Well they did a re eval on my dd,in one area of the test she tested boaderline of autism and then in other areas she didnt. So basicly the school is saying they dont agree that she falls in the autism section. But they are going to keep her with SDD. But heres the thing. We have our dd in her kindergarden class full time with a parapro. We have told them what they should be doing and we have had a FBA done and the principal is already givin up. She wants us to go back on our word and have our dd in Special ed for half the day.We told them no we said in AZ she was in her class full time with one aid and they were able to handle things. I think the principal wants her to be put in special ed the whole time because my dd hits or kicks to get attention from her peers instead of say hey play with me. So the principal have been getting written letters from parents complaining about my dd. What are we spose to do about that?? Is that a scare tactic to get us to take her out of the class and put her in special ed? We did have a behavior assesment done and the report came back and it was everything I told them to do with me dd the hand over hand with her the redirecting,the wanting negitive attention to get out of a situation. Ladies I am just so confussed my head is spinning.
They said if we dont want her taken out of the class they would have the special ed lady come to her in her regular class and work with her. We want to her to be in a typical situation as much as possible,because she needs to learn whats apporpriate and whats not. I dont know me and my husband just dont trust the school since they failed our dd last year when she went to special ed half the day. Does anyone else have a very stubborn child who wants to do things on there own terms? If so how do you deal with it?
If their only reason for wanting her to be in the sp ed classroom for half the day is because she hits and kicks and parents are complaining, then I'd leave her where she is. Do you feel her placement right now with the one on one aide is appropriate and that she is learning despite the fact that she has some innappropriate behaviors?
I agree with Tzoya in the fact that you can't compare what one school did to what the next is doing. Different personalities of staff, whole different enviornment and make up of the class is different. So, let it go that in AZ they were able to make thing work. If you focus on that, you will be beating her head against the wall. No matter how good of a job the last school did, you can't make any other setting that same one she had there.
I also agree with Tzoya that neither is good or bad, but what is appropriate and where is it that your child can be successful and learn. So you have to ask yourself these questions. Compare how she was at the beginning of the year to where she is now. If the only reasons you can come up with for taking her out of the reg room is because of her behaviors, then that's not a reason to change. When you had the FBA done, did they write a Behavior Intervention Plan? Does that plan address what happens when she does hit or kick? Or those steps being followed? What do you think would be the pro's fo moving her and the con's for moving her? Likewise for staying.
I have another question that you need to bring up to the IEP team. They are giving her the label of SDD, which is developmental delay. In my state, the label can only stay until the age of 9 and then another label has to be given to continue receiving services. If the child doesn't qualify for another label, then they don't need special ed services and are placed out of the program. What is going to happen when she turns a certain age and nothing shows up but language? What I am getting at, is what if you do pull her and put her in a sp ed classroom. What's gonna happen four or five years down the road when she might not qualify for anything and here she been in the special ed room for all these years and now expected to go back to regular classes? You need to think about long term too, not just the here and now.
Is she not seeing the special ed teacher at all right now? You state that they said if you didn't want her going out they would bring the special ed teacher in to work with her. In my opinion that should already be happening. The aid is there to facilitate what the regular activities are and modifying the paper and pencil stuff so that she is able to do it. The special ed teacher still has to see this child, in my opinion. She shouldn't not see the sp ed teacher just because she has a full time aid. So I guess I am confused about what exactly her services are.
ALL kids on the autism spectrum want to do things on their own terms. That is what autism means -- auto -- the self. They are all on 'their own agenda." That doesn't mean that they have to STAY on their own agenda. Neither being in a typical, mainstream class nor being in a self-contained special ed class is necessarily good or necesessarily bad. What's important is where your daughter can learn. In one school system, they might be up on autism enough for her to be fine in a typical class. In another school system, they might not and she'd do far better in a special ed class. The decision rests on where she gets "educational benefit." If she can be give supports in a typical class so that she learns and stops hitting, etc., then the typical class will be fine for her (and everyone else). I would definitely request that a BCBA who has experience with autistic kids your daughter's age be put into her IEP so that the teachers and aides in the regular classroom can get trained in your daughter's BIP. Your daugther is not stubborn. She is autistic. In order to teach her to comply, there needs to be an excellent and appropriate behavior plan in place that ALL the adults in her life understand and use well.So she is really getting services through an IEP right now, but not many, and definatly not appropriate services in my opinion.
However, based on what you have posted as the new plan. I think that sounds more like what I would consider appropriate. That is about what a schedule of a child that is resourced in and out of the regular classroom looks like, sometimes a little more time in the sp ed room and i am sure as she gets older she will require more support in the resource room. I think what they are proposing sounds really good based on what they are doing now.
Make sure that they don't try to throw anything else in there with it though.
As of right now since we told them that we didnt want her in Special ED room full time then she has no services through special ed. She recieve 1 50 min. OT once a month and she recieves 1 50 min speech once a week. Then she has a parapro that is with her throught the whole day. That is what her services are right now. But from our meeting they said that they have had the special ed director come in to my dd class 1 or 2 a month to help. She does have a BIP and we had a autism consultant come out so I think they are going to have to rethink there whole thing. I think I can handle the new plan. We just dont feel that she would totally benifit from being in special ed the whole time because she needs to be with typicals and learn from them. I hope ya'll understand where I am coming from.
Here is the new plan,because either way I feel its not the best school,but have to deal with it.
1 segment a day with the special Ed lady in the special ed room for 50 min
1 50 min speech 1once a week
1 50 min OT once a month
then the special ed director would come in 2 a week for callaborative help in regular ed class.
Out of curiousity, Did you actually see the complaints from the other parents or actually have the paretns complain to you? Or did the principal just tell you? If it was me I would wnat to talk to those parents and try to explain what my child was dx with and expalin how those symptoms of the disorder present theirselfs. Sometimes people dont understand and sometimes when they do they become more flexiable and sometimes they dont. If it was me I would try.
Just wondering.
Also, I agree with Wray you need to think about the long term. I would accept the sp ed teacher coming into the reg ed class for collab. or even have her to out to a resource room in her problem areas(math?reading?writing?) 2 times a week for 30-50 minutes. The extra help couldnt hurt and she would still spend most of her time with the regualr ed kids. But if the problem is not acdemic but behavior; I dont see how a resource class would help with that at all. It would seem that the school guidance counsler or school social worker would work with her on those areas. Also, again I agree with Wray if they did a FBA then there should be a POSITIVE behavior plan in place to address the behaviors she presents.
Lastly,
You are Mom and you know your child better than anyone else. Do what you think is the right thing to do. Try to consider all the information you get from all sources wether you like them or not and then make a decision.
I hope things turn out well for you.
Venus