Experiences with Schools: The Good and The Bad

Hi CAMmom, and welcome to IAN.

Thank you for sharing the information about your son's post high school experiences. This is an area of huge concern for so many. Out in the research world, I am beginning to encounter researchers very much interested in the transition process, and people are beginning to study what is happening as youth transition from high school to college. We are definitely going to need to know what models are successful, as far as paths to adulthood for individuals with different goals or levels of functioning. For starters, we are going to need to do some "service epidemiology" -- who is getting what in terms of help at college, Vocational Rehabilitation (job help), housing, etc. -- and what is working?

I do know about one scholarship for individuals with ASD. It is given by the Organization for Autism Research (OAR): http://www.researchautism.org/news/otherevents/scholarship.asp

Oh man have I got a story

let me lay it out. When my oldest was 4 we enrolled her in the prek program in our local county school district. I went to the school and gave them a complete history of my oldest(this consisted of a file folder containing copies of all medical and psychological tests and professional diagnostics that led to a finding of classic regressive autism. At this time i requested an IEP. and was told it would be no problem. Now Previous to this I had read and reread both Wrights Law and the IDEA Act and was familiar with both. It was at this IEP that I first began to worry. Attending the meeting were the Principal,Prek teacher,the schools Pshycomatrist(still not sure what that is exactly though have researched)and the director of special education for the school. After a 30 min recital of the directors history and credetials we were finally asked about our child, now my oldest is no perfect child(who's is?)but my wife and I both believed her to be a sweet and loving child and most people percieved her as such. the description of our daughter and her behaviour is something my wife and I have had to recite to many,many people(Y'all know the drill"he/she's autistic and ____" (so deal with it bub :mrgreen

so we proceeded to run through it once again. Imagine my suprise and then well hidden anger(very well)when this director looked at us and said "the child should be instatutionalized"

what?

Untill then no other professional or person who had ever met my child had or has since made this statement, but it gets better. Then i find out(of her own admission) that the Director has not even met my child(school is in session) nor has she read over any of the paperwork I provided to the school.
She then(proudly :shock

presents a complete and ready to go Iep for my daughter. How amazing here you have an indivigualized education program for a child you know ABSOLUTLY NOTHIUNG ABOUT!!!!!(they got em some of those mindreaders over there I betcha

. So I explained to all present what exactly was wrong with this charade and requested a new IEP for 6 weeks later. I (for some reason) assumed that the school would take the time to evaluate and review the information available in order to prepare a program to meet her indivigual needs. Then I get a call from the speech tharapisgt that works with my child to inform me the school is calling her office and requesting information on my child(they have it on file already :roll

Also during this time my child is steady losing skills and aquiring nothing in return. At the end of the six weeks the proposed IEP meeting (take 2

) took place. attending in person where myself, the principal, prek teacher, and psychomatrist. On paper attending where all the above and also magically the Director of special education(not only csn she read minds but she's friggin invisible too!?!) anyway the school has this new "revised" IEP for me boy are they proud of it at the end of the meeting I leave the school and immedialtly upon getting home email a photocopy of the IEP to a dan dr and his associates at an autism clinic that I attend, he responds with the name of a book and a page number. I get a digital copy online and go to the page and guess what is on my screen? word for word the exact IEP that I recieved from the school (down to the punctuation and quotes in the margin folks)

So I demand a meeting(NOT IEP SETTING) and simply ask why? Its then that the blame game starts, the teacher turns out is pulling double duty as a pre k teacher and as an SLP, she has a blind child,deaf child,downs syndrom child,2 physically hanicapped, and 2 autistic children all at one time and most of the time she has them alone. The principal never said a word and the director stated that she"didn't know much about this new stuff"

.
So now mine are 6 and 4 and I homeschool. Since last July 09 I've been FULL TIME DAD and though the days are long and the nights longer its worth every yawn when they get somthing for the first time and you see it click in those little eyes and then..... they smile.

So not that all schools are bad ( many are doing good things for their kids) but if yours won't do it fire em and do it yourself, IF I CAN DO IT ANYONE CAN
(p.s. did i mention that over 50 kids were withdrawn from this sped program in the month after I pulled mine? amazing what parents talk about aint it?)

HAVE YOU LAUGHED WITH YOUR KID TODAY?

