Mom Seeking Advice on Autism and School Placement

I also have a child with Autism and other diabilites, I have been in the system for a long time, he is now 15. You need to always keep advocating for your son no matter what, never let them tell you that something is not an option, there are always options and accomadations that can be made. The child is also suppose to be placed in their least restrictive enviroment in the school setting. Access their suggestion and pose issues that you as his parent that knows him best thinks he will have. Educationally my school is in all regular education classes but has accomadations specifically for his austism. Delayed pass, wearing ear plugs thorughout the day and on the bus both because of the noise. He has homework time because he can't mix home & school mode at all. When he was younger he use draw a picture of a bottle and color it in as his pass out of the class at any time so that he didn't get angry and lash out and do something stupid that he would regret. Now he goes to the office to calm down at his discretion. I can't afford a provate school but some charter schools are free and have smaller class sizes, just something to consider. I have another child in special ed too with different issues but if you want to talk feel free to contact me.

My oldest daughter is almost 11 and very high functioning autisim-sensory and social are her two major problems. She is and always have been in mainstream class with special support. Elementary school was very easy for her (middle school on the other hand is a rough road right now) She was given support as needed, some specail provisions were given to her, if she became overwhelmed she was given a break pass and each teacher had a quiet place she could go and sit for 5 minutes with a soft stuffed animal she could hold then she was asked to rejoin the group. She was allowed extra time to take her test and allowed to take them in another location, she was given shortened math assignment. She was given a alphasmart computer to do some of her big writting assignments, she was still asked to write her spelling words and stuff but if it was a paper they had to write she could type it or I could do the writing for her. I think you should ask for a consultate from ISD to observe your son and suggest what provisions should be given next year when considering his placement for next year. Look at the school districts special ed program and ask how many have autisim training or exposure. Good luck with whatever you do.

This is such a personal decision. It sounds like he has come a long way and is doing really great!! I tend to agree with your concerns/fears about regression. If your son does not have a learning disability and the issue is, primarily, social and emotional issues, keeping him the the gen ed class will give him the social models he needs. Without a doubt, you do NOT want his education to lag behind!! Your goal is to keep him progressing at the same (or better!) level of his NT peers.

Your son is not the first student to be in this situation. I would inquire into successful techniques the school has offered students in the past, to assist their transition and maintenance in the gen ed class. (Having an aid? Calming techniques outside the room, etc.) Build these into his IEP. Maybe it's time to try a couple techniques now, instead of letting him go next door to the other class, to see what might work next year. I don't want to assume the negative, but I've heard so many examples of schools wanting to 'take the easy way out." You are the true advocate for your son!

Unfortunately it has been my experience with a lower functioning autistic son that the schools have very low expectations for our kids. I think it is even more difficult when your child is high functioning with behavioral issues. It would be helpful for you if you could get an advocate or attorney to go to your IEP meetings. You are a member of the IEP team and his mother so your opinion is important. He can be in a general ed classroom and get extra help with handwriting and math. Don't let the school talk you into doing what is easier for them but not fair and appropriate for your son.

My son is "exactly " like your son. I have been in your shoes. My son is now 9 and in fourth grade. he regresses all of the time. the other kids in the regular classroom made him an outcast because his behaviors. Regular teachers do not have the time or patience to deal with "kids like ours". I am personally not for all inclusion. It is hard on your child, the other children in the class and the teacher. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE OF FIND AN ADVOCATE to walk you thru all of these school things. they are free and are of tremendous help to you. It is always like we are talking one step forward and two steps back. as they get older the obstacles change. There is no way to prepare yourself for this just make sure you have plenty of help and support. The advocate can do the work for you. do not try to do it yourself!! we don't know all of the laws and they are alwyas changing. There are rules and regulations the school has to follow regarding our children. Do not be in a hurry to place your son in a regular classroom. As much as we want it to be that way....take small steps a few hours at a time especially if he is changing classes..that will be dramatic enough for him.
I hope this has been some help. Just be realistic about the whole situation. Someday soon you will be answering someones question with all of the knowledge you have gained. Hang in there and don't be afraid to shout out for help. It is everywhere.

Hi! I'm a mom to a kindergartner who has high-functioning autism/Asperger's. We really lucked out and was able to get her a behaviorist, so she is in a regular kindergarten class full-time (our kindergarten is 6.5 hours long!). Overall, she's done amazing, but it really helped having a behaviorist. We're having her IEP in a couple of weeks, so we're going to fight to get a behaviorist again. I'm not sure we'll be successful, but I'm hoping to at least get one full time for the first few months of school. Initially, the school had reservations about her being in the class full-time. Now, there's no question that is where she needs to be. Academically, she at the top of her class, and she's done a pretty good job with making friends too!

