Testimonials*
Jon & Tiffany Driggs, (Sight Impaired son)
Our son is sight impaired, meaning, he is legally blind. In the past, he has had a number of poorly trained aides who allowed him to be hurt through the aides (and the schools) lack of proper attention and supervision. We hired Dr. Closson who landed on the district like a ton of bricks and promised them a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”) and a civil suit if they didn’t handle the problem quickly. Within a week the district hired a competent [fully trained] aide for my child, and apologized to my wife and I. We credit Dr. Closson’s letter and immediate action with the district’s sudden change of mind. We can recommend Dr. Closson to any parent was similar “communication” issues with their district.
Debra Jenkins, (AD/HD son)
Dr. Closson stopped the district from punishing my son for his disability. It seems like forever they have been suspending my son for ridiculous infractions that are a direct result of his disability. Dr. Closson made my district do a behavior assessment, then, he made them give him a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP). With a BIP in hand, my son’s teachers and the school’s administrators understood how my son’s disability affects him. The end of that story is, my son no longer gets suspended for petty behavior issues, we now understand his behavior is a direct result of his disability and to punish him for his disability would be unfair. Thank you Dr. “C”.
Joe & Adaline Myers, (Misdiagnosed with ADD)
Without Dr. Closson’s help our daughter would never have been properly diagnosed. The district was trying to push an Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) diagnosis on us until Dr. Closson came into the picture. He compelled them to test our daughter for a possible Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). As it turns out, our daughter was not ADD, she had never been ADD. She had an APD; that made all the difference in the world. Dr. Closson found the right disability, that new assessment drove all the new goals and rehabilitation services. Dr. Closson is the best. If not for him, we’d still be fighting with the district trying to figure out why ADD accommodations and modifications were not working. As Dr. Closson pointed out to them in an IEP meeting, “It doesn’t do these kids any good to cut the arm off a child with a broken leg.” Amen.
Deb & Marcie, Attended Seminar
Marcie and I attended Dr. Closson’s seminar in San Jose last month, on the subject of “Special Education Law Made Easy.” Both Marcie and I are parents of disabled children. Both of us have been screwed around by our district and have been targeted for speaking up for our rights. We both learned more in one day by attending Dr. Closson’s lecture than we had learned from our district in the last 10-years. Dr. Closson makes complicated legal statutes and regulations very easy to understand and use. We both recommend Dr. Closson’s seminars to any parent who has a special needs child.
Sarah James, (Autistic son)
I’d go to IEP meetings only to have 8 people from the district sitting across the table from me telling me what was best for my son. They allowed me to speak, however, they never really heard me. Finally, when I had enough I called Dr. Closson. All of a sudden they listened intently to my concerns, they agreed to a new placement for my son and they gave him new and better services and supports. Now, my son is being mainstreamed, he has a 1:1 dedicated aide and he is progressing for the first time in four years. I owe it all to your Dr. “C”. From the bottom of my heart, God bless you.
Derek & Pam Davis, (Oppositional Defiant Disorder/ Autistic Spectrum)
Our daughter is a straight A student. She tests-out in the 99th percentile in three different academic areas. However, the district would not cut her any slack when it came to some of her behaviors. After we hired Dr. Closson the district was made to give my daughter a Functional Behavior Assessment and then a Behavioral Intervention Plan. Long story short, she is still getting A’s and the school has stopped trying to suspend her for her ODD behaviors. Thank you Dr. Closson.
Gina Dominguez, (Son with Dyslexia)
For years, I have been asking the district to test my son for reading problems. Year after year they ignored me. I hired Dr. “C” to represent me. He told them he wanted my son tested for Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia, they still refused. So, Dr. Closson filed a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings, and the Office of Civil Rights and told them he was holding them responsible for violating my son’s civil rights. Two weeks after we filed, we were given authorization to have my son independently tested at the district’s cost. And, my son got a private reading tutor for the next two years so he could catch-up. Dr. Closson is very good at his job.
