Re: excellent IEP meeting (accomodations in our IEP)

[Guest guest]

My son has a lot of accomodations. He can have a teacher work with him 1:1 to do tests and keep him on task. He has a 1:1 "paraprofessional" with him all day. He eats lunch in the resource room most days though they'd like to get him into the cafeteria occasionally. They choose battles carefully. uses a computer in the classroom. We bought him a netbook for this purpose. He is going to get scheduled breaks with the hope of reducing the number of requested breaks. He is going to get OT for sensory issues and ST and the ST wants to work with the OT on oral motor and oral sensory issues. is not taking foreign language because it was too stressful. gets speech with another child so they work on pragmatics together. They chose a child who knows and has been a friend for a

couple of years. I don't think the ST realized they were already friends but she said they make amazing progress together.

They assume that 's behavior has a purpose and a cause and they don't punish. The guidance counselor works with every week and if he has a meltdown she knows just what to do. has modified classwork and homework. takes a special ed bus to school rather than ride the regular bus. The para helps pack his backpack and takes notes for him sometimes. The para writes down all the homework for us because right now that's just too much for to tackle given all the new challenges presented by middle school. spends part of his day in "the resource room" if he's having trouble concentrating in class or he is disruptive or upsetd and during the time he'd be in foreign language he can go in there and work on missed work. has a chair cushion called a move-n-sit which is an OT thing that gives some movement without the child looking like they are moving. It helps them focus.

The school has a video from www.coultervideo.com called Intricate Minds. There are several of these, one is for teaching elementary kids about their classmates with AS. Some don't specify AS and say "different thinkers". We used the AS one in TX and the different thinkers in his first school here. The school has the AS one for older kids (7th - high school). They will also be educating the kids in other ways thanks to the guidance counselor who agrees with me it's the best way to prevent bullying.

Chewing gum helps kids who need to chew. Kids who need to chew often have sensory issues with proprioceptive sensory system and vestibular sensory system.

The school has an indoor therapy swing. They will begin using that with soon. They will also be starting a sensory diet with fidgets and other coping items in the classroom.

The guidance counselor has one of her degrees in autism spectrum disorders and she adores asperger kids. I can see it in her eyes. I can tell she really gets it. So when someone at the meeting suggested needs to get more independent with writing down assignments (possibly me, actually) she suggested using technology to help with it. He could be the one to make a print out of the assignments. OR he could type them in his computer. I'm not sure how that looks, but I could tell she just has a feel. It was a "we're fighting so many battles already, which ones are most important" kind of thing. So the only thing we're working on is keeping IN the classroom. We're not bothering to make him keep his head off the desk at all times, we're not bothering with note-taking.

Anyway, I've written as much as I can remember. I don't have the draft in front of me. The IEP has goals for behavior and goals for academics and goals for OT and ST. The goals are geared for what really CAN do. Like keeping track of how much he pays attention and rewarding him for it. They were tracking at 15 minute intervals but have decided to use 5 minute intervals with the hope of catching him doing the right things. The guidance counselor was very adamant that they pay attention to positive and ignore negative. She really wants 100% positive with him. He responds so well to that it's worth the trouble but until they see it in action it's hard for some folks to comprehend. The guidance counselor is trusted as the expert so what she says goes!

Feel free to ask anything.

Miriam

[Guest guest]

Hi Miriam,

Wow, thank you for sharing about your son's IEP. That is an amazing array of services. How wonderful he is benefitting from that so much. I was just curious, as my son has only just been recommended for evaluation, so we are going to have him evaluated by a doctor, as well as our school district, in the coming month. I've been doing research on asperger's, assuming that he may be diagnosed with that in the near future. I was just wondering what your son's, main symptoms are. He has asperger's, right? He has a lot of services, so I was just curious how AS presents in him. I know AS can be a continuum and was just curious where you thought he is on the continuum of AS. Also, what was he like when he was in kindergarten? I only ask because my son is in kindergarten. Thanks again for sharing... (-: Lori

From: Miriam Banash <callis4773@...>Subject: ( ) re: excellent IEP meeting (accomodations in our IEP) Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 8:47 PM

My son has a lot of accomodations. He can have a teacher work with him 1:1 to do tests and keep him on task. He has a 1:1 "paraprofessional" with him all day. He eats lunch in the resource room most days though they'd like to get him into the cafeteria occasionally. They choose battles carefully. uses a computer in the classroom. We bought him a netbook for this purpose. He is going to get scheduled breaks with the hope of reducing the number of requested breaks. He is going to get OT for sensory issues and ST and the ST wants to work with the OT on oral motor and oral sensory issues. is not taking foreign language because it was too stressful. gets speech with another child so they work on pragmatics together. They chose a child who knows and has been a friend for a couple of years. I don't think the ST realized they were already friends but she said they

make amazing progress together.

