“Anything Is Possible” with INCLUDEnyc

Mary’s son Liam needed help right away. Liam is 6 years old and has asthma. He needed an adult to help him administer his inhaler, but his school no longer had a full time nurse.

“My son didn’t want to go to school. He was afraid of having an asthma attack and not being able to get it under control,” Mary explained. Mary called INCLUDEnyc. The educator advised her to request a 504 Plan, which provides accommodations in a general education setting. With the 504 Plan, Mary was able to secure a paraprofessional to monitor Liam during the day. However, Mary and Liam continued to struggle. The part time or visiting nurses were sometimes not authorized or properly trained to help Liam with his inhaler.

Mary decided to take action and, again, called INCLUDEnyc. Mary continued to speak up. “I was fighting for Liam, but also for all the students at the school. There were students who had diabetes, epilepsy, and severe allergies. There wasn’t anyone on staff dedicated to the medical care of students during the day,” Mary explained. 

Ultimately, Mary was able to move Liam to another community school. On his first day of school there, the full time nurse introduced herself and sat with Liam at lunchtime. He was comforted that he had someone to go to in case of an attack.

“My son is in a school where he is safe and happy. When I started out, I didn’t know how to handle this situation. INCLUDEnyc helped me through this process. After this, I believe anything is possible,” Mary said.