Fighting To Change Schools

[Guest guest]

I have an 8 year old son in the 3rd grade. He was diagnosed with Aspergers when

he started kindergarten. When he started kindergarten he was uncontrollable. He

would not sit still. He would not follow instructions. He would run around the

room, out in the hallway, and into other classrooms.

One his first day of school a little boy that lives across the street from use

came home and told his mother that was in his class that day. The mother

responded that she thought that was in the other kindergarten class. The

boy said yeah, but he ran in there, with an adult chasing after him.

The school did intelligence testing and found that he was very bright. I think

that surprised them. He scored off the charts for what should be expected of a 5

year old. The elementary school did not want him, because he was disrupting the

class. Most of his time was spent outside the class in a meeting room, or any

room that was vacant, with a lady that worked with the Intermediate Unit.

I don't know if the Intermediate Unit is just a Pennsylvania thing or what. But

we live in southwestern Pennsylvania. So he was being rewarded for his bad

behaviors, because he got to spent one on one time with this young lady in her

early twenty's that he thought was fine looking.

And he had always been the center of attention, because he is an only child. At

school he had to compete for attention and therefore he acted up, to be noticed.

He was placed in a Therapeutic Emotional Support classroom in another school

district. Because our school district does not have a TES classroom.

He is still in this classroom with the same teacher. This is his forth year with

her. And it will be his last. If he stays at that school again next year he will

move to another classroom across the hall from his present class. The class he

is in is for K-3. And the one across the hall is for 4th and 5th graders.

He had been doing well in this class until shortly after Christmas break. He

started refusing to do his work. He would play with pencils; reflect sunlight

around the room with his dry erase board, or whatever else he could think of.

When I ask him why he was doing these things, he said because he wanted to. When

his teacher asked he would say, because I want to see how you will react.

His behavior might be stabilizing. We would take something away from him when he

had a bad day. And when he had a good day, he could get something back.

At one point he had lost his DSi, his Wii, his electronic keyboard, his old

Game Cube. And possibly some other stuff. Currently he has had three good days

in a row.

My wife and I do not want him back in that school next year. We don't feel it is

helping him any longer. He is not in our opinion, being challenged enough with

his school work, and is bored. The school feels differently, stating that he

does not have time to get bored. It is not about how much he has to do, but the

level of work he is doing that is causing the boredom.

His teacher told me recently that when started in her class he was capable

of dong 8th grade math. I just ordered intelligence testing, and academic

testing. If he is no longer working on or above an 8th grade level in math, then

I know he is not being challenged.

My wife and I want him back into a normal, or possibly a gifted classroom, with

an aide. Where he is taught on his level. And with normal children that don't

have behavior or emotional problems. He needs to see how a regular child in a

regular classroom handles everyday problems.

My wife and I are going to have a hard time getting him out of this school.

After his testing, we will have another IEP meeting. This time we will have a

Parent Advocate attending with us. I don't know how much that will help. So,

after this long history lesson on my son, does anybody have any advice?

Tim