They assume that 's behavior has a purpose and a cause and they don't punish. The guidance counselor works with every week and if he has a meltdown she knows just what to do. has modified classwork and homework. takes a special ed bus to school rather than ride the regular bus. The para helps pack his backpack and takes notes for him sometimes. The para writes down all the homework for us because right now that's just too much for to tackle given all the new challenges presented by middle school. spends part of his day in "the resource room" if he's having trouble concentrating in class or he is disruptive or upsetd and during the time he'd be in foreign language he can go in there and work on missed work. has a chair cushion called a move-n-sit which is an OT thing that gives some movement without the child looking like they are moving. It helps them focus.

The school has a video from www.coultervideo. com called Intricate Minds. There are several of these, one is for teaching elementary kids about their classmates with AS. Some don't specify AS and say "different thinkers". We used the AS one in TX and the different thinkers in his first school here. The school has the AS one for older kids (7th - high school). They will also be educating the kids in other ways thanks to the guidance counselor who agrees with me it's the best way to prevent bullying.

Chewing gum helps kids who need to chew. Kids who need to chew often have sensory issues with proprioceptive sensory system and vestibular sensory system.

The school has an indoor therapy swing. They will begin using that with soon. They will also be starting a sensory diet with fidgets and other coping items in the classroom.

The guidance counselor has one of her degrees in autism spectrum disorders and she adores asperger kids. I can see it in her eyes. I can tell she really gets it. So when someone at the meeting suggested needs to get more independent with writing down assignments (possibly me, actually) she suggested using technology to help with it. He could be the one to make a print out of the assignments. OR he could type them in his computer. I'm not sure how that looks, but I could tell she just has a feel. It was a "we're fighting so many battles already, which ones are most important" kind of thing. So the only thing we're working on is keeping IN the classroom. We're not bothering to make him keep his head off the desk at all times, we're not bothering with note-taking.

Anyway, I've written as much as I can remember. I don't have the draft in front of me. The IEP has goals for behavior and goals for academics and goals for OT and ST. The goals are geared for what really CAN do. Like keeping track of how much he pays attention and rewarding him for it. They were tracking at 15 minute intervals but have decided to use 5 minute intervals with the hope of catching him doing the right things. The guidance counselor was very adamant that they pay attention to positive and ignore negative. She really wants 100% positive with him. He responds so well to that it's worth the trouble but until they see it in action it's hard for some folks to comprehend. The guidance counselor is trusted as the expert so what she says goes!

Feel free to ask anything.

Miriam

[Guest guest]

You do have amazing support in your son's school. That is so great!

Pam

>

> My son has a lot of accomodations.  He can have a teacher work with him 1:1 to

do tests and keep him on task.  He has a 1:1 " paraprofessional " with him all

day.  He eats lunch in the resource room most days though they'd like to get him

into the cafeteria occasionally.  They choose battles carefully.  uses a

computer in the classroom.  We bought him a netbook for this purpose.  He is

going to get scheduled breaks with the hope of reducing the number of requested

breaks.  He is going to get OT for sensory issues and ST and the ST wants to

work with the OT on oral motor and oral sensory issues.  is not taking

foreign language because it was too stressful.  gets speech with another

child so they work on pragmatics together.  They chose a child who knows

and has been a friend for a couple of years.  I don't think the ST realized they

were already friends but she said they make amazing progress together. 

>  

> They assume that 's behavior has a purpose and a cause and they don't

punish.  The guidance counselor works with every week and if he has a

meltdown she knows just what to do.  has modified classwork and homework. 

takes a special ed bus to school rather than ride the regular bus.  The

para helps pack his backpack and takes notes for him sometimes.  The para

writes down all the homework for us because right now that's just too much for

to tackle given all the new challenges presented by middle school. 

spends part of his day in " the resource room " if he's having trouble

concentrating in class or he is disruptive or upsetd and during the time he'd be

in foreign language he can go in there and work on missed work.  has a

chair cushion called a move-n-sit which is an OT thing that gives some movement

without the child looking like they are moving.  It helps them focus.

