Conference moira::parenting_v3

    This is a painful problem to have to try to sort out.  I have no
    special expertise, but will share what I know.
    
    Lead can certainly lead to learning disabilities, but so can many other
    things.  As it's not clear if there is a minimum safe level of lead,
    the guidelines are set very low; many kids have been exposed to higher
    levels without evident damage.  The fact that his problem emerged
    during his years at Stow also doesn't demonstrate that it was caused by
    a factor during that period.  It seems unlikely that one individual
    child would have such a strong effect, if others did not.  On the other
    hand, it is possible.  If there were problems in the solder joints of a
    particular water fountain, and your kid typically drank a lot from it
    first thing in the morning, he could have an atypical level of
    ingestion.  But it does seem unlikely.
    
    The problem is certainly not limited to Stow.  High levels of lead were
    found in the drinking water of a number of schools a couple of years
    ago (including mine); I think a new requirement for systematic testing
    went into effect (state?  federal?).  In our case, replacing a few
    pipes, and flushing others before school opens seems to have taken care
    of the problem.  I haven't heard of any cases where the lead was
    suspected of causing specific difficulties in kids.  That is  (I
    believe) far more likely to arise from lead paint in homes.
    
    My kids have been getting routine lead checks with their blood tests
    for at least a few years (with nothing showing up).  Have you checked
    if your pediatrician did this?  It is required for enrollment in some
    kinds of programs (summer camp? extended day? I can't exactly
    remember).  This might eliminate this hypothesis as to the cause of
    your sons difficulty.
    
    		- Bruce

    Let me loosely quote my wife, who was an occupational therapist in her
    pre-motherhood life, and who dealt extensively with learning
    disabilities:
    Lead poisoning certainly can, and often does, cause the kind of
    problems talked about here...however, they can just as easily occur for
    no apparent cause, in the absolute absence of lead poisoning. The
    gradual worsening in a regular school, followed by improvement in a
    school geared towards the child's needs, is a very common pattern. I
    would look for a trend among other students in Stow, before I pursued
    the lead matter any further. Was there an unusually high percentage of
    kids diagnosed as LD after starting school in Stow? Or was it on par
    with norms for the area? What is the percentage now that the problem is
    fixed? Has it dropped? Or is it still the same? These answers might
    help a bit in seeing whether your son is an isolated problem, or itf
    there really was damage from lead poisoning. It is, of course, possible
    that your son may have been very sensitive to the lead, and may have
    suffered damage that others did not, who were exposed to the same
    quantities....but this would be nearly impossible to prove, since blood
    tests are useless at this point. I agree with Bruce...check with your
    Dr. to see if routine lead level screenings have been done in the past.
    I know they have been on our son.
    Let us know what happens.
    --dave--

    
    Ditto .1 (Bruce)
    
    Our Pedi tested JA for lead poisining at her 1 year checkup ... we
    didn't ask or mention it ... just standard routine.  Granted, she
    didn't like it, but it is for her own good -- as protecting OUR home
    does not necessarily mean she won't come in contact with it elsewhere.
    
    Dottie
    

    Lead testing is now a mandatory yearly procedure in Massachusetts until
    age 5.
    
    

    My son, the one with learning disabilities discussed in the base
    note, also had blood testing for lead, but before he got into the
    Stow school system.
    
    I did ask the school committee if they'd do a retrospective look
    at LD children (along the lines suggested in .2) to see if there
    were an abnormal number of LD problems, to compare Stow's LD rates
    with other towns, to see if the pattern of falling performance Chris
    showed was evident in others, and their answer was that they
    had no plans to do it.
    
    The thing that really bothers me is not that their was a "little"
    more lead in the Stow water.  Testing showed the amount of lead
    was several orders of magnitude above federal limits, and from what
    I now read there's a general agreement that even the federal limits
    are too high.
    
    To make matters worse, my son is a big water drinker.
    

    I think if I were in your shoes, the first thing I'd do is try to
    talk to other parents in the neighborhood to see if they've had
    similar problems or other lead-related problems.  If there are
    more of you, it will be easier to pressure the school board.
    
    --bonnie

    It would be rather surprising if the Stow school system voluntarily
    undertook to establish that they had been responsible for causing lead
    poisoning learning disibilities, as there could be liability issues
    involved.  I doubt that you'll get anywhere unless you can enlist some
    additional people in a pressure campaign, and present at least some
    kind of prima facia evidence.  
    
    I think pursuing this issue will take time and inconvenience, and
    perhaps involve financial and emotional costs.  Have you thought
    through what you are after?  I can imagine good reasons.  For example,
    trying to pin down the cause of your child's problems might be a high
    priority, whether or not it could be of practical help.  But I doubt
    you can establish financial liability, unless you can demonstrate that
    they disregarded evidence of a problem.  Of course, they are
    responsible for costs of special education your child may need, without
    regard to fault.
    
    I am not judging whether you should or shouldn't pursue this.  Just
    suggesting that you think about your goals and methods ahead of time.
    
    		- Bruce

I want to thank all the folks who gave me advice of the relationship of
lead poisoning and learning disabilities, and made suggestions on what
I should do if I suspected my child had been lead poisoned by the
high concentration of lead in the local school's drinking water.

The base note asking for advice was put in the Learning_Disabilities, 
Medical and Parenting Notefiles, and here's what I've decided to do.

I've asked the Stow School Committee to establish a task force to 
do a retroactive look at the possible relationship between the 
high concentrations of lead in the Stow school's drinking water 
and their student's learning disabilities.  I've suggested some ways (based
on input from noters) that this could be done.  I've also told them that
if they do not do a study I will be contacting other parents to do my own.

The local newspaper (Assabet Valley Beacon) will be carrying an article
on this issue, probably next week.

Chris will be getting a blood lead level test on Friday, and I've contacted 
the lawyer who just won a $2 million case for an LD child in Medford.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions.