MANHATTAN, IL — A Manhattan family in a fight for their special needs daughter to continue attending Manhattan District 114 schools has hit another wall, the girl's mother told Patch this week.
Kelli and Michael Femrite have sought for their daughter 'E'—who has autism along with other diagnoses—to be able to attend school at Manhattan Intermediate, and, in August, it appeared they'd made progress.
After the Femrites fought district leadership's recommendation that E attend a therapeutic school, a judge granted them a temporary restraining order against the district, allowing E to return to school with her classmates at the beginning of the year.
A victory, it had seemed at the time.
"It was exciting for us, because she had been talking about school since she left in May," Kelli Femrite told Patch. "'I wanna go back, wanna ride the bus, be with my friends.'"
There was a classroom with a pet turtle—"she kept talking about the pet turtle," Femrite said—and was thrilled when she was assigned to the classroom where it's kept.
"She's been waking up very excited, getting ready, wanting to go be with her friends," Femrite told Patch in the first days E returned to school. "She's coming back, reporting positive experiences at the school. She's talking to us about work she's catching up on. ... She's been coming back saying how things are going well. Saying how lunch is going well—she gets to sit with her good friend she's known since 1st grade."
Now a month later, momentum has stalled and Femrite says the family has encountered resistance from the district regarding a 504 plan—or formal school blueprint that outlines the specific accommodations and support a student with a disability needs to access the general education curriculum on an equal footing with their peers. Named after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—a federal civil rights law that stops discrimination against people with disabilities—the plan ensures public schools accommodate students who need extra help, according to Pacer.org.
"We're stuck again," Femrite told Patch. "We just take it day-by-day.
"It's hard for me to even want to send her there, when she's not getting support."
Femrite detailed how her daughter was diagnosed with ADHD, generalized anxiety disorder, and PDA autism in 2025. Pathological Demand Avoidance is a behavioral profile on the autism spectrum marked by an extreme, anxiety-driven resistance to everyday demands and requests, according to Child Mind Institute.
E's conditions led to heightened anxiety around attending school and what district leadership called "defiant" behavior in class. Her struggles date back to September 2024, Femrite told Patch, and it would take some time before they had the full picture of E's diagnoses.
"It did start just around a little bit of anxiety of going to school," Femrite said. "We were able to work through it and get in there. Then, as it worsened, there were days we would walk her down to the school, and she would just be frozen in fear, is how I can describe it. Standing outside the school, shaking, almost in a panic attack, unable to move. At that time, we didn't realize the full scope of her diagnosis.
"... She would tell us various things about being worried about schoolwork, the classroom, or her peers. Mostly it was around math—there's a specific math app that they use, it timed that on how fast they could do the problems.
"At that point, we didn't have a formal diagnosis, but we knew something was going on. We knew we wanted to check it out and see what's happening. We did initiate meetings with the school at the time. The principal at that school told us that my daughter was just being defiant, and that we needed to discipline her more."
The PDA profile, research shows, is present among 1 in 5 with an autism diagnosis, Psychology Today reports. Femrite thinks its impact became more evident as the demands on E increased with grade level. For E, its effects are internalized as anxiety, versus outward signs.
"We feel like in the younger years in school, it wasn't as intense, it was less work," she said. "It wasn't so much pressure.
"When she got to the 3rd grade, it was more rigorous, more intense—all these pressures and demands being thrown at her."
In December 2024, the Femrites sought a 504 for E and, citing no formal diagnoses at that time, the school denied their request. A therapist E was seeing at the time diagnosed her with anxiety, and the school then agreed to a 504.
"She started getting a few accommodations, but it wasn't addressing the full picture," Femrite said.
The parents' plight for E has been ongoing, and what followed was E's being jostled between educational options that fell short of her needs.
Her other formal diagnoses followed in 2025, and E's parents pursued an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan. It is a formal, legal written document that outlines the specialized instruction, supports, and related services a public school student with a disability needs to succeed in school.