>  

> The school has a video from www.coultervideo.com called Intricate Minds. 

There are several of these, one is for teaching elementary kids about their

classmates with AS.  Some don't specify AS and say " different thinkers " .  We

used the AS one in TX and the different thinkers in his first school here.  The

school has the AS one for older kids (7th - high school).  They will also be

educating the kids in other ways thanks to the guidance counselor who agrees

with me it's the best way to prevent bullying.

>  

> Chewing gum helps kids who need to chew.  Kids who need to chew often have

sensory issues with proprioceptive sensory system and vestibular sensory system.

>  

> The school has an indoor therapy swing.  They will begin using that with

soon.  They will also be starting a sensory diet with fidgets and other coping

items in the classroom.

>  

> The guidance counselor has one of her degrees in autism spectrum disorders and

she adores asperger kids.  I can see it in her eyes.  I can tell she really gets

it.  So when someone at the meeting suggested needs to get more independent

with writing down assignments (possibly me, actually) she suggested using

technology to help with it.  He could be the one to make a print out of the

assignments.  OR he could type them in his computer.  I'm not sure how that

looks, but I could tell she just has a feel.  It was a " we're fighting so many

battles already, which ones are most important " kind of thing.  So the only

thing we're working on is keeping IN the classroom.  We're not bothering to

make him keep his head off the desk at all times, we're not bothering with

note-taking.

>  

> Anyway, I've written as much as I can remember.  I don't have the draft in

front of me.  The IEP has goals for behavior and goals for academics and goals

for OT and ST.  The goals are geared for what really CAN do.  Like keeping

track of how much he pays attention and rewarding him for it.  They were

tracking at 15 minute intervals but have decided to use 5 minute intervals with

the hope of catching him doing the right things.  The guidance counselor was

very adamant that they pay attention to positive and ignore negative.  She

really wants 100% positive with him.  He responds so well to that it's worth the

trouble but until they see it in action it's hard for some folks to comprehend. 

The guidance counselor is trusted as the expert so what she says goes!

>  

> Feel free to ask anything.

>  

> Miriam

>

>  

>  

>

[Guest guest]

It just makes me sad this isn't true for everyone. All the wasted potential. I

wish I could get the same for my daughter but right now we don't have a

diagnosis. She is anxious, depressed and hates school and homework. I'm

keeping her home tomorrow with the hope of finding someone who can do an

evaluation. She's had an OT evaluation which shows sensory integration

dysfunction. This is a big part of why she is miserable. So of course I'm

miserable, too. She'll be delighted in the extreme about staying home. She

just needs a mental health day! I'll be calling the school, talking with the

guidance counselor and anyone else who will listen. I think she is way too

overwhelmed by school and reducing her work load would make a huge difference.

At least until we get her sensory issues under control I think we need to reduce

the work. I made her go to bed before she finished her homework tonight because

she was so miserable. She was extremely happy to quit for the day. Then she

was scared to go in her room alone. Then she was doing a lot of OCD stuff that

she said made her feel safe. Maybe we need to investigate medication again.

One kid thrives while the other falls between the cracks. Anyone here know

anything about abilify?

Miriam

> >

> > My son has a lot of accomodations. 

[Guest guest]

Hey Miriam… remind me if takes any medications? Did you ever

have issues with him with aggression when he was younger?

Sounds like you have an AMAZING support system there. SO lucky

!!!

=)

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Miriam Banash

Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2009 5:18 PM

Subject: ( ) re: excellent IEP meeting (accomodations in

our IEP)

My son has a lot of accomodations. He can have a

teacher work with him 1:1 to do tests and keep him on task. He has a

1:1 " paraprofessional " with him all day. He eats lunch in the

resource room most days though they'd like to get him into the cafeteria

occasionally. They choose battles carefully. uses a computer

in the classroom. We bought him a netbook for this purpose. He is

going to get scheduled breaks with the hope of reducing the number of

requested breaks. He is going to get OT for sensory issues and ST and

the ST wants to work with the OT on oral motor and oral sensory issues.

is not taking foreign language because it was too stressful.

gets speech with another child so they work on pragmatics together.

