Mainstream school for mod/severe Autism?? | Autism PDD

My son has always been mainstreamed with an aide most of the time in kindergarten and fading away to just a few hours a week in 3rd grade. My daughter was mainstreamed in K last year but in the second half of the year it was clear she couldn't function in that setting. Too much noise, too many children, too much teasing and all around confusion. She was transferred to a special ed class and it is going very well. There were only 10 children, one teacher and 3 teacher aides plus an ABA aide just for her some of the time. She is learning how to read (I never believed that would happen). She is in the special ed class again for 1st grade (although I don't think she technically passed K). The classes are ungraded so she can do what she can gradewise. She attends some mainstream classes for art and science. I fought against the special ed placement for her in the beginning but it really works for her. It would not have worked for her brother, at least, not so far.

Try to get a full day with K. If they refused ask to pay for a full day but if the refuse after you asked to pay, the child becomes more behind at the end of the school year and they offer full day K to other students (with out IEP's) of free. They can get sued. It does not help them when the IEP was not done right in the first place..

My daughter was sposed to have a full day of K in FL but we moved to CO and they removed it from her IEP. They won't give her a full day of K and I even would of paid for it. She went 2 hrs and some mins but she became more behind bec. she had ot, speech, behavorial and could not get her reg. ed in 2 hrs. The IEP was not written right and she became more behind in her goals and ob.

At the end of the school year they wanted to hold her back AND GIVE HER A FULL DAY OF K. I told them why should my daughter suffer more by your SCREW-UPS. I found out from another resousce teacher in another district in the same county. The schools here are sposed to give IEP kids first choice!!!!!! I also found out I could sue them but I want results instead. My district got sued last year by another parents and the year before on and on...!

This year they have backed off on there little tricks. They still nit pick but that's all so far. J is in first grade and was not held back. She did finish her goals and OB during the summer thanks to me and not the school.

My daughter is in SPED and goes to regular school. She does have an helper/aid . The school did not give me that info for equal ball field play.
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My biggest concern in your question is the issue of your child’s safety. If he is prone to wonder, a regular ed classroom with 25 kids may not be the best match for him. Are there autistic classrooms in your school district? When we had to make this decision for my son, I visited every autistic program within a 45 minute drive. We ended up putting him in a regular ed classroom (the regular ed teacher had a special ed background) with a 1 on 1 aid. The school district also agreed to keep the class small (I think less than 20). This worked well for him, but only because of the special ed background of the teacher and the assistance of the aid (plus I came on all the field trips).

I agree with tzoya on the point that it has been my experience that mainstreaming is not always the best placement for a special needs child. There are just some adaptations that your child will need that may not be realistically feasible in the regular classroom. In our district, the final decision was up to my husband and I. Do some digging so you know all of your options, then you can determine which you think will match your son’s needs.

Great advice, listen to tzoya!

Federal Law states that all kids HAVE to be in the classes that they would have been in had they not had a disability (full inclusion in a mainstream class) UNLESS the IEP Team puts in the IEP why not. The truth is, it is easy to come up with valid reasons why a child would do better in a segregated setting, so the decision comes down to the individual child/family/school. However, the law ALSO states that the test that proves whether or not a child IS getting a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is whether or not the child is making adequate PROGRESS. Once you and the Team create an IEP for kindergarten, determine whether or not those goals can be realistically met in the particular mainstream k that is available. Make SURE you visit that class, in person, long before you have to make that decision. Also visit all the possible placements available. Ask for a class profile of ANY class your child is going to be placed in (IE, the basic info for each special ed child in that class -- age, gender, classification, IQ, academic scores if appropriate, etc. The profile should be "redacted," which means there will be no personally identifying information included, just a list of info). This will ALL give you a much better picture of how your child fits in to any class you are considering. The law also guarantees that parents be enabled to FULLY participate in decisions made about their child. That means, you must be given all the same information that the District has so that you are on a level playing field as far as decision-making goes. That is why they MUST give you a class profile and why they MUST allow you to visit all the possible choices. Affter all, they have the benefit of this information.

