FuXia's Education Fund

FuXia once lived in a Chinese orphanage. He was born with Arthrogryposis (AMC), a rare joint disorder. Until age 7, he had no wheelchair, education, or medical intervention. His orphanage was a nonverbal environment. He rolled & scooted on the floor for mobility & was unable to use his hands.
At age 7, FuXia moved to a medical "healing home." He started school, studying Mandarin & English. He received medical care & his first wheelchair. He was so well loved and cared for in the Healing Home!

FuXia joined our family via adoption in August 2010, aged 9. Since then, he has persevered through painful treatment to reach his goal of walking. He bikes & rides horses, too! He writes & draws beautifully, & his independence has grown--the little boy who couldn't hold a fork now makes his own omelettes! 
Fu's  education journey has been hard. Our public school refused to admit him to elementary school. They put him in 6th grade, but he read at kindergarten level. His Mandarin was never assessed. They wanted to give him time--time to see what English he knew, time to learn more English, time to get used to America.

The school waited a year to assess Fu's mobility needs. As he moved from wheelchair to walker to crutches, his education program (IEP) didn't reflect many accessibility needs. Once, he was locked out after a fire drill--he walked too slowly to keep up with peers. Alarmed, I withdrew him & began homeschool--I didn't want FuXia to be permanently harmed, his hard-earned gains erased, by neglect. 
While homeschooling FuXia, I realized he was in trouble. He worked diligently & cheerfully but needed many more repetitions of new info than most kids. He had trouble understanding multi-step directions & struggled with basic phonics. I realized he needed more specialized instruction than I could provide.
We put FuXia back in public school in August 2014. His reading was at the 4th %ile for his age. Oral & written expression & listening comprehension were at or below the 1st %ile. Public school insisted this didn't indicate learning disability(LD)--Fu just needs more time in America. Over 2014-15, the school refused to revise safety plans for Fu's mobility needs & blamed his defecits on limited English proficiency (LEP), though previous school reports ruled out LEP as the cause. 

Fu's July 2015 evaluation was devastating. It confirmed language impairment. Fu's nonverbal IQ has fallen 21 points since adoption; his overall IQ fell 12 points. His reading is at the 5th %ile. Still the school says Fu has no LD in reading-he just needs more time. 

I need more time. I wish I could go back 5 years & start again with what I now know of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act of 2004 (IDEA), the Federal Law that guarantees Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for ALL children with disabilites. Shane & I are fighting for FuXia's IDEA rights by pursuing due process  according to IDEA safeguards to insist the public school provide FAPE. 

Five years ago, it would have been as simple as one principal allowing FuXia to attend school with his non-disabled, age-level peers, & teaching him to read.  Now--five years on--it's a lot more complicated. 

The cost to educate Fu now is >$ 35,000 a year--private school tuition, reading support, occupational & physical therapy, language therapy, & assistive technology. We're paying Fu's legal fees, as the public school refuses to provide compensatory education for the years they wasted. Even if Fu prevails, it may take years, & we must finance his education until then. If we don't fight for Fu, the plan our public school offered will leave him little choice but sheltered workshops, living with us or in assisted living, still unable to read.
I know we're not alone. Fu is one of thousands of children adopted internationally who experience learning struggles because of early trauma and neglect, incorrect diagnoses, institutionalization, and/or lack of access to education. Most adoptive families resort to homeschooling. Many don't know the rights their children have under IDEA 2004. When even the NEA president laments the "chronically tarded" & "medically annoying" in schools, you know your child faces a mountain of prejudice.
Please help us finance our son's education. FuXia has overcome SO much already. It's no delusion to expect he could attend college/vocational school, have a career, & live independently. But we can't get him there on our own. We need $70,000 in the next 4 months to pay for this school year & enroll for the next one. Our annual income is <$60K, & we spend >$10K annually in medical care for both our sons.
I am grateful for any help received. I've been so moved by the discrimination Fu has faced due to people's ignorance about international adoptees that I now advocate for adoptees' rights under IDEA 2004. I've traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with policymakers, & I've participated in special education law seminars. FuXia has given me permission to tell his story, because he wants to help other kids like him.
NOTE: If you're the parent of an international adoptee and Fu's struggle sounds familiar, please know you're not alone! You need to read IDEA 2004. And PLEASE read Senate Report 108-185, which was created by the Senate HELP Committee (search within the report for "foreign born adopted children"). It spells out exactly the special considerations public schools should give to international adoptees--prompt evaluations, understanding ELL/ESL services aren't always beneficial for adoptees, & not using "limited English proficiency" as a reason for excluding adoptees from special education services!