They chose a child who knows and has been a friend for a couple of

years. I don't think the ST realized they were already friends but she

said they make amazing progress together.

They assume that 's behavior has a purpose and a cause

and they don't punish. The guidance counselor works with every

week and if he has a meltdown she knows just what to do. has

modified classwork and homework. takes a special ed bus to school

rather than ride the regular bus. The para helps pack his backpack

and takes notes for him sometimes. The para writes down all the

homework for us because right now that's just too much for to tackle

given all the new challenges presented by middle school. spends

part of his day in " the resource room " if he's having trouble

concentrating in class or he is disruptive or upsetd and during the time he'd

be in foreign language he can go in there and work on missed work.

has a chair cushion called a move-n-sit which is an OT thing that gives some

movement without the child looking like they are moving. It helps them

focus.

The school has a video from www.coultervideo.com called Intricate

Minds. There are several of these, one is for teaching elementary kids

about their classmates with AS. Some don't specify AS and say

" different thinkers " . We used the AS one in TX and the

different thinkers in his first school here. The school has the AS one

for older kids (7th - high school). They will also be educating the

kids in other ways thanks to the guidance counselor who agrees with me it's

the best way to prevent bullying.

Chewing gum helps kids who need to chew. Kids who

need to chew often have sensory issues with proprioceptive sensory system and

vestibular sensory system.

The school has an indoor therapy swing. They will

begin using that with soon. They will also be starting a sensory

diet with fidgets and other coping items in the classroom.

The guidance counselor has one of her degrees in autism

spectrum disorders and she adores asperger kids. I can see it in

her eyes. I can tell she really gets it. So when someone at the

meeting suggested needs to get more independent with writing down

assignments (possibly me, actually) she suggested using technology to

help with it. He could be the one to make a print out of the

assignments. OR he could type them in his computer. I'm not sure

how that looks, but I could tell she just has a feel. It was a

" we're fighting so many battles already, which ones are most

important " kind of thing. So the only thing we're working on is

keeping IN the classroom. We're not bothering to make him keep his

head off the desk at all times, we're not bothering with note-taking.

Anyway, I've written as much as I can remember. I

don't have the draft in front of me. The IEP has goals for behavior and

goals for academics and goals for OT and ST. The goals are geared for

what really CAN do. Like keeping track of how much he pays

attention and rewarding him for it. They were tracking at 15 minute

intervals but have decided to use 5 minute intervals with the hope of

catching him doing the right things. The guidance counselor was

very adamant that they pay attention to positive and ignore negative.

She really wants 100% positive with him. He responds so well to that

it's worth the trouble but until they see it in action it's hard for some

folks to comprehend. The guidance counselor is trusted as the expert so

what she says goes!

Feel free to ask anything.

Miriam

[Guest guest]

takes Lexapro (an SSRI) for anxiety once a day. We started this when we

were in Texas and was in a terrible school and he was miserable. This is

when we saw the worst of his aggression. He was in first grade. He didn't

really get rid of all of it until 6th grade. 5 months of a crappy school took 5

years recovery in good schools. was a bit aggressive before he was in

Texas but it was made much worse by being in a terrible situation. He's matured

so much and we rarely see aggression now. He still SAY horrible things

sometimes, but he doesn't lash out physically like he did for a long time.

was on 5mg of Lexapro from age 7-11. Then we increased the dose to 10mg.

He's a lot bigger now. He's almost as tall as me. It's a HUGE relief that now

he's so big he's not so aggressive any more. Being aggressive and big would be

a nightmare.

Miriam

>

> Hey Miriam. remind me if takes any medications? Did you ever have

> issues with him with aggression when he was younger?

>

>

>

> Sounds like you have an AMAZING support system there. SO lucky !!!

>

>

>

> =)

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Wow... maybe I should move to your area this school sounds awesome.

