Hi there! I would request a copy of the rough draft of the IEP ahead of time so you can see exactly where the school is coming from.
I would write a formal letter to the IEP team, school, Special Ed Dept, and all relevant parties. In this letter I would state where you think your son is academically. I would state your opinion of his "PLOP" = Present Level Of Performance...And yes, home counts to! I would calmly and unemotionally outline the reasons why you think your son's current placement is inappropriate and also the changes you would make and why. I would emphasize the one or two things that are most important to you, like getting an aide for him, for example. Make sure that this letter is received personally by each person and that you keep copies. Keep a record of every single interaction between you and the school. Your example of the "McDonald's" comment is good, but I'm not sure if I'd put it in the letter. Keep that as the ace in your pocket to pull out if needed.
Remember, our kids are not guaranteed the BEST education (so try to avoid using this word in writing or in IEP meetings), but they are guaranteed a "FAPE" = Free Appropriate Public Education. Your son sounds bright but shy and frustrated with communication. I would ask at the meeting, how can my son get a FAPE when he cannot communicate? I want the school to provide a plan that will allow my son to communicate in whatever way he can so that he can hopefully be included in some regular classes.
There are many great books out there...Sometimes if you go into a meeting with books that you can reference it can be helpful. And it never hurts to "kill them with kindness"...donuts at an am meeting...cookies in the afternoon?
Well, that was an off the top response, but hopefully it will help somewhat!
Good luck!
Hey All,
I'm new to the board and have never really done this type of things but i need help with people who can understand what i am going through and i hope i have found it with this board. I have a 6 year old son in kindergarten (late bday) who was has PDD-NOS. We are having an IEP meeting in 2 weeks and i need some help and input with parents or professionals with input on what to do with my "sweet P". Right now he is in a Autistic program with about 7 children (all boys) with varying autistic symptoms. My husband and I feel that this environment is much to restricted for him due to the fact that he is only around these children an no real contact with children without this exceptionality. In the whole class their are only 2 children (including my son) who are able to communicate words and sentences which makes me think that he may regress in an environment of this nature as well as pick up atypical behaviors from the other children. Don't get me wrong i understand that he is going to pick up behaviors in every environment. Also due to the fact that my son is very shy and not aggresive (a gentle giant) we feel that he may be over looked for the other children who the teacher and the aide need more assistance. I am worried for his future and know that he can be with regular children with help academically. Another thing is that i feel the teacher doesn't really believe that potenialof our children in her class because that at open house she stated and i quote "i want to help them to be independant and perhaps work at 'mcdonalds' one day". I'm sure all of us want more for our children then just working at "mcdonalds". My son can talk at 5 year old level and relate to other children but his PDD makes him extremely shy and hard for him to process information so he does have trouble with learning and retaining some things. I need does any one think it would be wise to place in a class with regular children with a 1:1 aide (which will probably be almost impossible to get), a regular class with him being pulled out for math and reading, or a reverse mainstream class with model children and pull out resources? He was in a reverse mainstrem for pre-K with model children but i think i was rail roaded in my last IEP meeting to place him in this environment now.
Please share your thoughts and experiences. i need you imput more then anything right now.
worried for the future,
MiamiPDDmom I would also ask to see other class options. Sometimes SEEING a different environment is more important than all the theories in the world. In any event, there should be IEP goals for social skills that are observable and measureable. I would try to ask for at least part of the day for your so to be included with kids with better verbal skills. One of the problems with ASD is that our kids tend NOT to imitate peers, so simply being in an environment with others who speak better won't cut it. And oftentimes there is very little experience in teaching skills to autistic kids outside a specialized classroom. IMHO, the ideal situation is half a day in an intense one-on-one skill-building class plus half a day in a much more integrated setting with an autism consultant who comes in regularly to help the teacher understand how to facilitate better communication and social skills. Of course, that formula isn't appropriate for every child, either, but some mix of skill-building teaching from someone who knows how autistic kids learn and exposure to less restrictive environments tends to be the way to go.
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