Do Schools Meet The Needs of Autistic Kids As Outlined in IDEA?

[Elaine]

Please read the attachment....this is a real issue which will affect the lives of our children.

Your response is valuable. This is my personal testamony of occurences related to my son Raymond's education provisions.

Let me know what you think about this.

Thanks, Elaine_Ray@msn.com

[Dad]

No.

The schools do not now, nor will they in the foreseeable future meet the needs of autistic children.

We chose the only alternative that made sense for my child, autistic non-verbal, and pulled him from their crappy program. We homeschool, using a modified form of Lovaas, and have made good progress so far. Although it is a frightful lot of work, we are determined to give him the quality attention he needs, which the schools will never provide.

[Elaine]

Thank you for reading my attachment. I am glad you are able to home school. You must have great rewards for your time invested.

I have spent hours making an academic work sheet lessons package. Mostly in the areas of language development, emotions, and social cognition. Core curricculum centers with language, math, and social/emotional development.

Well, thanks again for your feedback. Try to check out the wash. post. web address....very informative and interesting.

Elaine

[dianep]

No, public schools in general do not have a good handle on how to meet the needs of autistic children under the provisions of IDEA. I have a 17 year old daughter with autism and while I do see some improvements in our district for the little kids, there is nothing there for the older ones over the age of 12 years because the emphasis has been on early intervention for about the last 10 years at the cost of forming a full range of programming for our kids.

Last year was so bad for us, that we actually have decided to home school this year as well. I am a single mother and trying to go to college full time myself. I have come up with a rather eclectic approach and that seems to have worked the best in the past with my particular child. She is verbal but not really conversational past three turns. So, far she is happier and to be blunt she is learning way more than in that glorified babysitting program they called secondary special education. It is tough to get everything done that I need to but I couldn't continue in my own studies otherwise.

[graciela]

No, they don't meet the needs of autistic kids. My son is now in kinder with a shadow(teacher aid) and I am really scare bacause I know is an important time for him. We keep him in private terapies (ABA, Speech, and OT) because I already know that he is not going to get that help in school. I also know about a clininc for autistic children that is grate, it is private and is very expensive. I take him there in the summer or for private terapies but I don't think that I what my son to be in a private autistic school. A side that it is very expensive, our main goal is to have him in a regular classroom. We think that eventually, that would be best for him.

[rpsch47]

I know here in GA. the public schools are far from meeting the needs for our children with autism. I also home school my daughter. She also goes to a church home school three days a week.There we are allowed to Use the ABLL's program 100% with no problem. Right now they are allowing my daughter to attend a class with typical children in the afternoons 12:30- 3:00., and she is not allowed to step foot in a special edu. enviroment. She doing really great with the school inclusion and it allows use to get close to the 40hrs per week aba.

[maydakfamily]

The schools here are terrific with kids with autism. what i like is that theyblend the kids in with kids who dont have autism. I think its importnat fior my son to have as much of a NORMAL life as I can. I dont feel being in an autistic program would be for him right now. He is VERY VERY mild with aspergers i was told. I live in Harford county Maryland, and my sons teacher is very popular in the special ed porgram here. She has dealt with many adhd, add, pdd, and aspergers and high autistic kids. I feel bad alot of opeople have problems in their school system.

Debbie

[sabrina dreams]

I'm a young mother with sl.d and have two children one with pdd nos. I when though the iep program here in high school and i learn nothing. I was throw in the back of the class with no help or put in an class with other kids that didn't want to learn or disable. and told we were lazy, be nothing or never learn anything to move on.in flordia your senior year you are placied in main stream .Lang writing was my weaks area I was placed in a class with an teach that never teachied, we watchied tv all year. and the only thing he told our class was if you can't read or write good you will be nothing in live. I never went to collage do they told my parents I won't make it in the really whole. I gave up my dreams to teach art to young children which I'm gifted in since my 5th grade.I don't even draw any more. Now my daughter is in an program callied fdrls they do great but wear she goes to shcool is where they send her.I live 45 min from my daughter school andher bus comes 7 30 in the morning for an 4 year old and school starts at 9 am. but they don't work with her sensory part to get going but, she is learning. In the summer there is no place for children of autism and day cares won't take them. I have and iep this thurs and we have been told the prgram is cutting back and in king. we have no idea what's going to happen. we are really 3 to 5 year behing in laerning I know I movined from jersey to flordia my sopmore year and some book I had my 7 grade. so I f you plan to move here go to private school there is help there we may just do it in the next year. and by the way the bus problem is a big deal here children are beening pick up on 8 lane high ways 5 childen have dead here in the last 3 mths. I was lucky she pickied up in front of our home.

[sabrina dreams]

Hi we had our iep meeting thurs and I hatied it so much. The teacher and ot was great but the school board who see if she needs the help. was so mean and clueless ,she had no idea what she was saying or what pddnos was. She used the term normalizing to much and even askied what the hell pddnos was. That there goals were going to be to make her normal. she can't be that the way she her own person. Remember the five year old girl handcuff she was in an handicapp class. and they want these kids in king. to att and follow dirctions and clean awhole room by themself if they make messes. the girl was upset because they made her attend math and make her do it and when she became upset or frustied she had ameltdown which caused her to pull thing and act out. Then after that they made her clean a whole room before seeing the problem and helping her. When she became more upset they still made her clean the mess without help. so overwelmied she startied the hitting and other things, that when they send her to the office and handcuff the child even after they got the child to calm down by leaving her alone for amin. But when they return she was became upset out of fear and actied out some. they told me what she has to do in king in to next years to come. my daughter aviods thing big time and only learns at a rate of an 2 yr old and she's 4 now. her lang is only 1.5 of years in expression and 2.5to3 in receptive so how can she be able to do these things. playing with other and sensory problem and so on. now she make achoking noise and been toe walking the last 2 weeks because of route in therpy have stop for no reason paper work was lost.And writing she can even do cross line of the body or color these no pressure or understanding what she's doing. what am I to do. I need some ideas for active for the summer. to help her . the ymca have open door progams for family to use the area at free of cost but they have to see medical records on the child and family history too.please help . my husband and I don't want sabrina to go though the same thing that girl did or what I went though in s.ed here in flordia. Oh by the way the boy who got out of school and killied by a car was at the same school the kid was only 6 of age. some thing to think of before moving to flordia school systems. mom

[Kris'smom]

I am so sorry to hear that the meeting did not go well. What types of services did they offer you for the fall in her iep meeting? And I don't think a cse chairperson should be one if they dont know what pddnos is that is for sure. If you don't like the results of your meeting I would try to contact your local ASA office and get an advocate who can better help you with all the legality's of it. Then they can help you decide what furthur action to take. You don't have to agree to anything! Just remember you are the parent and you know what is best for your child. I hope all works out for you.

[sabrina dreams]

thank k mom we have card for the un.of south flordia center for autsim and study place to get tests done and help us with the iep and what they think we should do and they come to our home to do the tests and talk with the family and make an family plan and so on. wish us luck and all children is helping us also too. nicole weaver