The truth is that inclusion is popular because it is the law. However, the law is NOT based on any research about inclusion or mainstreaming. There was actually no research available about this when IDEA was originally written because sped kids (where sped existed) were TOTALLY EXCLUDED. However, it's now over a quarter century later and I have still not read any statistics on how sped kids who are mainstreamed/included do better in any measurable way -- or how they do worse. The truth is, we have based our decision about inclusion on what is generally accepted as a truth because it seems so logical -- kids do better when in environments with NT kids -- not on what has been shown by research (I personally have my doubts about how effective "role models" are for a child with autism since classically autistic kids can be VERY UNAWARE of the actions of others and tend not to imitate, though these things vary from one child to another). Now that IDEA 2004 demands that research-based methodologies be used, I think it's time we parents DEMAND that research be used to SHOW that mainstreaming/inclusion actually DOES work best for our kids. On an individual basis, we all can show "research" for our own child -- the "research" is how our child has improved on standardized tests. There are standardized tests for EVERYTHING, not just academic subjects, so we can demand baseline and progress testing in EVERY area, if we choose. That is the only way yet to KNOW if a particular placement is affording your own child FAPE, whether it is in a mainstreamed or segregated setting.

My observation over the years (since my son was classified in preschool in 1993) has been that most classically autistic kids do best in settings where EVERYONE understands autism and where they can get ABA, PECs, VB, sensory integration therapy, and other approaches that research has shown WORK with kids on the spectrum. The settings I have observed in my area of Eastern Long Island have these sorts of interventions ONLY in very segregated placements. Some kids benefit more from the availability of autism-specific interventions. Some kids (those who are naturally more social) seem to get some benefit from exposure to NT peers. It all depends on the child and, as I said, the test of success is proven PROGRESS.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

My son is pretty high functioning and I got him an 1;1 full-time aide for a
few month while he transitions to a new school. We have a little girl on
our street with a severe food allergy and she has an aide for safety. I
think you should be able to get an aide, frankly I do not think that they
can claim that he will receive an adequate education without. Honestly
school is a whole different ballgame from preschool. Actually request a
paraprofessional on the IEP, the fine difference is that a para is supposed
to have better training.
P.S. Get wrightslaw's 'from emotion to advocacy' to learn about special
education. You need to get him an aid! My son is mod/severe and 4 1/2. He's not expected to transition to K for at least 2 years - one more year in the Autism class, then the Special Ed class, then to K. He's got a 1 on 1 aid now in a class of 2 and 1 teacher!!! I can't even begin to imagine my son in a class of 25! They've tried a class of 8-10 and had to pull him back....I really thin if the class is that big he needs an aid! Make sure it's an aide that has had training!!!! I am having so many problems because my dd's aide has had no training, she is at a complete loss as how to handle her at all.

I am writing a letter to the school and demanding a new IEPmeeting to get this straightened out ASAP. Good luck. Hello everyone. I have a question. My son is in his last year of preschool. He will be in Kindergarten next year in a public school. Preschool has been great because of the low teacher/student ratio and the aides in the class. Corbin hasn't had a 1-1 aide while in the classroom but he has while outside of the classroom. But once again with only 8 kids and at least a teacher and an aide at all times a 1-1 seemed a bit like overkill. So now I am wondering what I should ask for and what is realistic? The preschool says that the school district likes to have the kids in the regular classroom as much as possible but I know Corbin would be lost in a group of 25 kids...plus he would probably literally get lost a recess. I know all states are different but I also know the laws are similar so I am just looking for and idea from people who have a similar diagnosis. Corbin is mostly non-verbal. He has a few words. He is prone to wonder off and loves to play. Also there is all day Kindergarten in my district so I assume he is entitled to an all day program next year. My son's kindergarten is all day. If they offer all day kindergarted for the NT children, children with disabilities get all day also. My son is mainstreamed for all non academic activities.(Homeroom,lunch,library,guidance,adaptive PE, out side time) While he is in the special education class he does not have 1:1(5-kids one teacher 3 aids and therapist who come and go) but any thing he does outside the classroom he has 1:1. He is very affected by autism and him going it alone is not an option. All I can say is whatever you son needs get in written into his IEP.

Maistream doesn't work for all kids. This is a way to spend less money. You can't do work if your behind in reading/lang. the bases for it all. They are forceing kids to do what they are not ready for. I hate public education./US GOVT. Who are they to be in on any of this when they send their kids to private school or homeschool. It's not our problem or the kids about the money excuses we here all the time. Who is the others to decide what is best with our kids when we know them the best. Less kids will get SPED unless it's severe. Who cares about the test scores. Daily work tells the truth in my opinion. Kids pass those tests cause this is all they are taught really any more these days. Parent's should have to fight for a good iep that works. Public education put our son in regression.