New school

[Guest guest]

If he ever has probs with "getting along" or maybe "getting his things together" or especially not having friends????,,,,,well,,,,you can explain to him that this new school (Might) have other boys like him,,,,,who want friends but have a harder time making them. That there will be teachers who understand his "awesomeness" a lot better? Can he take a tour with the aide and you or maybe the sped teacher and you????? Maybe even meet someone his own age? Hope this helps. Robinmonica <buddy_monica@...> wrote: Hi everyone.My 8 year old son was dx with Asperger's in January ofthis year. He has been going to speech twice a week at him school aswell as having an aide in his class for 30 mins everyday. We had ourfollow up IEP meeting on Friday and they are recommending that he besent to another school for a social skills class and he would be mainstreamed for his strong subjects like reading and language arts. Ourthing is that we don't know how to tell him that he will be going to anew school. He gets a little anxious at the beginning of every schoolyear. Any recommendations on what to say to him? Thanks,

Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out

new cars at Autos.

[Guest guest]

, What I did at the beginning of the school year was make kind of a social story picture book. I took pictures of the new school, classroom, playground, etc... and made a short story about the "new school" It seemed to work. Hope this helps. Tammy

[Guest guest]

I wanted to let the group know about a new school in Apex, NC. Jordan Lake

School of the Arts www.jordanlakesa.com

Music, art, theater, nature hikes and a home like setting-really incredible

place for special kids and families.

[Guest guest]

You know what, ?I wonder if you could take him over to the new school today and let him check it out?

Let him go and meet his teacher? See his desk?

If you can't tonight,,,,,,or even tomorrow, I honestly wouldn't have him start until he could do this.

Tell him on the way over there that he doesn't have to go to school where he goes anymore.......and he'll immediately be calmer, I bet.

Maybe tell him that tomorrow, you two can go to a store, or whatever he likes to do.

Then say that there's a new place that's smaller and they can't wait to meet him. That they understand him better. And...how would he like to go and check it out?

I hope this helps. It'll give him a day to unwind....and him seeing the place ahead of time should help!!!

Hugs to you.

Robin

......A rich man is not one who has the most,

but who needs the least.....

From: Santos <santos.veronica96@...>Subject: ( ) new school"aspergers support group" < >Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 2:03 PM

Hi everyone,

My son's current public school has not provided him FAPE. We have had 3 IEP meetings and all of them failed to meet his needs. So we are voluntarily pulling him out and putting him at Mt. Helix academy where the class rooms are smaller. But he is so resistant to change. The new school starts Wed!!! And we haven't told him yet. I want to start this school on a postive note. For all you in this position before, how did you tell your child(hes 8)? Did you offfer treats or incentives if he goes without a meltdown?

It's getting to where school causes him so much anxiety we have a tantrum every morning. I'm at a loss. Any ideas are helpful. He's on Prozac for anxiety but is there something else you know of that's more appropriate for anxiety?

Thanks a lot,

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Wow, the new school starts Wednesday and you haven't mentioned it. You should do it right away! He will probably still resist at first. Maybe you could postpone it until Monday?? When my son started a new school in Oct we told him right away (two weeks) but he still had a really hard time adjusting. It took a couple of months actually. But I think it would have been easier if he didn't have such an untrained teacher, aid and principles. We are still dealing with that...

But for you, you should try to sike him up for it. Tell him it will be a new start and he will get more assistance etc etc. Like I said, he will probably still resist and what ever made you want to switch schools in the first place will probably get worse before it gets better.

I would also let the new school know that this could happen and that they will need patience and understanding. Hopefully they will have that already but you never know. We assumed this and got burned.

My son takes Zoloft 25 mg at night for anxiety. It works better than anything else has but each child is different. You might want to speak to your son's dr and tell him/her that your son is starting a new school and that you're concerned that he will become more anxious. Tell him you don't want to wait for your son to start havingmore issues before discuss medication.

Have you thought about taking him by the school to walk around or meet some of the staff before he starts. This might help ease the transition.

As for offering treats or incentives, sure if you think it will help. But with my son he was so resistant at first nothing worked. Then we started hour by hour with him earning points for every hour he didn't have major issues. Now we can go day by day.

He will need a lot of positives until you get his "buy in" regarding the new school. Hopefully the teachers and staff there are trained and will know this. Good luck and keep us posted! ne

From: Santos <santos.veronica96@...>Subject: ( ) new school"aspergers support group" < >Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 3:03 PM

Hi everyone,

My son's current public school has not provided him FAPE. We have had 3 IEP meetings and all of them failed to meet his needs. So we are voluntarily pulling him out and putting him at Mt. Helix academy where the class rooms are smaller. But he is so resistant to change. The new school starts Wed!!! And we haven't told him yet. I want to start this school on a postive note. For all you in this position before, how did you tell your child(hes 8)? Did you offfer treats or incentives if he goes without a meltdown?

