some progress forward with our IEP

[Guest guest]

Today we had yet another IEP meeting for my ds, Nicolas (7). It actually went well. As of last week, Nicolas has had 4 days of suspension already because of his meltdowns, so his VP had suggested home bound services until we could get him into the appropriate program for Asperger's. My brother-in-law is a special education professional, and he advised me that this was a horrible idea, because it's taking him from the least restrictive environment (half day inclusion) and moving him to the most restrictive. They only offer 1 hour a day for home bound services, therefore he would go from 6 hours of instruction to 1. We didn't feel that this was at all beneficial to my son, but to the school so

they wouldn't have to "deal with him" until he gets approved for this program.

They weren't very happy when I got my brother-in-law on the speaker phone and let him sit in with our meeting from California to be my adviser, but it got the results I was looking for. We removed him from inclusion for 95% of the day, so he wasn't moving from class to class with 25+ other kids all day. The most kids that he is going to be around on a normal basis is 8 or 9, which is great for a public school. They are also required now to keep a behavior log, so we can monitor what is causing his rages and meltdowns. I didn't know until today that a few reasons he was having these problems were COMPLETELY preventable. They changed his seating arrangement without telling him, so he got mad when another student "took his seat," and also he is really big on rules, so another student broke one right in front of him(cut in line) and wasn't addressed

by an adult, so he took it upon himself to make sure that girl knew she broke a rule. The staff at his school aren't educated at all with any sort of autism, especially the high functioning end. I feel that since they have a student that has this diagnosis, it is their responsibility to educate themselves.

Sorry about this ramble, but the meeting lasted almost 2 hours because we were making sure that every little detail was addressed. They are still working on changing his label from E.D. to Autistic, since he just received his Dx this passed summer, but other than that the IEP is looking better and better. I was always scared of the schools because they make it seem like they know everything, but the more I learn, the more I realize that I am definitely in the driver's seat, and even though I'm only 25, I will make them give my child the education he deserves.

JEN