Re: Re:Desperately need ideas for our in between situation

[Guest guest]

Jill...what a great post...I am going to use some of your ideas too! I agree with you 100%. I am trying to get my son's teachers to understand that he is not like all the rest...he needs the help...and it isn't because he is lazy, stupid, or defiant. I think some of my son's teachers think he is defiant. One day he refused to work on the PSSA prep worksheets....he was tired and bored. So he put his head down and refused. He didn't care about the consequences. So, she sent him to guidance to work. I think that helped.

They are suppose to give my son 4 breaks a day ...to walk...to use weights...etc. But this has not happened yet...and he is NOT going to ask for it....he needs to be told to do it. Just like the social skills class....they hold him responsible to do it...he doesn't like the class or the kids in there...so he doesn't go. And, they don't make him. So, now he misses out on the class that I suggested they start! OMG!

Jan

Janice Rushen

"I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope"

From: Jill Kern <JillBKern@...>Subject: ( ) Re:Desperately need ideas for our in between situation Date: Monday, February 16, 2009, 7:59 AM

Dear Ruth,

I think your son needs an IEP, not a 504 plan. With an IEP, the school would be required to actually take action, such as providing him with a monitor or a personal assistant to help him write down his assignments, complete them on time, etc. The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), a federal law, also requires them to come up with a positive behavior plan if they are not satisfied with his behavior. You can request that his teachers receive in-service training to increase their understanding of autism spectrum disorders. Also, the most important, but difficult, thing you can do -- which helped my son more than anything else -- is to find an ally or allies on the school staff, who will understand that educating your son is a team effort, and that you will work with them to help him get the education he is guaranteed by law. You have to send them the message "We're all in this

together. Let me know what I can do to help you." Of course there are some teachers who will never "get it," either because they are unwilling to go the extra mile or because they just have no comprehension of autism spectrum disorders. But don't give up! I had to go back over and over again to many of my son's teachers, especially in middle school, to explain what was difficult for him and how he could be helped to produce his best work. Sometimes I proposed substitute assignments for assignments I knew would be difficult or impossible for him. You would be amazed how grateful some of his teachers were!

One example you mentioned of a seemingly helpful 504 accommodation that doesn't help your son, and wouldn't have helped mine, is allowing him to choose between three prompts in writing class. What if none of the three prompts works for him? My son once had an English teacher who gave the students three choices for a project on the play "Macbeth." They could act out one of Macbeth's soliloquies (in character); they could design a book cover about the play; or they could construct a stage set for the play. My son has no acting ability or artistic ability. So I sent her an e-mail saying "I assume that the purpose of your assignment is to let the students show that they read the play and understand it. Since Owen has no acting ability, and any art or craft project is extremely difficult for him due to his disability, perhaps he could do an alternative project. He tends to see

the world very literally, and deals with facts better than fiction. So how about giving him the assignment of making a poster comparing the life of the real, historical Macbeth with the fictional character in the play?" She said this sounded fine to her, so I helped him look up facts about the real Macbeth on the Internet, and he made the poster and presented it in class. I can't remember his grade, but I think the teacher was very happy with the result.

You say he is doing better at school and it's homework that's the big problem. Is there any way he could get tutoring? I'm embarrassed to admit that I relied on my daughter (five years older than my son) to help him with writing assignments. Somehow her approach just worked better than mine. Then she went away to college and I had to learn how to encourage him myself!

Jill