It's getting to where school causes him so much anxiety we have a tantrum every morning. I'm at a loss. Any ideas are helpful. He's on Prozac for anxiety but is there something else you know of that's more appropriate for anxiety?

Thanks a lot,

[Guest guest]

Hello ne,

Sorry it's been long in getting back to you, we've had a busy month!! The transition was better than I thought. It really helps that the ratio is 2:1 and only 2 of his classes are larger. He is still having trouble in the larger classes but for now he has the choice to participate or not. We are on a months probabtion. Do you know what that means exactly? Sincerely,

From: susanne hansen <s_hansen34@...> Sent: Mon, February 7, 2011 2:40:31 PMSubject: Re: ( ) new school

Hi ,

Wow, the new school starts Wednesday and you haven't mentioned it. You should do it right away! He will probably still resist at first. Maybe you could postpone it until Monday?? When my son started a new school in Oct we told him right away (two weeks) but he still had a really hard time adjusting. It took a couple of months actually. But I think it would have been easier if he didn't have such an untrained teacher, aid and principles. We are still dealing with that...

But for you, you should try to sike him up for it. Tell him it will be a new start and he will get more assistance etc etc. Like I said, he will probably still resist and what ever made you want to switch schools in the first place will probably get worse before it gets better.

I would also let the new school know that this could happen and that they will need patience and understanding. Hopefully they will have that already but you never know. We assumed this and got burned.

My son takes Zoloft 25 mg at night for anxiety. It works better than anything else has but each child is different. You might want to speak to your son's dr and tell him/her that your son is starting a new school and that you're concerned that he will become more anxious. Tell him you don't want to wait for your son to start havingmore issues before discuss medication.

Have you thought about taking him by the school to walk around or meet some of the staff before he starts. This might help ease the transition.

As for offering treats or incentives, sure if you think it will help. But with my son he was so resistant at first nothing worked. Then we started hour by hour with him earning points for every hour he didn't have major issues. Now we can go day by day.

He will need a lot of positives until you get his "buy in" regarding the new school. Hopefully the teachers and staff there are trained and will know this. Good luck and keep us posted! ne

From: Santos <santos.veronica96@...>Subject: ( ) new school"aspergers support group" < >Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 3:03 PM

Hi everyone,

My son's current public school has not provided him FAPE. We have had 3 IEP meetings and all of them failed to meet his needs. So we are voluntarily pulling him out and putting him at Mt. Helix academy where the class rooms are smaller. But he is so resistant to change. The new school starts Wed!!! And we haven't told him yet. I want to start this school on a postive note. For all you in this position before, how did you tell your child(hes 8)? Did you offfer treats or incentives if he goes without a meltdown?

It's getting to where school causes him so much anxiety we have a tantrum every morning. I'm at a loss. Any ideas are helpful. He's on Prozac for anxiety but is there something else you know of that's more appropriate for anxiety?

Thanks a lot,

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

I know what busy feels like. I don't understand about the larger classes and that your son has a choice to participate or not. Are these classes core class or related arts? If he is having issues in the larger classes then maybe he should have an aide to help him through the transition in those classes.

I also don't understand the month "probation". I've never heard of such a thing. I've heard of trying something out for a month to see if it works but "probation"? That seems strange. What are they planning on doing after the month is over? If he isn't doing well are they going to kick him out? Are you scheduled to meet at the end of this month to see what the next step is?

I already replied to another post of yours with some suggestions so I don't want to repeat things but I am worried about this so called "probation". ne

From: Santos <santos.veronica96@...>Subject: ( ) new school"aspergers support group" < >Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 3:03 PM

Hi everyone,

My son's current public school has not provided him FAPE. We have had 3 IEP meetings and all of them failed to meet his needs. So we are voluntarily pulling him out and putting him at Mt. Helix academy where the class rooms are smaller. But he is so resistant to change. The new school starts Wed!!! And we haven't told him yet. I want to start this school on a postive note. For all you in this position before, how did you tell your child(hes 8)? Did you offfer treats or incentives if he goes without a meltdown?

It's getting to where school causes him so much anxiety we have a tantrum every morning. I'm at a loss. Any ideas are helpful. He's on Prozac for anxiety but is there something else you know of that's more appropriate for anxiety?

Thanks a lot,