 ounces. Jaden passed all
his newborn screenings and we were sent home promptly. Jaden was a joyful baby
who was making milestones at his own pace. During his 15-month checkup, his
pediatrician recommended we seek intervention because Jaden had not met most of
the 15-month milestones. That appointment was the beginning of a journey that
has changed our lives forever. When Jaden was 2, he was diagnosed with a mild
but rare chromosomal disorder called MECP2 duplication syndrome. There are many
symptoms associated with MECP2, but Jadenās symptoms are epilepsy, hypotonia, acid
reflux, and global delays.
Continuing, one of
the reasons we moved was because the doctors were struggling to control Jadenās
epilepsy. In May 2014, he fell terribly ill, spent 48 hours in the PICU and was
in the hospital another four days. The joyful boy that I had seen make
progressive progress despite his challenges was gone and a different child came
home with me in May of 2014. I
diligently began searching for doctors that could control his seizures so my
joyful baby would come back. My search led me to the Childrenās Hospital of Philadelphia,
and we began the moving process. After two years of continuous road trips to
the tri-state area, we settled in New Jersey march of 2016. Our transition to
NJ was not easy, as Jaden has an extensive medical history and leaving our
school family in Virginia was heartbreaking.
Furthermore, I am a
product of the Newport News public school system. While I was in school, I was
challenged with teachers who were prejudice and students who teased me because
I was overweight. Despite those things, I persevered and now have 2 college
degrees. My son began his educational journey in the Newport News Public School
system at age 3. Pre-K through 3rd grade was amazing for my son. He
was in educational environments where he thrived and was constantly supported
by teachers, aides and his class mates.
Jaden has missed a great deal of school due to the medical challenges he
faces. Whenever he missed school or fell ill, his teachers and class mates would
always check on him. To this day I still receive emails or text from his past
educators asking me how Jaden is doing. Jaden had the pleasure of having my
elementary principal as his elementary principal and the security team that
worked at my high school as his security team in elementary school. Knowing
that Jaden was around familiars gave me great comfort! Even though Jaden
thrived in his educational environments, there was never enough resources
available to assist teachers, parents and students. Newport News persistently
cut budgets and the special needs children were the first to feel the effects.
Jaden also attended a before and after school program adapted for special needs
children and adults but because of poor management and budget cuts that program
was scratched for the special needsā community. Therefore, moving to New Jersey
was exciting and I was hopeful because medically and educationally Jaden would
have more opportunities.
Once we moved in March 2016, I immediately began the process of
enrolling my son in school. One thing that impressed me right away was the
options of schooling. I was presented with 2 schools that would best
accommodate my son and his special needs. The choices were HESS school in a
self-contained classroom in a regular elementary school, which was what he had
in Virginia or he could go to Atlantic County Special Services. Atlantic County
Special Services was a school with an all special needs population and more
staff that could provide additional support such as physical, occupational and
speech therapy. I was also told that ACSSD would be better equipped to handle
his medical needs. By April of 2016 my son was enrolled in Atlantic County
Special Services and began class before the end of the month.
Fawn Butcher was Jadenās
first school case manager and she was very welcoming and tried to accommodate
all our needs and concerns. Jaden also qualified for a 1 on 1 aide to assist
him throughout the school day which was something not offered to us by the
Newport News School System. Jaden entered Atlantic County Special Services at
the end of 3rd grade which was the 2015-2016 school year. He was
placed in Amy Sykes class and the first experiences were wonderful at the
school! My son was excited about ACSSD and his new opportunities, teacher and
classmates. However, Jadenās excitement
soon faded when he returned to school for 4th grade during the
2016-2017 school year. He was assigned to Gail Breeds class and one day when I
went to pick Jaden up, I walked down to the class and observed his aide, Nikki,
hold Jaden by his wrist when assisting him back to his chair. I also noticed
that the class was a lower functioning class which was not like Mrs. Sykes
class. I was very uncomfortable with the
way Nikki was handling my son and wanted my son in a class where he would be
challenged by his peers, like in Mrs. Sykes class. I request that Jaden be
moved to a class like Mrs. Sykes class or a class where my son would be
challenge more.
Without delay, Jaden was removed from that class, along with
Nikki the personal aide, and was placed in a higher functioning class. Jaden
was moved to Devonee Fatcherās class where he was rejoined with some of the classmates,
he met in Mrs. Sykes class. Jadenās excitement for school had come back and he
also received an aide, Aliyah Brown, who seemed like she would be a great aide.