You have two choices, in my opinion. 1) You can ask to change schools to see if another school offers a special ed class that is more appropriate to your son's needs (here, some schools have programs just for HFA/AS kids) while mainstreaming him for part of the day or 2) get an advocate and fight to get a behaviorist so he can just be in a general ed classroom.

Good luck!
C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

I can only tell you what we are doing with our son and what we have worked out with our school district. My son is now 7 years old, is high functioning on the autism spectrum, and is currently is in 1st grade. Last year, we had my son enrolled in a general ed kindergarten classroom for only half day (2.5 hours/day). He received 60 minutes of speech a week with half of that time being pull out and half of that time being services received in the classroom. He also received occupational therapy for handwriting once a week and that was provided in the classroom. In addition to that, a special ed resource teacher came into the classroom and worked with him 70 minutes per week on issues like transitions, staying on task, social skills and communication. He was provided lots of sensory breaks so that he could move around when he needed to and we developed a treasury box reward system for him where, if he earned so many stars for good behavior during the day, he would earn access to his favorite toys to play with for a short period of time each day. We also had a home ABA program that we did with him after school for non-academic issues that were not handled by the school.

This year he is in a general ed 1st grade classroom about 98-percent of the time. It was a tough transition but he's met the challenge and, with a few rough patches here and there, he's done very well for himself. We carried over the ST and OT minutes that he had in kindergarten into his 1st grade IEP but, because 1st grade is full day (6.5 hours), we increased the number of minutes per week that he received in-class assistance for a special ed teacher and aide.

This is just some of the stuff that we have done to help our son be able to be in a mainstream kindergarten and 1st grade class and give him the supports he needs. There's been a lot of strategizing going on, a lot of talking to him and modeling with him proper classroom behavior, a lot of teaching him how to self-regulate his emotions and a lot of imposing penalties on him (computer restriction, toy restriction - only with his favorite toys, of course) for yelling in class if he gets upset or frustrated (he's not allowed to yell - if he's upset, he can say so).

I hope this helps. Good luck to both you and your boy next year.

I don't have firsthand experience but my nephew (who lives in the Chicago area) was originally diagnosed as PDD-NOS and has since been re-diagnosed to Aspergers (after a ton of therapies and diet change). He sounds a lot like your son where he's perfectly intelligent enough to handle the general classroom schoolwork but he sometimes gets overwhelmed, socially. I know my Sister In Law was able to secure a free-of-charge aide to work directly with him and I believe it was paid for through the state (but they live in Illinois so I'm not sure if it would be the same case here in Michigan). His aide would mostly just help him transition from one activity to another and help him calm down if he got anxious, etc. It allowed for him to remain the general classroom where he needed to be in order to be stimulated, academically, but still gave him the chance to take a step back when he started to struggle.

Best of luck and I have nothing but admiration for moms who take so much time to make sure they're doing exactly what's right for their kids battling autism. There's definitely no "one size fits all" solution!

Go with your Maternal Instinct and put your child where you think he will gain the most benefit. The schools are more concerned about managing a classroom than they are about your child's needs or education. I have the same issues with my son and I am going to send him on to 1st grade, but plan on doing a lot of work with him this summer to ready him for all the challenges that will bring...especially socially!
Hope this helps,
C. H.

My son is 17 years old and has Asperger's. Before we moved here, he spent a few months at a school where he was in the special needs kindergarten room. Disaster. So glad he was mainstreamed here. But in elementary, he was allowed the same arrangement that you son now has. He was in the regular classroom, but if things got too overwhelming for him, he could ask to go to the resource room for some peace and quiet. He still has this option in his IEP. If anything, your son sounds like he needs a gifted/talented (GT) cirriculum with emotional.supports available upon request. This can be put into an IEP. As for a regular teacher dealing with him, the right teacher, who believes in his potential, will be able to deal with him. One teacher our son had felt that autism was more of a character flaw than a condition our son had to learn to cope with. Another was willing to learn and adapt her expectations to his needs. Guess which one made a lasting positive impact, and which one still is the subject of nightmares for him?
A regular teacher can give him prompts to warn of activity changes (ie, in five minutes, class, we will be going to art), and he can be pulled out for OT and math tutoring. Or he could be pulled out of a regular classroom for G/T instruction in reading.
Stand your ground. As his mother, you know him better than any professional.