"In the interim, she was still struggling at school," Femrite told Patch. "There was a couple of incidents where she would try to bring a comfort animal like a stuffed animal, and they would deny it saying, 'it's not fair to other kids.'
"Her anxiety just start getting worse and worse, growing. She would just have a hard time getting into school, and staying there. She would be in the counselor's office a lot of the day. We were at our wits' end."
Before exploring legal avenues, they hired an advocate who guided them on the school's suggestions. During one meeting with them, Femrite says they had pre-determined to place her into Lincoln-Way Area Special Education's Social Emotional Learning Foundations (SELF) program, a K-8 special education initiative for students with significant emotional or behavioral needs.
"We did not know we can say, 'No! Stop!'" Femrite said. "We never even tried for full IEP. We ended up agreeing, because we just didn't know."
The program was not a fit for E.
"She did not do well in that program at all," Femrite said. "It did not have the accommodations she needed—it was more designed for behavioral problems. Hers was not behavior-related, it was anxiety.
"At the end of that trial, they basically told us, 'if she can't get in the door, then we can't do anything.'"
They suggested E move into homebound services, mostly designed for kids who can't get into school for any reason, mostly medical, Femrite said. After difficulties in communicating and coordinating the services, the Femrites decided against that route.
In the summer of 2025, the Femrites began efforts to update her IEP, and that was when the "issues started occurring," Femrite said.
"They had determined that she needed a therapeutic school," Femrite said. "But we never officially signed off on it, we didn't sign any documentation."
In documentation to some schools, Femrite said the district represented E as violent in school settings.
"That never happened," she said. "She was never violent. She would get frozen and not move—in this state of fight or flight—but she never physically hit anybody, hurt a teacher or another student, or anything of that nature. But they were representing that to some of these therapeutic schools."
The district then allowed E to see a social worker, first online and then in-person while on school premises. It was working, and they asked for E to return to school. It was a different building, Femrite said, with no trauma attached to it, which helped E ease into it.
"In February 2026, she started art class with her grade level," Femrite said. "She would go to art class once a week, that was going pretty well. She went from the previous grade being frozen, not wanting to go into the classroom, to now she's entering the classroom. Building a relationship with the social worker, talking to other kids again—she's participating.
"This is huge to us—really big progress for her."
By the end of last school year, E was attending school in-person two days a week, Femrite said. In the last two weeks of school, they requested she spend more time in the specialized education room, and their request was denied.
"We had a child saying she wanted to go back to school, saying 'I'm ready,'" Femrighte said. "Within the last two weeks of school, they denied us more time. Last week of school, they cut us off completely."
Femrite says they wouldn't allow her to go to her social worker, or have access to the services she's allowed within her IEP. They wouldn't allow her to go to social events with her friends, like field trips.
"The school was still pushing the therapeutic school," she said.
The Femrites took the matter to court, spending the summer in litigation. Meanwhile, E was growing and thriving. She participates in farm therapy at The Healing Hird in Manhattan.
"She goes to farm therapy in Manhattan, she interacts with animals," Femrite said. "She loves it, and her therapist is really helping her."
As the year started, Femrite said they noted difficulty communicating with the school, specifically with E's teachers.
"She's enrolled as a student, so we have a right to all the same things all other students get," Femrite said. "We really need to be collaborative here, we can't be shut out of communication."
But she needs to stress the excellence among school staff.
"Their staff is really great," she said. "Her social worker, she's been completely incredible. She was one of the main reasons she was able to attend in the school building again."
Now two years later, they say they've found what E needs to be successful in public school and are trying to work with the district to provide it. But the district, they say, is not cooperating. Efforts to establish a 504 have seemingly fallen short, with district officials declining to meet key accommodations for E—specifically, tools she can use to offset the impact of her disorders, including noise-canceling headphones and "break cards."
Per the agreed-upon 504, E should be allowed to use noise-canceling headphones as-needed throughout the day, and the "break cards" would be kept in her desk for when she needs a "movement break."
"We have differing positions from the 504 team on the accommodations under the 504," said Meredith McBride, the Femrites' lawyer.