Towards the end of 2016, concerns were brought up that Jaden was having
mobility issues. One day I had the pleasure of walking him to class and because
Jaden was not having mobility issues at home, I wanted to see how he was moving
around in school. I walked Jaden into the classroom and spoke to everyone and
one of the class aides, not to be confused with Aliyah brown, told me that
Jaden displayed āParkinson like Symptoms.ā I was confused as to what the class
room aide was referring to and asked why no one had notified me about that
observation. The actions that followed were that I was to be notified if Jaden
displayed any āParkinson like Symptomsā and I wanted all of Jadenās seizure
activity to be documented.
During the 2017-2018 school year, Jaden was in Kate Peckusās
class and Aliyah Brown, who was still Jadenās aide, told me that she was
pregnant. Aliyah was in her first trimester when she told me and planned to
work all the way through her pregnancy. Since Aliyah was going to work her
whole pregnancy, I thought I would notify Jadenās principal Brian Kern and
Jadenās case managers Sue Frambus and Jessica Crawford, to see if we could work
on finding a replacement aide. When I asked for Nikki to be removed, I had also
asked, if possible, could Jaden be placed with a male aide. According the
ACSSD, male aides are hard to find, but they would try to find one. That search
was taking too long and thatās how Jaden ended up with Aliyah. Because Aliyah notified
me in her first trimester, I thought that would be a fair amount of time to
find a replacement aide. However, no aide was found and when Aliyah went out to
bring life into the world Jaden had a series of regular substitute aides. One
of the substitute aides, Najiba, told me that some teachers and other staff
members had witness Aliyah being negligent on her responsibilities to Jaden and
was happy to share that information with Najiba. I was never notified by
Jadenās teacher or any staff member from ACSSD, other than Najiba, with claims
of negligence by Aliyah Brown.
Eventually, Jaden was blessed with a permanent aide, Artaya
Graham. Artaya started with Jaden right before the end of the 2017-2018 school
year. She was one of the substitute aides and when I met her, I knew I wanted
her with my son. My mom Renee Soverall, called Insight Workforce Solutions,
which is the company used to hire aides for ACSSD, and requested Artaya be
assigned to Jaden. Artaya just left ACCSD January 16. 2019 and when she told me
she was leaving I cried because I knew things were going to change and they
rapidly changed! Not even 48 hours after she left, on January 18, 2019, when I
picked Jaden up, I noticed there was dry blood under his left nostril. He was
with an aide named Thelma on that day and when she brought him to me, she said
he had a good day. I immediately took Jaden to the bathroom and upon further
observation noticed there was more blood and dry blood inside Jadenās left
nostril. I cleaned my sonās nose and went out to the security desk and asked
him to call down to the class. For the 2017-2018 school year Jaden was placed
in Cyndi Palubmoās class and on January 18, Cyndi was out of town and I spoke
with the substitute teacher. I asked the substitute teacher a series of
questions trying to find out why there was blood underneath my sonās nose. The
substitute teacher told me there were 4 adults in the room and none of them saw
anything, he had a good day. I was not happy with that response and immediately
called Jessica Crawford who is Jadenās district case manager.
Just recently on
February 14, 2019, I received a phone call from nurse Yvonne Tracy, stating she
had just seen Jaden in the classroom. Nurse Yvonne told me that when she first
approached Jaden, he seemed shocked and looked as if he did not recognize her.
She said that she observed a cut underneath his left nostril and his bottom lip
looked chapped. She also told me that he had a temperature of 99.1 but that he
was fine. Nurse Yvonne called me at 1:14pm and I was at the school before
1:30pm. I did not like what I heard on the phone and knew my son was not okay.
Cyndi, Jadenās teacher, brought him to me and explained to me that Jaden was
playing on the floor with Legos and thatās when they noticed Jadenās nose and
bottom lip.
In final
analysis, I am furious and extremely disappointed in Atlantic County Special
Services School. I moved to New Jersey to give my son a better quality of life.
I have fought tooth and nail, for 11 years, to keep my son ALIVE and in good health.
