Thank you so much for your insight. I have already printed out the kindergarten checklist and looked at the other information.
There is a TEACCH location in Greensboro. I have a meeting with them, but it isn't until the end of September.
In the other forum post you referenced, they mention watching and choosing the best teacher for your child, which seems very reasonable. But the people on his team here told me that we weren't suppose to "shop for teachers"; that I couldn't decide that way. These are county schools. Do I have rights here that I am not aware of?
Thanks again!
Most districts don't like you to 'shop for teachers'. Personally I wish I hadDidn't the school district is give you the option of these two placements? Is it your decision to make? If so, and they want to know your grounds, just don't mention the teacher factor...
Anyone else have a better answer? Since I'm in Norway, I'm not exactly an expert on the American education system...
Yes and no. When we did his IEP, they only told me about Gateway. They never mentioned that there were other options. That didn't happen until the transportation became an issue. We are about 20 miles from the school, so the bus driver would have to pick up my son first at 6:40. School starts at 8:45 and ends at 2:45. She said he would be delivered home at 4:30. They are working on changing the routes because they said no student should be on the bus for more than an hour to an hour and a half.
The other strictly autism school is close to the other, so distance-wise, there would be no difference. But they have fewer students and shorter bus routes. Their classes start at 7:50 and end at 2:30. We would still be looking at an hour to an hour and 15 minutes on the bus each way.
The school closest to us is not an autism school, but does offer a special Pre-K class. I have a call into his OT teacher from last year because I noticed on some paperwork from her that that school is her base location. She should know the teacher there and be able to give me some idea about how Jordan would do with her. If her personality won't work with him, then that option is out.
I don't think they meant to give me the option, but now that I know what is really available, I am going to try to find what will work best for him.
As for the rules here, all the states have the same federal laws to follow, but there appears to be differences in each state and then within the districts in how well they work. My husband is picking up a copy of Wrightslaw 'From Emotions to Advocacy' today. (Thank you Micki for telling me about it.) I'm hoping to get some insight into the laws, just in case we need it. I know how long it took us and how many phone calls I had to make to get the initial speech evaluation done here. If I hadn't pushed so hard, I would probably still be waiting.
Hello,
I am new to this forum. I am looking for some advice because I am SO confused right now. We have been told that our 4-year-old son (born December 2002) has an autism spectrum disorder and that he is high functioning. We were told this in February of this year. I'll start at the beginning.
Jordan was a late walker. We actually took him to a physical therapist for a few months to get him on his feet. He was 22 months when he started walking.
We had his tonsils and adnoids removed in April 2006. At this point Jordan's vocabulary was maybe 25 words, ten of which was the numbers 1-10. According to the ENT, he hadn't been hearing much because of all of the fluid in his ears.
We started speech therapy through our county services in 2006 as well. He has made so much progress in that area. He is saying new words on a daily basis and starting to use some sentences. It was amazing to hear him answer me a couple of weeks ago when I asked him if he wanted to go pee pee in the potty. He said, "I can't do that" just as clear as a bell.
He is not potty trained, and according to the teachers who have worked with him, he isn't ready.
But he is ready to start reading. He knows all of the upper and lower case letters and is absolutely fascinated with written words. He likes to watch the credits at the end of the movies and any running banners you see like at airports.
He has stimming actions. He flaps his hands whenever he is excited about something, and he does this thing with his left hand where he stiffens his fingers. He finally stopped chewing on things. He thewed up two pairs of sandals last summer. It was something about the velcro.
Transitions have always been an issue, so I always have to make sure that I give him warnings, like "we're going to be leaving in 5 minutes" or "you can go down the slide one more time."
So here's my dilemma, how do I know what services he needs and how can I make sure that the advice we get from the county officials is correct for our son? We live in High Point, NC. There are only 2 preschool classes that are designed specifically for autism and both are 20 miles away in Greensboro. There is a special preschool class in one of the schools in High point that currently has 3 students, a deaf student and 2 developmentally delayed students. It is not structured for autism, but is much closer to our home. The bus ride would not be 2 hours like we were told it would be for the school he had been assigned.
In Guilford county these 3 schools seem to be my only choices. I really have no idea what to do at this point. The difficult part is that I know whatever decision I make now is going to have long term ramifications. And those could be either good or bad. I want the best for my son. How do I know what that is?
There are a few things I can suggest. One is to observe the classroom placements you're considering. The local option might actually be a good placement, especially if the teachers are open and accommodating. Remember, very little active learning occurs on a bus, so those two hours of the day would be wasted. That's time you could use interacting with your child yourself or having a private ABA therapist visit, etc. If you need a checklist to help you compare the placements, you'll find some here:
http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13687&am p;am p;am p;am p;am p;PN=1
Second, you can talk to an autism consultant in your area, who can meet with you and help you evaluate your options. You might be able to find someone through this searchable database:
Finally, since your son will soon be kindergarten age and he's high-functioning, you think about how you, the school, or a private therapist can help your son get ready for kindergarten. Try to get those selected goals in the IEP. Here's an example of a kindergarten readiness checklist (check if your state or school district has their own list).
http://www.polk-fl.net/prek/readiness.htm
Good luck with everything, and welcome to the forum!