Noise-canceling headphones, Femrite said, are "such a basic accommodation.
"It's just noise-canceling," she said. "It reduces the noise, but she can still hear the teacher talking to her."
They have denied the accommodation because: "using headphones for fire drills is already stated in the notes to E's 504 plan. The district does not agree that she can use them 'at any time' in the event there is an emergency or safety concern that arises in which using the headphones would be unsafe.'"
In other objections to the accommodations, the district says it has concerns about allowing E breaks "at any time" as "there may be times when breaks are inappropriate or unsafe," or "being used to avoid the classroom or schoolwork."
The district also objected to E's access to the school social worker in the frequency and duration noted in the 504.
"If E requires this level of support, a therapeutic setting is appropriate," the district is noted as saying.
"It's been hard for my daughter to access her education without those key accommodations in place," Femrite said.
Just after the August ruling, Manhattan District 114 Superintendent Dr. Damien Aherne issued a statement to Patch. On Sept. 17, he declined further commen, citing his original statement.
"Manhattan School District 114 values each of our students and our staff works tirelessly to ensure that our students are set up for success," said Manhattan District 114 Superintendent Dr. Damien Aherne. "Our staff works closely with each family to facilitate the process of determining the best educational outcome for each child.
"Out of respect for the process and litigation, the District will not be making any specific statement regarding the details of this case. We will continue to work with the family through the process and remain focused on the best interest of our student."
As the pieces around her are shuffled, E continues to shine in ways distinctly her, Femrite said.
"She's very passionate and determined," she said. "She has a big heart and a big sense of justice. If she feels something's not fair, she will fight for it. ... Very inventive. She's created all these little businesses, where she'll sell goods outside our house on a stand: jewelry, surprise bags with different squishies, jewelry."
At Manhattan's Young Entpreneur Market, E had her own stand selling her creations.
"That was just amazing, to see her do that," Femrite said. "Build the whole idea, put it into a business. The mayor gave all the kids a certificate where they can practice the business in town."
She has a love for science and a fascination with severe weather.
"... She loves studying different civilizations, watching different documentaries on different periods of time," Femrite said. "She hates when weather actually happens, but she loves watching the documentaries on it."
Since the initial days of the school year and without the accommodations in place, Femrite said E's anxiety around school has returned.
"It's been pretty difficult to even get her going in the morning," she said. "There is a really great social worker there, she's been instrumental in helping E."
The Femrites have found themselves in an unlikely advocacy role, and it's one they have taken to with vigor.
"It's something we never thought we'd be sitting here right now, having told this whole story," Femrite said. "It's not something we were very educated on when we started the whole process, but now I feel like we could go start an advocacy firm, we have so much information on everything.
"On a personal level, it is hard, it is taxing on the family, as well. Especially when you're just advocating for all the basic things that come easy to other kids. You're advocating for your kid because they're not in that position where they can speak up for themselves—they need that extra boost, extra support. Just having to constantly do that, it gets exhausting.
"It's constantly on our minds."
The community has responded loudly to their family's story, Femrite said, and it has not gone unnoticed.
"The support has outweighed the criticism," she said, "and it makes me so happy to see."
New Lenox mom Jeanine Kozlowski has taken note of their fight. Kozlowksi spearheaded New Lenox-based Advocates for Acceptance, a nonprofit founded by moms focused on helping other local special needs families access sports programs, recreational activities, and adapted playground equipment so children of all abilities have the opportunity to play with peers. Kozlowski's efforts wereinspired by her own special needs son, Austin.
Finding herself stepping up as his biggest advocate, Kozlowski felt an empathy for other moms in similar battles. The Femrites are in the trenches of their own, she said.
"This heartbreaking story shows why community advocacy matters," Kozlowski said. "As the founder of Advocates For Acceptance, I see firsthand that special needs students thrive in their home districts when they have access to the best education tailored to meet their unique needs in the least restrictive environment possible. Forcing families to fight for basic access creates unnecessary trauma. I urge our district leaders to listen, show empathy, and find a workable solution.
"Every child deserves to belong."
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