I WENT TO AN AUTISM CLASS... | Autism PDD
It is very frustrating.
The class was great but the one thing I found out was that they talk about
getting all this help, speech,OT,PT,social skills,ect.,but nobody tells you how
to get it. I took the right steps. I went to a nero peds doctor and she told
me what he needed and I thought ok now let me get him help! BUT the
problem started at the school. They told me what they wanted him to get,OT
2 times a week and an in class aide, THATS IT- what about everything else!!
SO, I went to the insurance company-NOTHING. Ok I will call myself to get
him help and OT for an half hour, anther for speech. AND now
what!? Just because I don't make enough my child has to suffer, or because
the school doesn't feel like spending their money he has to suffer,NO THATS
NOT RIGHT! 
Why isn't there some law that helps the children that
have issues but are not having behavioral issues or can talk but don't have
good socaial skills.
[QUOTE=mom of 2]Why isn't there some law that helps the children that
have issues but are not having behavioral issues or can talk but don't have
good socaial skills.[/QUOTE]
This is the question that eats away at me and frustrates me to no end. Right now, I'm going back and forth with the school and won't take no for an answer. I gave in to them for too many years and I refuse to do it any longer. My child has always been compliant, not at all a behavior problem, and he's getting the shaft because of it. He talks like an adult so they think he's fine. Yeah, how many other 11 year olds want to hang with a kid that talks at them like he's an adult? It's amazing to the adults but what they don't see is it makes him annoying to peers.
Anyway, it's not right and unfortunately, it's too common.
Oh and another thing, I would bet money that the aide they are going to provide him will have no spectrum specific training. That's another thing that I let go for too long and now am insisting that everyone be given some training and / or information on spectrum disorders.
Not to say that is foolproof, we had the special ed teacher and 2 general ed teachers go to a conference and then report back to the rest of the general ed team. There is some improvement but still I am shaking my head at some of the suggestions.
If I could go back to when he was 6, like your son is (mine is almost 12 now) I would do alot more pushing than I did. I regret horribly that I let so many things go.
The Schools are struggling with lack of funds, lack of knowledge, lack of people who really understand the whole spectrum. I also feel they are overwhelmed with more and more children being DX. My sons district is a very wealthy one, but even the classic autistic children don't get all they need. "IN MY OPINION". It is also hard to tell parents how to get more help when our children are so different and their needs are so different, and if they are working with different school districts or even same districts, but different schools you are dealing with different people. Some are easier than others. We started out with a woman who believed that if your child talked to her, they did not have any form of autism, she was our Autism Specialist in my son school district. My son was labeled ASD, because we had his therapist, Doctor behind us. Now she is at a different School District and I was talking to some people from that district and they said " Haven't you heard their are no autistic children in their district" They have 30 due processes cases pending right now because of her. The Schools need MONEY for all of these kids, I feel it will get worse before it gets better. Insurance Company's need to pay for Therapy, Teachers need to be educated if they expect our kids to function in mainstreamed classes. So the parents of ASD children the( invisible disability) in many cases, are fighting everyday and waiting for the system and the government and the world to change. I feel it comes down to MONEYSeriously, I could go on an on about this lol.
One more thing I think in addition to money and knowledge issues is the inability to get creative with these kids. I gave sooooo many suggestions of things we could do to implement stuff and I got met with resistance each and every step of the way. It was nothing outlandish or costly. It's just like they can't or won't think outside of the box. There is not a set way to teach all of these kids and lets face it schools are a "one size fits all approach". They need to be creative and be able to move things around. Figure out priorities and make their schedule accomodate those priorities.
Do you have the book, "From Emotions to Advocacy"? It and other good books and the parents who have gone before me really help!Hi,
I am not sure what state you are in or if this varies from state to state, but regional center (federal early intervention program) will cover social skills and behavior therapy for children with an autism dx beyond the age of 3. It may depend on whether or not you had him in it before he turned 3-that part I am not sure about.
Also, if you are unhappy with the service you are getting from your district, you can always call another IEP meeting at any time. Regional Center also has advocates who will attend the IEP with you and help you request more services. It also helps to have evals/reports from as many people he works with as possible. Speak to your child's teacher and ask her what she thinks about him needing more svcs. A lot of times she can be an advocate for him to get more help.
I have been struggling with this since they turned 3 and were released from early intervention. They have been through 3 schools. They would put all these great services in the IEP but they never actually got them. And in the meantime the window is closing. They got ZERO speech until I fought the insurance company like crazy and finally got them private speech this summer because they went from 50% delayed to 75% delayed. They were 4 years old! Seems like everyone has failed them. They got it from the school on paper, but not in reality. This is my biggest complaint, they tell us what we need to do but no one makes those all so important services actually available and insurance doesn't cover it because they say its the school's responsibility. Ugh.Thanks for every ones advice. It is true that they need to look at each child-not just"AUTISM" because every child is diffrent autism or not. Sometimes
you feel tired of fighting until we look at our wonderful kids and then I take
a deep breath and put my boxing gloves back on- I just wish I didn't have
to. I just feel the school systems wait until they fail and then say ok he
needs help, Why not before?
My son Christian is also 6 and I am pursuing OT therapy in school. Up until 2 weeks ago my son's handwriting was terrible but all of a sudden it's gotten a lot neater and a lot smaller but still not really legible. When I took Christian to his Pedi for his quartely assessment 2 weeks ago he asked me if Chris was having OT in school and I told him no. He said it was mandatory at least 3 X's per week in additional to the 2 x's per week we pay for privately. He wrote me a Rx for OT I gave it to the ESE Specialist. She called me the other day and said she called the County therapist who will do an eval and she she said that some kids in the school are worse than he is. I'm not sure what to make of that comment. She keeps saying that whenever I voice a concern to her. Well, she better get used to my b*tching b/c I am not going to stop until I get it. I will not take no for an answer. When Chris was Dx the school told me that a lot of money will be allocated to Christian so they bloody well better start using it!
Yes they diffently will spend it on sports they just built two new feilds with
astro turff-HOW NICE! But our kids are not as important as SPORTS!
What's happening is the changes comeing a head. Govt. wants kids mainstream now unless severe disability. I don't care about the money issue that isn't our problem as a parent of a Se kid. Quit spending it on sports then. In our countey they say we have to many Se kids as is. I think teach to master, not teach to tests is what needs to happen. Tx. Next fall will pass HS kids based on exam scores. Neither of us 2 could even get SSI help either. My Pedi told me he should also get OT 3 times a week but the school only
gave me 2 times a week and then this year once!
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