Update: My vent rant/suggestions

[Guest guest]

Just an update on my 6 year old aspies start to first grade.

First of all thank you all for hearing me and all of the responses and

suggestions.

We are still " sticking in there " at the private school. I miss spoke

when I said there were 30 students in the class (actually turns out

there are only 28--still a lot to handle) We are staying put for now,

mainly because it is what my son knows and he doesn't handle change

well.

We are still having issues with the buttons and uniforms though and he

still gets upset over it. He strips as soon as he possible can in the

afternoon has cried in the evenings at bed time about getting dressed

in the morning. Another problem to share is that he won't were his

headphones (decibel reduction ones he wore last year) even though he

knows he needs them for the noise. (He says he can't because a

certain child will laugh at him) I have requested time with his

teacher to explain the situation and she should call today. Also his

OT should start back this week and I have an eval. pending to update

his IEP.

To answer some the suggestions about changing his school.... Yes,

sending him to public school would be the easier and least expensive

route. It would keep me from driving 25 minutes one way to take him

to school. It would solve the buttons/uniform issue. It would keep

me from having to find private providers to give him services and

implement his IEP. And, I do believe there would be 4 less students

per class if he attended in our public district.... But, based on past

experience, I honestly don't see our public district protecting his

interests. I do not see the public school giving him the same level of

service as the private providers.

Some other things to consider I have considered is that although the

class is large, the private school as a whole is much smaller, it has

fewer transitions during the day, less crowds and noise, and the

children there held accountable for their actions and behavior more

consistently.(bullying and teasing are minimized) Also, the staff

there is beyond top notch.

I did get reponses reminding me that it is the LAW that accommodations

be made and IEP's are followed. I am, like most parents in this group,

well aware of that. Most of us are also aware that it is a long fight

to get the accommodations and proper IEP's done and the child

suffers/struggles in the meantime while the paper gets pushed around.

I am going to give it a little more time as I have no choice other

than letting my son be a truant--not really a choice.

I do appreciate all the responses and suggestions. I have tried a few

to no avail yet. Sometimes it is good to know that a situation isn't

insanity and there are others that have " been there/done that. "

I will keep you posted on how things turn out.