From: Pamela <susanonderko@...> Sent: Mon, November 23, 2009 6:29:23 AMSubject: ( ) Re: excellent IEP meeting (accomodations in our IEP)

You do have amazing support in your son's school. That is so great!Pam >> My son has a lot of accomodations. He can have a teacher work with him 1:1 to do tests and keep him on task. He has a 1:1 "paraprofessional" with him all day. He eats lunch in the resource room most days though they'd like to get him into the cafeteria occasionally. They choose battles carefully. uses a computer in the classroom. We bought him a netbook for this purpose. He is going to get scheduled breaks with the hope of reducing the number of requested breaks. He is going to get OT for sensory issues and ST and the ST wants to work with the OT on oral motor and oral sensory

issues. is not taking foreign language because it was too stressful. gets speech with another child so they work on pragmatics together. They chose a child who knows and has been a friend for a couple of years. I don't think the ST realized they were already friends but she said they make amazing progress together. > > They assume that 's behavior has a purpose and a cause and they don't punish. The guidance counselor works with every week and if he has a meltdown she knows just what to do. has modified classwork and homework. takes a special ed bus to school rather than ride the regular bus. The para helps pack his backpack and takes notes for him sometimes. The para writes down all the homework for us because right now that's just too much for to tackle given all the new challenges presented by middle school. spends

part of his day in "the resource room" if he's having trouble concentrating in class or he is disruptive or upsetd and during the time he'd be in foreign language he can go in there and work on missed work. has a chair cushion called a move-n-sit which is an OT thing that gives some movement without the child looking like they are moving. It helps them focus.> > The school has a video from www.coultervideo. com called Intricate Minds. There are several of these, one is for teaching elementary kids about their classmates with AS. Some don't specify AS and say "different thinkers". We used the AS one in TX and the different thinkers in his first school here. The school has the AS one for older kids (7th - high school). They will also be educating the kids in other ways thanks to the guidance counselor who agrees with me it's the best way to prevent bullying.> > Chewing

gum helps kids who need to chew. Kids who need to chew often have sensory issues with proprioceptive sensory system and vestibular sensory system.> > The school has an indoor therapy swing. They will begin using that with soon. They will also be starting a sensory diet with fidgets and other coping items in the classroom.> > The guidance counselor has one of her degrees in autism spectrum disorders and she adores asperger kids. I can see it in her eyes. I can tell she really gets it. So when someone at the meeting suggested needs to get more independent with writing down assignments ( possibly me, actually) she suggested using technology to help with it. He could be the one to make a print out of the assignments. OR he could type them in his computer. I'm not sure how that looks, but I could tell she just has a feel. It was a

"we're fighting so many battles already, which ones are most important" kind of thing. So the only thing we're working on is keeping IN the classroom. We're not bothering to make him keep his head off the desk at all times, we're not bothering with note-taking.> > Anyway, I've written as much as I can remember. I don't have the draft in front of me. The IEP has goals for behavior and goals for academics and goals for OT and ST. The goals are geared for what really CAN do. Like keeping track of how much he pays attention and rewarding him for it. They were tracking at 15 minute intervals but have decided to use 5 minute intervals with the hope of catching him doing the right things. The guidance counselor was very adamant that they pay attention to positive and ignore negative. She really wants 100% positive with him. He responds so well to that it's worth

the trouble but until they see it in action it's hard for some folks to comprehend. The guidance counselor is trusted as the expert so what she says goes!> > Feel free to ask anything.> > Miriam > > > >

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[Guest guest]

I do know people who moved here specifically for the school. The school has

it's own special olympics and kids who aren't in special olympics scramble to

participate as buddies. So a lot of the kids are familiar with a variety of

disabilities. played challenger league baseball (little league for kids

with disabilities) and at least two classmates were buddies on his team and one

kid a year younger from 's school was actually 's buddy. He was really

good with . It is an official little league thing but it's all run by the

parents. Little League has been fantastic. They did a baseball clinic for our

kids and had the older LL players help the kids practice baseball skills.

was told he has " some talent " . He DOES actually. He'd never make it in the

competitive world of typical LL. People are way too serious about it. In

Challenger League a turtle found near the field will stop all play as kids go

running to see it and nobody cares. That would NEVER happen with the typical

LL. All parents cheer for all the kids and nobody is a loser. Since had

vision therapy he can usually hit the ball on the first try!

Anyway, it's a great place to live. I worked hard to find the right place for

and that made the move from TX to NH a million times easier for all of us.

Miriam

>

> Wow... maybe I should move to your area this school sounds awesome.