Where do I start?

[Guest guest]

Elaine,

Welcome to our list.

The first thing would be to begin the IEP process with your local school

district. A call to the special education director (sometimes they are

called Student Services Coordinators) should point you in the right

direction. In my district, there is a special education preschool program,

and many cities have public preschools open to all children.

There are three forms of special education, and the IEP will determine

which kind your son qualifies for, plus what combination of services and

support your son will need.

The first is mainstreaming with resource room help and other services, such

as adaptive PE or occupational therapy (OT). This is category my son was in

until this school year. He attended a regular public preschool with

services for his mild cerebral palsy (this was when we lived in another

state), and he was also mainstreamed in kindergarten and first grade.

The second is inclusion. This is when a child has an aide and spends the

bulk of his or her time in the general education setting. Often kids will

spend part of their day either in a special day class or in the resource

room with resource room personnel or tutors. We probably could have pushed

for this with Sasha, but we predicted that he would crash and burn, as he

was highly unstable at the time, and that he would run through aides like

water. (Sasha takes five medications to control mood fluctuations and

rageful behavior. We suspect he will eventually have a co-diagnosis with

bipolar disorder.)

The third, and this is my son's current designation, is special ed class or

" special day class " -- SDC. These come in two basic flavors. The first is

" non-severe " for kids whose disabilities are considered relatively mild but

who find it difficult to function in regular classrooms. Some districts

will have classes only for kids with HFA and AS. The focus is evenly on

socialization and on academics. The second is for more seriously disabled

children, and even these come in different flavors. My son has a friend

with FAS, who has severe language delays and mild mental retardation, who

is in a " SED " classroom. I would not categorize her as " seriously

emotionally disturbed " however. She is the happiest, most cooperative child

I've ever met!! The more severe designation places more emphasis on

socialization than on academics.

Often, if the school discovers significant social problems, its personnel

will encourage you to try SDC placement. They would probably call a

preschool class a " special education class " rather than a SDC, but they are

similar. This is the most restrictive environment that a school can offer,

and I highly recommend that you not consent to this until the school tries

your son in the least restrictive environment (LRE) with supports. This is

your son's right under the law.

This said, due to lack of public preschool programs with regular ed

classrooms in some areas, many parents will consent to enrolling their kids

in special ed classrooms and then withdraw consent once their children

enter kindergarten. At that time there should be more options. You do not,

at any time, have to agree to SDC placement. Not even if your child is in

one at the time.

Note of caution about private schools: They are not beholden to follow IDEA

and do not have to make adjustments. If funding occurs through the

district, children continue on IEPs, and there might be some accountability

that way. We would definitely look for one that specializes in teaching

autistic children. Kids who are more high-functioning can do well in

private schools, especially when there are more tolerance for quirkiness

and smaller class sizes. Generally services will be more comprehensive in

public schools. That does not mean the services will be of high quality.

This varies from district to district, and some districts will be better at

some things and not so good at others.

If you would like some reading, check out the OASIS web site and anything

by Tony Attwood or Myles. I also recommend The Myth of Laziness by

Mel Levine. For sensory issues, The Out of Sync Child is very good. Also

check out the 's Law web site and their book From Emotions to

Advocacy which you can order from that site.

Parents are speaking a lot about ABA therapy (which our family counselor

has just begun with Sasha) and RDI. Having ongoing therapy both for the

family and for your son might be a good idea. You might need to let off

steam and work on strategies, and your son will need to work with someone

one to one to build social awareness. We had this going on at school but

are going to withhold consent for school-based counseling and go with our

private therapist. That's a long story, and I don't want to scare you.

Trust is important, as is tolerance for eccentricity. This begins with the

principal. If he or she is a bad egg, then they tend to grow a culture that

is not terribly friendly for kids with special needs or for their parents.

So when you are checking out schools, you might want to interview the big

(hopefully not rotten) cheese while you're at it.

Welcome again and best wishes.

T.

mom of Sasha, 7 (and Gena, 5)

In California, there are very few public preschool programs, but

First of all, welcome

At 07:40 AM 4/5/2005 +0000, you wrote:

>My 4 year old son has just been diagnosed with Aspergers. He was

>going to preschool but I pulled him out because it was not the best

>place for him. The psychologist suggested that our first step should

>be contacting our school district and see if he can get into an

>appropriate preschool program and speech therapy. I'm feeling a

>little overwhelmed. I have read about people having great success with

>their school district while others have many problems.

>

>What advice would you give someone who is just starting the

>journey? What are the right words to say when talking to the school for

>the first time? What are the steps to follow and how long does it

>generally take? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

>

>

>Thanks,

>Elaine

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

emssv <sv_elaine@...> wrote:

My 4 year old son has just been diagnosed with Aspergers. He was

going to preschool but I pulled him out because it was not the best

place for him. The psychologist suggested that our first step should

be contacting our school district and see if he can get into an

appropriate preschool program and speech therapy. I'm feeling a

little overwhelmed. I have read about people having great success with

their school district while others have many problems.

What advice would you give someone who is just starting the

journey? What are the right words to say when talking to the school for

the first time? What are the steps to follow and how long does it

generally take? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Elaine

Hi Elaine,

Welcome! You should contact your school and tell them you have a child with a

disability. Usually they do testing unless you have had testing done already.

They might accept your testing and use that. Then you would get together to

discuss an appropriate education plan at an IEP meeting.

There is a nice website that has a primer on this sort of thing -

http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/education.htm At the bottom of this page is the

" parent tutorial " that I am thinking of. She has a lot of good articles to read

besides that. The best thing to do, IMO, is to get educated about the process.

Roxanna

Look alive. Here comes a buzzard.

-- Pogo

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

> We have been using Kirkman's isogest enzyme for a few months now and

> have successfully added back in pureed tomato without incident. (Not

> so good with strawberries or even watermelon) Prior to the diet (18

> months ago)she was eager to try all sorts of foods, and I suspect she

> still would be. She is young, so the limited diet isn't stigmatizing

> her in any way yet, but I'd like to see a few fruits and vegeatbles

> in the daily routine.

>

> I have read many success stories with Houston's Enzymes. I would

> like to give them a try. I am confused about which to order, and

> whether I need different enzymes for different foods.

Because you already know she has problems with high phenol fruits, try

No-Fenol, which is helpful for fruits and veggies

http://www.houstonni.com/

Dana

[Guest guest]

I have a 19m old boy who was just diagnosed with mild apraxia. He was

tested/evaluated

and they determined his receptive language is equivalent to a 27 month old. His

expressive

language is at the level of an 11m old. He knows about 13-18 words, but they do

sound

garbled. I also have an almost 4 yr old, who started talking early, and is now

extremely

verbal. It has been difficult to not compare the two. We have our first speech

therapy apt.

tomorrow morning. I just feel so lost. I feel like I don't have a good

understanding of

apraxia, and therefore, I am not sure what questions I should be asking. Can

someone

please help me figure out the " right " questions to ask, and what to look out

for. We are

expecting our 3rd boy in May. I want to have a good routine implemented before

he arrives.

ANy insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, alicia