Audrey, (Son with Down Syndrome)
All my son ever wanted was to be a regular teenage boy. He doesn’t think of himself as a Down kid, he never has. The school kept insisting he be educated with only disabled kids. When I brought this to the district’s attention, they completely ignored me. Then, I hired Dr. Closson. He attended the first two IEP’s by phone and insisted the district educate my son in a classroom of his chronological non-disabled peers. Their first move was to attempt to ignore Closson. That was a bad move. Dr. Closson told them he was about to file with the Office of Administrative Hearings on my behalf. Within 24-hours they agreed to place my son in a mainstreamed [fully-included] classroom of his choice. Dr. Closson has a way with words.
Dan, (Bi-Polar son)
My son has behavior issues that are a direct result of his disability (Bi-Polar Disorder). However, he is a pretty smart kid. We wanted him placed in a regular classroom with an aide, as he is not a distraction if he is supervised. The district said they did not have the money for a one-to-one aide. Dr. Closson quickly reminded them that it is unlawful for them to use a money issue in an IEP Meeting. Undaunted, the district stuck with their story right up until the time we were at mediation and the judge told them money could not legally be discussed in an IEP meeting. In the end, the district caved and my son got his aide. I am happy to say, my son will be graduating high school with a B average and going on to college next year. Thank you, Sir.
Linda, (Son is ADD)
I am a teacher. I couldn’t believe that my own district was unwilling [or unable] to help put a legal and useful IEP together. Honestly, it was embarrassing what the team didn’t know. I hired Dr. Closson to help them. Help them he did. After two relatively short IEP meetings, my son [for the first time] had a meaningful IEP and therefore a meaningful special education program. I can recommend Dr. Closson to any parent without reservation or fear of contradiction. Thank you, Dr. “C”.
Robert, (Son of a severely Autistic child)
Long story short, I hired Dr. Closson after my son had repeatedly been assaulted by other students in his Special Day Class. I demanded the abuse stop and stop now. They ignored me. In the end, the district settled out of court of over $800,000 over 6-years time. My son now attends one of the best schools in the country. For the first time in five years, my son is making meaningful progress. I owe it all to Dr. Closson and his persuasive abilities.
Other recent notes of thanks and recommendation:
Dr. Closson, you are the man. Your lecture was among the best I have ever attended.
I was getting nowhere with my district until I introduced them to Dr. Closson. He is like having your dad at your meetings Thanks Doc.
Dr. Closson is very assessable and easy to work with, great experience.
Dr. Closson and company really protected us in a very hostile environment.
After attending Dr. Closson’s lecture, I had the confidence to advocate for my son.
Dr. Closson, you are an angel. I was just about ready to lose my mind before we found you.
As an attorney I have attended 100 seminars in my career. I have no compunctions about telling anyone that Dr. Closson’s grasp of the law was second to none, his delivery and shall I say, “showmanship” was superb. He is a smart funny guy, the 6-hour lecture was more than instructive as well as entertaining; I got my money’s worth. Bravo, Dr. Closson
As a parent of two children with disabilities, I can tell anyone that your ability to advocate is closely tied to the kind of special education your child will get from the district. I attended Dr. Closson’s lecture and I learned more about special education law than I thought possible. Thank you, Dr. “C”. I now spend much of my time helping other parents by using the teachings of Dr. Closson. It is vital that we all pull together as parents to help each other in these regards. Dr. Closson’s seminars promote the idea that, in fact, we are our brother’s keeper.
God bless you Dr. Closson. You fought for my son and it paid off. I was about to lose my mind before I ran into you and your seminar materials. Thank you. Thank you.
As a special education teacher, I found Dr. Closson’s seminar in Sacramento to be inspiring. He reminded us all of our responsibility to this vulnerable population. Thanks to him, in the future I plan on being much more vocal in my support of a child’s right to an appropriate education.
I recommend to anyone who has a child with an IEP that they attend one of Dr. Closson’s workshops. The information he presents is absolutely essential for a parent’s advocacy of their child.
As a psychologist, I found Dr. Closson’s depth of knowledge of diagnosable disorders to be very impressive; his seminars are worth the price of admission.
"The only way we can be there for our children is to be there for ourselves." ~ Anonymous
*All comments/testimony was made between October 2014 and January 2016
