Services for Autism Available on St. Croix

Services are indeed available for students with disabilities that are considered under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act/2004 and No Child Left Behind. There are service providers available either through private contracts or through Dept Education Special Educators and Related Service providers. Call the STX Dept of Special Education for more information addressing your concerns.

Dan: Good luck to you. There is a lot of PDD in the VI. I would love to hear someone's hypothesis why. If you get involved with the government, make sure you get your money up front or in a timely manner. They are rather accustomed to letting their bills go unpaid, allowing the provider cease work, then looking for "new meat" to take over.

I hope you have been reading the local papers on line. There was a story the other day about the Health Department's difficulty recruiting a psychiatrist for their adult facilities. They are offering $62,000.

Heck, the governor's driver gets $80K!! 😉

The government didn't pay the medical examiner for over eight months and she finally left the USVI and is working in South Carolina now. So much for timely autopsies so people can bury their loved ones. And murderers are more likely to go undetected or there will be less evidence collected against them. I'll bet the governor's paycheck is never so much as a day late. And now he has the audacity to ask for a $55K per year RAISE. Unbelievable.

As the parent of a child with autism, I'm glad to hear that someone is available who has experience working with PDD. School services are minimal and our children deserve more. I am eager to hear more about your expertise with Autism Spectrum Disorders and the services you offer.

Hello there. I assume you are associated in some manner with the LEA or SEA. I certainly did not mean that the school district is not providing for students with disabilities or not complying with the NCLB, 504 or IDEA legisation.

What I was doing was reporting to the families that have stated that they could not get the services they need, I do provide services that are both clinically and developmentally based. Of course, there does need to be an educational counterpart to this. Meeting the letter of the law does not mean a school district must provide every service that has ever been developed for autism spectrum disorders, nor does it mean that the Cadilac of services must be provided. Again, I meant no insult.

Over the past twenty years, what I have done in most instances is to take what the school is doing, provide a strictly clinical set of services, and use that to augment education. I have consulted with schools across the mainland, and have always done so in a very supportive and teamwork manner.

If you would like to discuss this further so that my role in the community can be explained as one not contrary to the district, but rather in support of it, please do contact me.

I apologize for the delay in response. I was in Florida working to complete my doctorate and just arrived back on island yesterday.

Warm Regards,

Dan G.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Thank you for responding to this post. I am glad that you took this in the vein that is was initially entered. I am not looking to provide an alternative to or criticize education, however after serving individuals who live with autism for nearly twenty years, and working with some of the 'greats' in the world of autism, I have learned a great deal that I do not expect school districts to know. They are educators, not clinicians.

Although I do not think I will have room to post my C.V., I have worked with the Yale Child Studies Clinic during their initial work with brain imaging and the breakout of Asperger's Disorder. I mean break out in the sense of it having its own recognized characteristics that differ from other spectrum disorders.

In terms of the dovetail between my work and that of the schools, I have at this time provided a detailed history of my work and an offer to most of the schools as well as parent groups a free workshop on the autism spectrum disorder. There are a few private schools that I have not yet had the opportunity to make this offer, but this will occur in the next month or so.

If you would like me to send you more information, my resume, or if you have any specific questions that I may answer in this format, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am off island periodically as I am completing my doctorate in the state of Florida. If you happen to write when I am away, I will certainly respond as soon as I arrive home.

Warm regards and thank you,

Dan G.

Thank you so much for your advice and for responding to this post. I apologize for the delay in response, however I was off-island in Florida working on my doctorate.

In terms of working for the government, the department of education etc., I only work in a consultative capacity. Unlike working with individuals, I have found that in doing consultation, I always provide new services when the old services are paid. This is not a slight on the USVI, as I am not familiar with the government, but just a general practice that I have had for decades. As the bills tend not to be large, they often are put aside (in most states I have consulted in....even with SAMSHA with the Fed. Government), so with this understanding, it helps me to keep the cash flow going so I can continue to work.

I did have the experience in SC of being hired at 60K, and then an attempt was made to pay me 20K for consultation services for 43 schools. I simply refused to provide services until this 'error' was corrected. As there was a class-action suit pending in the federal courts, I was provided the 60K.

Thanks for the 'heads up' and I do watch for "mistakes" as this is my livelihood! (LOL)

Thanks again,

Dan G.

Hello there. I have just gotten back on island and read your note. This pertains to the availability of highly developed services for children and adults with autism. As this is the second note I have received about being cautious about payment, I will ensure that my payment at the time of services is clearly spelled out.

I do not like ugly situations, and certainly do not want to get in to one. What I did find funny was that this person you mentioned made so much more in South Carolina when they have one of the lower pay scales nationwide. I wonder what the differential would be with other states? Hmmmmm.

Thanks again,

Dan