We Got You Takota!
Donation protected
3 years ago, Wyatt Neumann suddenly and without warning passed away, leaving his wife Jena to care for their two children, Stella and Takota Neumann, on her own.
Their son, Takota, is 9 years old and diagnosed with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and ADHD. He requires high-touch and very specialized one-on-one schooling that is not available through the public school system, and is incredibly costly to procure.
Over the years, Jena has done everything she can to support her family. She works full-time as a project manager. She’s advocated for her son at every turn, and no matter the obstacles, she has found ways to get Takota the care he needs. Unfortunately, with the high cost of Takota’s psychiatry and care, the family’s debts have been mounting.
This year, Takota started a new school that was supposed to be a better fit for his needs, but four weeks ago, he was abruptly discharged from his school following a traumatic incident. There is a wait list at the school he attended last year, leaving Takota with nowhere to go. Jena is actively trying to find and place Takota into a program that will fully support his needs, but there can be a waiting period of several months as she goes through the court proceedings.
In New York City, if the Department of Education agrees that they are unable to provide an appropriate public school placement for a child’s needs, it is possible for that child’s parents to petition the city to cover the costs for a state-approved specialized private education. This process takes months, and needs to be repeated every year. Jena is currently in the midst of this, but in the meantime, Takota is home, behaviorally regressing and falling further behind in school. What’s more, there is a chance that the State will not find an adequate placement for him at a state-approved private school. If that happens, Jena will need to find an alternate institution, and file for an impartial hearing to petition the State to pay for it. This process will also take months. And every day that Takota is out of school, Jena is unable to work, putting the whole family in a dire financial position.
Jena needs to get back to work, Takota needs in-home care and instruction, and the Neumann family could really use your help to get back on their feet.
Your contribution will go towards the following expenses:
-Interim academic program for Takota while awaiting placement
-Highly specialized, home-based special educator
-Home expenses accrued while Jena was out of work and at home with Takota
-Psychiatry bills (not covered by insurance)
-Home-based academic evaluation (not covered by insurance)
Total = $48,056
To learn more about the difficulties of securing appropriate specialized education for families like Jena’s:
copy and paste links
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/nyregion/how-special-education-is-failing-tj-and-many-children-like-him.html
To learn about the effects of being out of school on a child with disabilities:
copy and paste links
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/working-with-childs-teacher/the-problem-of-chronic-absenteeism-what-you-need-to-know
copy and paste links
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/498599/
The family is incredibly grateful for any and all help you can provide.
Their son, Takota, is 9 years old and diagnosed with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and ADHD. He requires high-touch and very specialized one-on-one schooling that is not available through the public school system, and is incredibly costly to procure.
Over the years, Jena has done everything she can to support her family. She works full-time as a project manager. She’s advocated for her son at every turn, and no matter the obstacles, she has found ways to get Takota the care he needs. Unfortunately, with the high cost of Takota’s psychiatry and care, the family’s debts have been mounting.
This year, Takota started a new school that was supposed to be a better fit for his needs, but four weeks ago, he was abruptly discharged from his school following a traumatic incident. There is a wait list at the school he attended last year, leaving Takota with nowhere to go. Jena is actively trying to find and place Takota into a program that will fully support his needs, but there can be a waiting period of several months as she goes through the court proceedings.
In New York City, if the Department of Education agrees that they are unable to provide an appropriate public school placement for a child’s needs, it is possible for that child’s parents to petition the city to cover the costs for a state-approved specialized private education. This process takes months, and needs to be repeated every year. Jena is currently in the midst of this, but in the meantime, Takota is home, behaviorally regressing and falling further behind in school. What’s more, there is a chance that the State will not find an adequate placement for him at a state-approved private school. If that happens, Jena will need to find an alternate institution, and file for an impartial hearing to petition the State to pay for it. This process will also take months. And every day that Takota is out of school, Jena is unable to work, putting the whole family in a dire financial position.
Jena needs to get back to work, Takota needs in-home care and instruction, and the Neumann family could really use your help to get back on their feet.
Your contribution will go towards the following expenses:
-Interim academic program for Takota while awaiting placement
-Highly specialized, home-based special educator
-Home expenses accrued while Jena was out of work and at home with Takota
-Psychiatry bills (not covered by insurance)
-Home-based academic evaluation (not covered by insurance)
Total = $48,056
To learn more about the difficulties of securing appropriate specialized education for families like Jena’s:
copy and paste links
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/nyregion/how-special-education-is-failing-tj-and-many-children-like-him.html
To learn about the effects of being out of school on a child with disabilities:
copy and paste links
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/working-with-childs-teacher/the-problem-of-chronic-absenteeism-what-you-need-to-know
copy and paste links
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/498599/
The family is incredibly grateful for any and all help you can provide.
Organizer and beneficiary
Dave Ortiz
Organizer
New York, NY
Jennifer Cordova
Beneficiary