On his daughter’s first day of fifth grade, Matthew Lange-Geise got her dressed and fed before heading outside with 10-year-old Charlotte to wait for the bus.
The school bus was late, as it often is on the first day of school, while drivers and students adjust to new routes and routines. Charlotte can’t speak, but Lange-Geise could tell she was anxious until she saw the bus drive up. When he helped her up the steps, he said, she was “happy as a clam.”
Lange-Geise watched the bus drive off to Maryland’s Bethesda Elementary School, hoping Charlotte would have a good first day back. A good day for Charlotte means no tantrums, no behaviors that cause harm to herself or others and hopefully some positive interactions with her peers. Charlotte has Ogden Syndrome, a rare condition that can cause severe developmental delays, and pica, an eating disorder that prompts her to try to eat nearly everything in reach, including non-food items. Her parents said she has the mental capacity of a 12-18 month old, and likely will for the rest of her life.
Charlotte is very social, Lange-Geise said. That’s one of the reasons why he and his wife, Christina Hartman, sent her back to Bethesda Elementary this year, even though the public school district recommended months ago that Charlotte switch to a private, residential school that can meet her educational and care needs. Lange-Geise and Hartman agreed to pursue residential programs and followed up on referrals to seven residential schools in their home state and across the Northeast. But none of them could take Charlotte for the new school year…