Summer School? | Autism PDD
Thanks Tzoya...
You're right. It will give him something to do - and keep him in the routine... My Mom and my DH were like, "Uh, yeah, of course he should go!"
Thanks for your input...
All my kids do summer school. I think it really helps. Even NT kids regress over the summer. I know what you mean. Any time I sense that someone is trying to suggest my son is anything but mild, I regress 
But, I think that the more we can do now, the more we ensure that it stays mild. I don't know about you, but I just don't buy into this idea that it's a severe disability. I think that is a lot of alarmist rhetoric that certainly applies to some but not to all. However, it inures to our benefit when the districts buy into it and essentially offer our kids some great educational structure for free over the summer. they don't look at pdd-nos as varying in degree, they just treat it all the same. it's a blessing in disguise for guys like our sons. try to keep the faith and look at it like free educational playdates!
We were not offered summer school because C doesn't regress after breaks from school. However, we do send him to full day camp (9-4 each day) for 4 weeks - this will be his third year. My dh and I joke about something that must be in the water at camp because during the last two summers C made tremendous leaps in progress. For the past two years he's shown up on the 1st day of school and the teachers and therapists were shocked at how much progress he'd made since school ended. I have my fingers crossed that it happens again this year. The 1st year we thought it must be a fluke, but two years in a row?
We do keep him in private speech and OT over the summer. I just think it's ironic how we work so hard all school year to help him move forward, and then when school gets out and we just leave him alone he just leaps forward by himself. It's odd, but hey - we'll take progress any way we can get it!
I like the idea of some sort of structure over the summer, whether it's summer school or camp.
Andrew went to ESY = Extended School Year last summer (runs through end of July), followed by one week of "Camp Gonnawannagoagin'" = local autism day camp, followed by one day of "Surfer's Healing" Surf Camp ( www.surfershealing.com ), followed by a trip to Mimi's (my mother's home 6 hours away). Then we had "free" time until school started...
I was never so happy for school to start!
He is going to ESY again this summer. I think that every young child with autism should qualify...Significant change in routine = significant behavioral challenges in my book.
ESY has no bearing on functioning level. My son in very mild Asperger's, and he qualifies for ESY. He isn't going this year because he will be attending a social skills day camp, but he has gone for the previous 3 years, and last year he was in a mainstream curriculum that included a science lab where he built and fired his own rocket. Nothing wrong with ESY for any kid!I was so thrilled that Nick qualified for a summer program ... last summer, the regression was so profound!
If you can get it, I say take it take it take it!
My son was offered 3 weeks of half day ESY, I felt very dissatisfied w/that because he needs that routine and social interaction, however we're moving at the end of this month, so I have no idea what I'm going to do with him now besides the 3 hrs. week private ST/OT. Possibly a social skills group or music class. Of course it will be out of pocket, as there will be no opportunity for an IEP meeting in the new district.
Mamasquash -- You are totally correct except that summer services can also be given if a child has very recently learned a skill in order to maintain that fresh skill. It's a variation on the regression thing because it stands to reason that a freshly learned skill will be completely lost over the summer -- the ULTIMATE regression.
I am a little confused. My 6 y/o son who is in Kindergarten, just had his eval at school. I called the ESE teacher this morning to see if the results have come back and where we go from here. I told her that school ends in 3 weeks and I feel in limbo not knowing the results one and secondly, what’s going to happen when he goes to 1st Grade. She said that I should be called in for an IEP meeting before the end of the year but that gives me very little time to digest the education plan they will put together for him.
All I know is that he scored very poorly on all areas of the evaluation. He scored a 73 for IQ, a 3y/o+ for a (cognitive?) skill test and a 4.5y/o in language and communication. He cries every morning for school. It is especially hard on Monday mornings and I don’t understand why he’s like this and all weekend long I tell him that school is in 2 days, then in 1 day in hopes of preparing him for Monday morning. It all seems futile. This morning the Vice Principle had to hold on to him so that I could leave.
I also asked the ESE specialist at school about ESY. What it was and would my son qualify considering his eval and she said no. It’s only for profoundly learning disabled children and that they don’t have any kids that qualify this year. It is obvious that my son needs help during the summer, I can only do so much and getting him to go back to school in the fall is going to be hell.
Last night when I told him that he needed to bed b/c school he has school in the AM, he got up all flustered and upset, went to his closet, put on school uniform (over his PJ’s), put his backpack on his shoulders, feet slipped into sneakers and he stood at the front door, waiting for me to take him to school at 8:00 PM. It really upsets me when he does this. He does this at least 3 times a week, especially when I get home from work and the first thing he say is “I go one more day, school is closed tomorrow”. When I tell him he has ? # of days left, he’ll again go to his closet and put his uniform on etc. I want to pull my hair out. Will he ever understand days and time?
I guess I am going to have to find a private program for him during the summer, even if it only helps him socially. This is so hard and so sad…
Thanks for indulging me,
Sharon (Pembroke Pines, FL)
The objective of a summer program is to maintain skills that a child has, not really to teach new ones. That is the focus of the program I teach in and that John is in. They really help to keep behavior plans consistent, kids stay with the routine and it is a great time to work on transition to new therapists and program changes.
I just got off the phone with Bug's teacher. She said she was calling, as she hadn't received the paperwork for summer school back yet. I told her I didn't think he qualified for it (at the IEP meeting, I was told about it - then told that it was only for kids at severe risk of regression - and they didn't think he would need it - but they would sign him up if they thought he needed it).
SO... When I got the paperwork, I tossed it, as I didn't think Bug needed it.
Well... Apparently, he does qualify - his name was on a list... I don't know what to think. I asked his teacher if she thought he needed it - and she said that it was up to me, but for routine purposes, he should do it - unless I had him in a park district program or something else for the summer (I don't).
Now I'm torn. Does this mean that he is more severely Autistic than I thought (I think of him as being very mild) - or are they just going by his label (he has an Autistic Education label and a mild PDD-NOS label from a physician)? Is this just because his label buys the district more funding?
I guess I'll send him - he is only signed up for swimming lessons this summer, and they are at night... I guess I just didn't think he NEEDED summer school... But it can't hurt, right? But what if he is the highest functioning kid there - will he get anything out of it? I just don't know how I feel about this.
Most kids with PDD-NOS, especially young ones, ARE at risk for regression over the summer. PDD-NOS is a severe disability and most kids qualify for ESY, especially at a young age. Regression includes far more than academics. It includes getting out of the routine, behaviors, social skills, etc., all of which are much more heavily focused on during the summer when academics are not the issue. Be happy.
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