Worried about school in the fall

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Let

me respond from a 7th grade regular ed teacher’s perspective. I

have taught in a small high school and a large middle school.

You

wrote:

get

off the bus and go straight to his class instead of waiting outside with the

other kids, but my main concern is actually getting him there and keeping him

there.

My

response:

It

depends on your school, its size, your teacher’s union, and your school’s

history of litigious parents.

Why?

Let me explain about my experience working in different districts.

Usually

students are restricted to certain areas because teachers are setting up for

the day or if they have their own small children, they are arriving as the

contract stipulates, which is usually about 10 minutes before the bell to

release students from the holding area. Then there is usually 10 minutes

when students can go to their lockers, talk to a teacher, and mill around the

whole building.

Depending

on the size, your school most likely has a place for your son to go.

In

some buildings, a couple of paraprofessionals have before-school duty with

students who need to be away from the crowds. In other buildings, the

students gather in front of the guidance office, where there are benches and

lots of adults, but no one assigned per se.

The

idea that he reports directly to his room can be complicated. In the past

I would allow students to hang in my room, but if I had to quickly run off a

handout at the photocopying machine, and I leave 3 students in my room to do

so, because, quite frankly, I’m not on duty per my contract, I just like

to come in early, well who is responsible for the three students? What if

it is just one student? As a female, I have been told not to ‘invite’

one student to my room with just the two of us, even if it would help the

student tremendously not to be out with the others. See what I mean?

My

solution for the past few years is to find an early morning activity where your

son is valued. He could help in the library, maybe return books if he

likes numbers and systems. I have had students help in school stores,

where suddenly they are in a position of authority, counting out change, or

handing out and restocking breakfast bars, etc. We have seen some HFA

students with no friends, suddenly bloom with this volunteer job. Maybe

he could read to some of the lower functioning students. One student was

responsible for watering the flowers in the green house in the administrative

lobby every morning. Perhaps, if he is precise, he could help set up the art

class or the machines for taping the announcements. Time and again, being

needed and wanted with a tiny bit of authority has really helped a few students

to show up and stay.

Also,

our library and extra-help clinic are both opened a half hour early, and some

students are assigned there so that they are allowed up to those rooms.

Others

can only go if they have a certain pass from a teacher.

So,

I don’t know what your school is like, but my advice is to be open to

asking where he could go away from others, and to be open to other ideas

besides just going to his class room. Call his IEP teacher or guidance

counselor and make plans.

Good

luck with this and let us know what happens.

E.C.

Bernard

www.ecbernard.org

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[Guest guest]

We are going through similar things with my 15 yo dd as I have posted before. She is making progress but it is not all at once. We negotiated a deal that was her idea. I will take her to school for 2 weeks and pick her up tues. thurs. She has to ride the bus MWF. Yesterday was Friday and she did it. Once she gets used to it, I think she will do it permanently. We have to take it in gradual steps.From: erin.chomiak

<erin.chomiak@...> Sent: Sat, August 14, 2010 7:54:39 AMSubject: ( ) Worried about school in the fall

My 12 yo son has Asperger's. He is currently taking 75 mgs of Risperidone for aggression, which has helped tremendously. Here is the problem:

He gets so anxious when he sees a child his age, especially someone he knows, that he tried to leave the situation. For example, his favourite activity is going to the beach, however, if we get to the beach and he sees a child his age, he won't even get out of the car.

This fall, he is changing schools (with the rest of his class) to go to grade 7, which is located in the high school. Before, he was able to catch the bus in front of our house with his siblings, but now has to walk down the street to wait for the bus with a group of kids that are his age and older. He then has to take the bus with them, and get off the bus at the highschool, stand in a crowd of kids, and wait for the bell to ring before going in to his class. I can't see him being even able to walk to the bus stop at this point.

I have been working with the school. He has a great new teacher who has stayed late on several occasions to familiarize my son with the school and the routine. We will be going again in late August. I'm going to ask that they let him get off the bus and go straight to his class instead of waiting outside with the other kids, but my main concern is actually getting him there and keeping him there. I am able to stay home right now, but will have to eventually work again, and I don't want to homeschool him. I can barely get through the grade 6 math!!

I have an incredible child psychiatrist on board who is trying her best to get my son services, but he's on a long wait list. I will be self-paying for a psychologist to help him learn to reduce the anxiety that cripples him.

I'm actually losing sleep over this one. Does anyone have any ideas or similar experiences?

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

We had this problem with my older ds (hfa) and we found tremendous relief for him with meds - zoloft. It reduced his anxiety to a manageable size, which then allowed him to participate in things. Before meds, he wouldn't even talk to his own extended family (grandparents, cousins, etc.) So we couldn't even begin to teach him until we got the anxiety under some control.

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) Worried about school in the fall

My 12 yo son has Asperger's. He is currently taking 75 mgs of Risperidone for aggression, which has helped tremendously. Here is the problem:

He gets so anxious when he sees a child his age, especially someone he knows, that he tried to leave the situation. For example, his favourite activity is going to the beach, however, if we get to the beach and he sees a child his age, he won't even get out of the car.

This fall, he is changing schools (with the rest of his class) to go to grade 7, which is located in the high school. Before, he was able to catch the bus in front of our house with his siblings, but now has to walk down the street to wait for the bus with a group of kids that are his age and older. He then has to take the bus with them, and get off the bus at the highschool, stand in a crowd of kids, and wait for the bell to ring before going in to his class. I can't see him being even able to walk to the bus stop at this point.

I have been working with the school. He has a great new teacher who has stayed late on several occasions to familiarize my son with the school and the routine. We will be going again in late August. I'm going to ask that they let him get off the bus and go straight to his class instead of waiting outside with the other kids, but my main concern is actually getting him there and keeping him there. I am able to stay home right now, but will have to eventually work again, and I don't want to homeschool him. I can barely get through the grade 6 math!!

I have an incredible child psychiatrist on board who is trying her best to get my son services, but he's on a long wait list. I will be self-paying for a psychologist to help him learn to reduce the anxiety that cripples him.

I'm actually losing sleep over this one. Does anyone have any ideas or similar experiences?

Thanks!