Re: Help with IEP and school services...

February 16, 2010

,

Not all of my list mates will agree but if your daughter is doing well she

should be in a gen ed classroom. I wish I knew in first grade how difficult it

would be to get out of the system once in and how detrimental Autism Classrooms

can be to high functioning children. They learn bad behaviors, are not expected

to excel and often stagnate in a room full of children with greater needs.The

younger children are much more supportive of a special needs kid in gen ed

settings than are older kids and the sooner you transition her the easier it

will be for her to adjust.

Do remember you can call for an interim IEP at your convenience and any

incidents that do occur are grounds to request additional services in a general

ed setting. Log and save any reports of issues and work closely with her

teacher. Any concerns your child's teacher has can be used to push the

administration to do more to support your child.

If at all avoidable, stay away from Autism classrooms unless your child's

behavior is so bad she is a danger to herself or others. It is hard to put this

high expectation on a young child but remember the other kids in the ESE class

are there because they are not expected to succeed in general ed and may well

drag your daughter down or worse. If the school believes she can succeed, get

started and then push for services as the need arises.

From: <jlhank80@...>

Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 3:26 PM

Â

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides,

nothing. The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a

regular class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 16, 2010

Hi ....Out of curiosity, where do you reside? And yes, school districts

will try to give you the bare minimum. I have fought for years for my son and I

do have an advocate. They like to take advantage of people like you who are just

starting out. If I would have had an advocate from the beginning, I would have

not run into as many problems along the way. Remember, you are your childs

advocate and nobody else is going to go out of their way for your child. If I

hadn't been so push and demanding, my son would not be where he is today.Â Hope

this helps!

From: <jlhank80@...>

Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 12:26 PM

Â

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides, nothing.

The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a regular

class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 16, 2010

I agree with Bill 100%. My son has been very successfully fully included since

K, which was what I really wanted for him. I was told in his k transition iep

that the school NEVER provided aides (my friend had just finished her iep right

before mine and her DD got a full-time 1:1, so I knew that was BS). I pulled out

my copy of You're Going to Love This Kid and read a short paragraph that started

with " The law says (it was about how our children are entitled to the least

restrictive environment). I had already shown all the ways he was ready for a

regular classroom but that he would need some supports to be successful, like an

aide and some sensory breaks. They provided all that. He has thrived and grown

in amazing ways. Dr G is calling him 90% recovered. He is making friends and

staying at or above grade level.

Kristy

Bill klimas <klimas_bill@...> wrote:

>,

>Not all of my list mates will agree but if your daughter is doing well she

should be in a gen ed classroom. I wish I knew in first grade how difficult it

would be to get out of the system once in and how detrimental Autism Classrooms

can be to high functioning children. They learn bad behaviors, are not expected

to excel and often stagnate in a room full of children with greater needs.The

younger children are much more supportive of a special needs kid in gen ed

settings than are older kids and the sooner you transition her the easier it

will be for her to adjust.

>

>Do remember you can call for an interim IEP at your convenience and any

incidents that do occur are grounds to request additional services in a general

ed setting. Log and save any reports of issues and work closely with her

teacher. Any concerns your child's teacher has can be used to push the

administration to do more to support your child.

>

>If at all avoidable, stay away from Autism classrooms unless your child's

behavior is so bad she is a danger to herself or others. It is hard to put this

high expectation on a young child but remember the other kids in the ESE class

are there because they are not expected to succeed in general ed and may well

drag your daughter down or worse. If the school believes she can succeed, get

started and then push for services as the need arises.

>

>From: <jlhank80@...>

>Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

>

>Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 3:26 PM

>

>Â

>

> Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides,

nothing. The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a

regular class, there is no in between.

>

>I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

>

>Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

>

February 16, 2010

I went through this with my now nine year old son. For the first year, we had

him 1/2 day in gen ed and 1/2 in resource and special ed. This didn't work

because the teacher in gen ed didn't really take " ownership " of him or his

education. That year the special ed teacher was a disaster! The next year, we

decided to have Noah repeat Kindergarten since he was only 5--this time in a gen

ed environment with a full-time aide and a very supportive teacher. It was a

wonderful experience, both for Noah and the other kids in the class. He stayed

in general ed through part of his second grade year when the academics began to

frustrate him. He is now in the 3rd grade in a special ed classroom with very

high functioning kids. Most are LD.

As long as there are no safety issues and you feel she will function best in

this environment, my recommendation would be to place your daughter in a general

ed environment with an aide. Your child is entitled to be educated in the least

restrictive environment (LRE) with all the supports necessary to help her

achieve. The school district cannot use money or the budget as a reason to deny

her LRE. She will progress much faster and farther if she is observing and

imitating typical peer behavior. Make sure they list a full time aide with the

requisite # of hours needed on the IEP. You can always be open minded about

stopping the aide if she's doing well. I always encouraged our aide to help

other children if Noah was doing well at a particular task.

HTH,

Robyn

________________________________

From: Bill klimas <klimas_bill@...>

Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 12:46:52 PM

Subject: Re: Help with IEP and school services...

