Good morning/afternoon everybody!
Now before we begin this isnât a sob story where Iâm looking for sympathy, or compassion. This is the call for awareness and help as the following events have caused great pain to both me, close friends and even my family.
Freshmen year, my problems presented themselves. Sophomore year, the treatments began. Junior year, the horror came alive. Senior year, it continues. When will there be an end?
During the beginning of my junior year I was being severely bullied by somebody, who I once called best friend, and was called all sorts of names. I was told the world would be better off without me, that my drawings suck, that Iâm a freak and whore. I had reported all this to the school but they mysteriously lost my paperwork when my case opened. I had filed two bullying reports before the case opened and they had went missing somehow. They couldnât provide any reason to this. I discard the bullyâs name since he is under 18 and I have respect. He may have triggered some terrible PTSD within me but everybody deserves to have a right of privacy and this letter isnât about him. It is about the school and their system. This case was closed because they found that he wasnât bullying me although I had two witnesses to the many acts of it. I got in trouble for it because I didnât tell somebody soon enough.
After this I remained home for two, long months in which I did my work from home, taught myself the work and basically did homeschooling while I attended many doctorâs appointments and awaited the clear to go back to school. During this time the school provided no resources so work was very hard to gather. They stayed out of contact with us and contacting them was nearly impossible. We would leave several voicemails and would never get a call back. They rarely called to check up on my status but I never felt supported from them.
Once I did return they shortly returned me back to the ER for self harm behavior in school. I wasnât committed and free to go home. The school was slowly losing my respect and trust and support. I felt like they have given up on me while I was still trying to survive the storm. When I did return it wasnât like it was before. I was ignored by the staff and occasionally given a âhiâ. I felt very alone in the school.
Than the end of the year struck where I attempted to kill myself by swallowing a ton of pills on the bus. A couple of my friends noticed and tried to rush me to the nurse. I was caught and sent to a hospital where I sat for five days and found the same problem as the last three times. Major depressive disorder, PTSD, and Generalized anxiety. All my papers say these things but the school doesnât listen to my needs. They wonât open their ears to what I have to say, what I know I need and how they can help me.
Iâm at a loss with the school because theyâre not supporting my special needs like theyâre required to do. I am considered disabled. I cannot function half the days and barely survive an hour in school now. It has gotten so bad that I cannot walk into a classroom without tears and deep breathing. In some cases I cannot breathe because the anxiety eats its way into my stomach and lungs. The depression gives me no hope that I will ever overcome these problems. The PTSD halts me at times of the flashbacks of what the school has scarred into my skin. They donât know it but all the times I ran that blade across my skin was because of the decisions they made in regards to me. When they couldnât accommodate me, when they rejected my service animal, when they said Iâm learning disabled, that my doctor's note was invalid and that federal laws didnât apply to public schools, when they told me I tried to kill myself for attention.
I am disabled if they want to believe it or not. I am emotionally and mentally disabled because I cannot function certain days where I lay in bed all day or cry during the day. Where I sit at home and do self harm because I feel alone. There has been countless nights Iâve done this because of the schoolâs decisions on what to do with me. I donât think they know what to do with me honestly. They hope Iâll go away at some point because iâm not a star athlete or in any major clubs or a star student. They simply said I have a learning disability, when I know I do not. My scores can show those who think that the truth of the matter. I have a psychiatric disability and they donât believe me. They donât believe that I have this form of disability because I look happy all the time or I do my work quietly. Not all disabilities can be seen with the naked eye.
When all options were crossed out we would look for me. I tried therapy and I still go. I do medication and still try. Now I have a service animal who can sense the anxiety attacks before it present itself. He can provide deep pressure therapy when I need it in the cause of a meltdown. He blocks me from strangers as I do not like people behind me. He knows what self harm is and how to stop it. He isnât a dumb dog like the school believes he is. He is a younger dog but he knows his commands well and loves his job to please me. He was bought to bring to school for my anxiety and depression. He isnât a therapy animal or an emotional support animal. He is a service dog. He is trained to do tasks for me that I cannot do.
I proposed this idea to the school over two weeks ago and on november 21 2017 they rejected my service dog without any reason to. He matched the minimum standards to be service dog. He has the tag like the state requires and his training certificate is in my hands with his trainerâs signature. I showed the meeting the ADA laws and they didnât believe me. I showed them the connecticut laws and again, they didnât believe me.
So, I filed a complaint to the Department of Justice, Disability Section as this is an act of discrimination.
I want everybody to be aware that this kind of behavior happens at South Windsor High School in Connecticut. That they break the laws, discriminate against those who are disabled and need special services. This is my last act to make everything right with the school before an attorney is contacted. I have reached out to numerous businesses, companies, news, and the law to help. I do not want another to suffer the same as I have.