FULL TIME DAD

Hi Full Time Dad. It is always to disturbing to hear of families having this kind of experience in the schools. There seems to be such a huge variation of experience, from instances in which the schools go the extra mile and create an atmosphere that is accepting and nurturing to instances where families are driven right out of the school system entirely.

Hi everyone,

My wife and I have decided to send our 6-year-old child to a special school for children with autism (and normal IQ), although he could most likely be successfully mainstreamed.
The teacher:child ratio is 1:7 (as opposed to 1:20), there are specific visually oriented and structured teaching methodologies, social behavior classes and up to 4 hours of individual coordinated psychomotoric and speech therapy per week.
The academic standards are the same as for other schools, but the child may take more time for some courses compared to others (as autistic kids, including our own, tend to have uneven talents).

Of course we're second guessing our decision and our primary concern is overprotection and depriving him of the opportunity to learn enough coping mechanisms by immersion in a world of NT's.
Our plan is to have our son join the boy scouts and/or start sports to expose him, but we wonder if it will be enough.

The alternative (mainstreaming) would imply 2 hours of individual teacher/child help and another two hours of therapies per week.
There tends to be a policy of mainstreaming as much as possible in the US.

Both educational options come at no cost (financial/practical) in the country we live in, so there are no other considerations.

Any opinions?

Hello Domisdad. I think you have made a great decision. I tried to keep my little boy in a regular elementary school for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, and it kind of worked, but he wasn't really making friends and I think he spent mountains of energy just dealing with the more crowded classrooms, noise, and social demands. (He had an aide, and all that.) By 4th grade, he was falling apart and having frequent meltdowns.

So I put him in a special school with a teacher/student ratio of 1/8 and no aide, and he blossomed like I had never seen before, and was happier and more successful than he had ever been. The school was able to make every aspect of the day "therapeutic", so instead of not being able to cope with chorus (in the regular school), he could totally be IN the chorus. At first, I worried about him not being with the regular kids, but when he made friends with the kids in the school, I didn't really care about the "regular" kids any more. A friend is a friend.

Now, a few years later, he's in a regular high school program, with some special ed support, and doing fine. His friends still tend to be other kids with Asperger's, and that's fine, too, as far as I'm concerned. One of his friends once said to a group of parents, "You shouldn't worry about us being friends with the 'normal' kids. We'll get there eventually. It's fine if learn to be friends with each other first." I thought that was great.

I am new here but I would like to share I have had mixed experiences with my sons school. My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS/ADHD in Aug of 2010 he had just turned four in June. His biggest issues speech and aggression. As of right now he is almost five and half and is currently in his second year of 4k in a regular class room setting. The first half of the school year last year was for the most part was a waste of time. My son learned nothing from being there. I knew that if my son were to have an aide in the room with him at all times that it would make a huge difference. Of coarse the school didn't want to pay for that. Unfortunatly for the school I was well aware of my sons rights and didn't hesitate to verbilze them for a second and would not take no for an answer. After a couple of months of going rounds with administrators my son got his full time aide in the class room and it has made a huge difference which I knew it would. My son is progressing nicely but I believe Intensive Behavioral Therepy would be most benaficial to him right now. He was suppose to start receiving it the first week in Oct. but there has been some kind of deley. I would just like to say to all you parents out there read, research, know your childs right and don't affraid to use them. Don't be intimidated by anyone, don't back down, be persistant, know what you child needs and except nothing less. On another note I am faceing a big decision and could use a little help and or insight. In June 2012 I am suppose to move to Alaska. Now from the research and reading that I have done so far it seems to me that my son will not have access to the nessary resources he is going to need to live a successful independent life. From what I've read the Dept for Special Education in Alaska at this point doesn't even recognise PDD-NOS as a form of Autism. I am at this point saying no we are not going so if anyone out there has any addvice, tips, conformation, or contridiction to what i am saying please let me know.
Thank you.

Hi lwheele, and welcome to IAN Community.

I just wanted to say that often it is really helpful to contact the local chapter of the Autism Society when you are thinking about moving to a new place. See if they can put you in touch with some Alaskan parents who are in-the-know about the situation not just in Alaska, but in the specific school district you think you might end up in. Alternately, they might have suggestions about which school district or area is best for kids with ASD as far as services/support. See: http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/state-resources/alaska.html

Another source of great information across the nation is the Autism Speaks' Autism Response Team. They may have some idea of local advocates who might be knowledgeable: 888-288-4762 or familyservices@autismspeaks.org.