,

Not all of my list mates will agree but if your daughter is doing well she

should be in a gen ed classroom. I wish I knew in first grade how difficult it

would be to get out of the system once in and how detrimental Autism Classrooms

can be to high functioning children. They learn bad behaviors, are not expected

to excel and often stagnate in a room full of children with greater needs.The

younger children are much more supportive of a special needs kid in gen ed

settings than are older kids and the sooner you transition her the easier it

will be for her to adjust.

Do remember you can call for an interim IEP at your convenience and any

incidents that do occur are grounds to request additional services in a general

ed setting. Log and save any reports of issues and work closely with her

teacher. Any concerns your child's teacher has can be used to push the

administration to do more to support your child.

If at all avoidable, stay away from Autism classrooms unless your child's

behavior is so bad she is a danger to herself or others. It is hard to put this

high expectation on a young child but remember the other kids in the ESE class

are there because they are not expected to succeed in general ed and may well

drag your daughter down or worse. If the school believes she can succeed, get

started and then push for services as the need arises.

From: <jlhank80 (DOT) com>

Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

groups (DOT) com

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 3:26 PM

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides,

nothing. The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a

regular class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 16, 2010

Â Hello ,

I am not sure what city you are but here's some information someone who may be

able to help you of provide support her name is

Gloria she is a parent advocate with the firm Cirkiel and

Associates in Texas. Gloria previously worked as a special education advocate

for Advocacy Inc. and as a parent advocate for MHMR County, as well as

for ACLU on its School To Prison Pipeline Project. Gloria is also a parent to a

child diagnosed with autism.

Good luck try to call one of the numbers below to get a hold if her.

Austin: 512-791-0566

Dallas: 214-303-9828

Los Angeles: 213-596-5975

www.cirkielaw.com

www.gloriaperezwalker.com

www.latinamami.org

Denton

________________________________

From: <jlhank80@...>

Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 2:26:03 PM

Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

Â

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides, nothing.

The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a regular

class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 16, 2010

Hi ,

If they feel she can be in the gen ed, I would definitely go for it.Â My son

hasn't ever had an aid, either, although I was fairly certain he needed one.Â

He did fine without one.Â When she comes up against problems, either behavioral

or acedemic, then they will start addressing them with behavioral plans.Â If

then she still isn't succeeding in the classroom, that's when you can push for

an aide - you can certainly fight her going back to another classroom.

My son liked to be pulled out for the smaller classes for subjects that he

needed a smaller class size.

I'm not thrilled with how the school is not currently helping my son - now in

4th grade age 10.Â Up till now he has done fine, but now he is rapidly slipping

behind and I'm really only now finding out just how bad.Â I should have been

communicating with the teacher regularly but when she tried during a bad time

and I didn't address it right then (I was sick, his brother was sick and really

coming apart in school, not that it's a suitable excuse), she kind of gave up on

me and just didn't follow thru any more.Â The special ed dept also brushed her

off and didn't offer any solutions either.Â He isn't completing his work in

school and isn't bringing it home.Â I have to address it a few months too late

and we'll have a hard time catching up.

So regular communication with the teacher and regularly reviewing her work at

home is important.

IMMEDIATELY make 'homework' a daily fun ritual, whether there is homework or

not.Â If you don't make it a very normal part of your day-to-day, it will be a

very difficult habit to build later on.Â I regret that more than anything.Â

She really will be fine in the gen ed classroom, but you will have to come to

IEPs with ideas and requests.Â Ask for more than you expect to give.Â I don't

succeed in much 'negotiation', but you ask for regular testing, assessments,

evaluations (speech, OT, etc) so that when weaknesses are found by their

testing, they will have to help implement plans to improve those areas.

Best of luck!

________________________________

From: <jlhank80@...>

Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 2:26:03 PM

Subject: Help with IEP and school services...

Â

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides, nothing.

The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a regular

class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 16, 2010

Thanks everyone, so much for all of your input and experience. I totally agree

that my daughter should be in a general class...I think she needs more support,

though. Because of the protocol she is doing very well, but she still

needs to catch up. I highly doubt they will give me an aide for her, though she

needs that or at least one para-pro in her class that can watch over her,

somehow. She is so smart but immature. Her behavior is pretty good now, too.

A huge difference from a a year ago.

Anyone have any problems with their child being too tired to get through the

day? Right now this seems to be an issue...I hope that part gets better soon.

Thank you again SO MUCH! I am so glad to have people who understand!!!

-

>

> Hi ,

> If they feel she can be in the gen ed, I would definitely go for it.Â My son

hasn't ever had an aid, either, although I was fairly certain he needed one.Â

He did fine without one.Â When she comes up against problems, either behavioral

or acedemic, then they will start addressing them with behavioral plans.Â If

then she still isn't succeeding in the classroom, that's when you can push for

an aide - you can certainly fight her going back to another classroom.

> My son liked to be pulled out for the smaller classes for subjects that he

needed a smaller class size.

> I'm not thrilled with how the school is not currently helping my son - now in