I do not see my sonās disorder as a disability, I see it as a power, a
strength, something that can be an ability more than a disability. It takes a
village to raise a child and we had a wonderful educational village in
Virginia. Every teacher that crossed paths with my son educated, nurtured and
protected him. Children should always feel safe and wanted in their educational
environment and be able to trust the adults around them. During our time with
ACSSD, I have consistently complained, at IEP meetings, about the lack of
communication in that building. I have been misled by one of Jadenās speech
therapist, with the volunteered offer of flash cards on two occasions but no
flash cards were ever made. My mom has
overheard one of Jadenās previous class aides call Jaden a āBRATā because he
would not engage with her. I am tired of dealing with ACSSD over finding a full-time
aide especially when on one occasion there was adequate time to find a replacement.
Having a personal aide 3 days out of the week is unacceptable when It is
written in Jadenās IEP that he is to have a personal individual aide for 360
minutes daily. Iāve had to cancel bus services with Shepard Bus Company because
drivers and aides were not properly trained to deal with special needs
children. There was also an issue with the length of time it took for Jaden to
receive his helmet in this school year. Not one person from the physical
therapy department or the school kept me abreast as to what the delay was. I
had to become Nancy Drew and inquire what the delay was. Once again, the lack
of communication at that school is out of control. I have had enough of the bs
with Atlantic County Special Services School! I will never ever, allow anyone
else at that school to have access to my son, Jaden Soverall. I will not allow
another person at Atlantic County Special Services, to smile in my face, make
false promises and lie to me about whatās going on with my son. The atmosphere
that you have presented to me and my son, no longer fits the educational vision
that I have for Jaden. I feel like Jadenās civil rights
have been violated and that is not okay! I asked the supposed educators and
teaching staff what happened to my son while he was on school premises and was
told he had a good day. That does not sit right with me when Jaden has scrapes
and unexplained blood leaking from his nose, and nobody sees anything. You have denied me my parental rights and have lost my
respect on all levels!!
Finally, In
September of 2016 a letter was sent home to all students from Jennifer Cruickshank,
the Affirmative Action Officer, on a Non- Discrimination Policy that states the
following:
You
have a right to be safe in our school. This means we will not hit you, kick
you, push you or hurt you in any way.
You
have the right to be respected and treated with compassion in our school. We
will not laugh at you or hurt your feelings.
20 Things Every Parent of Kids with Special Needs Should Know
If you
feel you have been treated unfairly, talk to your teacher. If they canāt help
you speak to your principal about your problem. We can all get along well and
treat each other fairly.
There
is more to the Non-Discrimination Policy, but these specific policies really
warm my heart and your services are no longer needed.
One of my favorite hobbies is writing and drawing in
my journal. I love back to school sales because that’s when I stockpile my
journals. Staples usually has composition notebooks on sale for 50 cents. I get
enough notebooks to last me a whole year. #Winning
Lately, Iāve been carrying my journal with me
everywhere, as I’ve been a cluster fuck of emotions. 2019 has been a complex
year for me on all levels. I had to withdraw my special needs son from school
because he was neglected and abused on school premises. I had to quit my job
once my son was out of school, I had a death in the family that rocked me to
the core and then my precious baby boy almost died. All those events happened
within the first 6 months of 2019.
Valentineās Day 2019 was my son’s last day of school,
March 30th was last day of work, my loved one pasted in April and my son spent
2 weeks in Childrenās Hospital of Philadelphia in June 2019. Unfavorable
situations kept happening and I couldn’t understand why but, in a way, I knew
2019 was going to be a year of change. Nothing could have prepared me for the situations that
happened but in hindsight these things happened for a reason. The common theme
that seemed to be appearing was facing and conquering fears. Iāve always felt
fearless on some levels but within the last 2 years I had become fearful to
live my life. I was just existing instead of living. That was one of the reasons
all my fears started coming to fruition.
We are halfway through the year and 2019 has taught me many things. Besides conquering
my fears, I have also learned numerous lessons. These are the lessons that have
helped me with the healing process:
I
believe in GOD more then I ever have before in my life. He has been showing up
and showing out!!
Faith
and a positive attitude can influence people and things around you.
Time
waits for no one and all life is truly precious!
Saying
No is Okay! Cutting off people and vices that no longer suite you are Okay too.
It hurts but I promise itās worth it!!
SELF
LOVE & Self RESPECT ARE SO IMPORTANT
Going
through dark times is an important part of growth. Dark times show you what youāre
made of. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, There is always light
in the darkness and There is always light when youāre NBETWEEN 2 Worlds.