Teachers! | Autism PDD

Thanks. I managed to have a talk to the teacher involved today. She was acting like how could there have been a problem? When I said Chelsea quite often holds on all day because she doesn't realise she needs to go until it is really urgent, well the look I got. Let's just say I'm sure she thinks I am lying. Also she has been tough on Chelsea lately and Chelsea had told me she was getting in trouble. Well the teacher couldn't get that Chelsea could feel that way just because she was being quite directive. I had to remind her that praise works wonders for our kids.

Now I have another teacher who thinks I'm crazy and difficult, sigh. Well I might as well earn the neurotic label that they keep trying to give me.

Our oldest boy is still the same now he is 8 and if he has to go its not in 5 minutes its NOW we were having accidents at school and we drummed it in to teachers after several *cough* rather loud disscusions if he needs to go let him.Katie is the otherside of the coin we have to remind her she needs to go to the toilet and Jack is still not toilet trained so we havn't crossed this bridge with him.Why oh why don't people realise especially the "professionals"that our kids don't get that kind of joke/comment poor chelsea must have been so puzzled but hopefully it won't happen again.Fingers crossed

Dee

That a nightmare, Michelle. What's up with that? They were picking Paul up 15 minutes after all the other kids had left last year--I had a fit!!

((((Cheryl!)))))

I feel for your sweet Chelsea and just want to say I'm really proud of her doing so well!!!!

I've encountered teacher's like that in his summer school and this "know-it-all" teacher who was suppose to be a behavior specialist and had the most kids in her class in all of the city (don't ask why she bragged about that one?!) was like well, I can't be watching for signs for all the kids so we only take them three times a day, unless they tell us...Okay, so pdd/autistc children do not always talk...AND if they can, they may not always know...you need to ask to remind them or watch for signs, holding the crotch is my son's telltale... but that's just my non-behavioral specialist opinion! geesh!

Sorry you are dealing w/ that kind of stuff, hopefully your conversation w/ Chelsea helps her out, bless her sweet heart!

big hugs to you both, and too bad about that teacher, its funny I always wonder how someone like that would cope in our shoes!

hugs!

Ali

ah yes the neurotic parents badge *pats hers proudly*

they seem to take it has a personal insult and don't realise you just want whats best for your child like any other parent just whats best for your child is a little different to your NT kids maybe asking the teacher to hold it all day and submiting her to a dripping tap might help her get the idea of how chelsea felt

good luck i hope things work out

Dee

OK, I am trying to calm myself as I write this............I happen to have the badge of overprotective, worrywart, denying my child independence Mother of the century.............

I will NOT just allow anyone to tell me that my child will be OK, I want in writing what they are going to do for him, when who where and how..period and end of the discussion. I told the chairperson that unless and until I am satisfied that my autistic non verbal child is going to have his needs met, he will NEVER be going to school and that when it becomes illegal for me to not send him, they can take me or his dad to jail.

Does your DD have an IEP? It is perfectly sad to even have to ask this, no child should not be helped to get to the bathroom, IEP or not. If she does, call a meeting and ask that bathroom be added to it. (just MHO). SO insane that this child was put through this.

I am sorry to hear it.

I had to go and pick up my daughter with Autism early because as the teacher said "she had an accident when she went to the bathroom'. It turns out my daughter asked to go but the teacher involved just said "quick sticks" to her in reply so my daughter thought she wasn't allowed.

Our kids being what they are she forgot she needed to go so waited until she was desperate, which was after having had lunch etc as that is more important of course. Well this time her teacher (a different one than from the morning) made her wait while she had a conversation about "go for me while you are at it". Needless to say my daughter made it all the way to standing in front of the toilet when everything just had to come out.

They know she has Autism, they have been told about being direct etc and look what they do. The only bright spot in the day is that Chelsea was embarrassed but in a sensible way and when she knew that I had dry clothes etc she felt much happier. I'm hoping that the teacher takes it all a bit more seriously and has words with the other one from the morning. I do so hate this thing of more than one teacher for a 6 year old, it is confusing for me, goodness knows how Chelsea copes.

Now Chelsea and I have had a discussion about having to Go at lunchtime whether she wants to or not. I find that she isn't very aware of what her body needs until it is just too late. I know that Temple Grandin talked about that in her book. Anyone else have that sort of experience with their child?

cherylann38596.6067592593

:( Poor Chelsea!!!!
Yes, Riley (3rd grade) has the same problem...he still always needs to be reminded to go (at home too).

I have in his IEP that an aide takes him 3x throughout the day (uses the private nurse's bathroom too, as the noise in the large one is intolerable) at 10:30, lunch, and 2:00. This exact same thing happened to him at gym class last year, "coach" made him wait, and I get the call to bring him dry clothes...No waiting allowed! If he realizes he needs to go, that's a great thing, but it means NOW!

Definitely talk to them...the last thing our kids need is to be embarrassed over something like this, that the teachers can help to prevent!
Hugs to Chelsea!
~Lesley

Tyler always waits til the last second to go and then he has to go RIGHT NOW... no way he can hold it to wait. I wonder if it has to do with self awareness, problem solving or sensory issues??? It is frustrating! Now Im concerned as it appears he will likely have an hour to hour and a half long bus ride to and from school and the school is only 6 or 7 miles away!!!!??????[QUOTE=mypaul]

That a nightmare, Michelle. What's up with that? They were picking Paul up 15 minutes after all the other kids had left last year--I had a fit!!

[/QUOTE]

Because the school didn't pass its multi million dollar levy they decided to redistrict their 3 elementary schools -1 in each town that make up our school district They closed 1 elementary school and decided to move those kids to the school my kids have gone to since Kindergarten. Then because that over crowds an already over crowded school (they have 4 classrooms outside in trailors) they redistricted where the school bussing line is. Because we live on the line of both towns we got redistricted to the other building. In addition to closing one school to save on teacher salaries and overhead costs of opening the building and paying for the heat, electric, upkeep etc. they also decided to cut back on busses that are running so the routes start at 7:40AM and school begins at 9AM My kids will be one of the first ones picked up,... possibly one of the last ones dropped off (it didn't mention the drop off schedule.)

What is interesting is that regardless of if the levy passed or not, they planned to close the one elementary school but never bothered to tell the parents until almost the end of the school year. The schools plan is to close all 3 elementary schools and build a new school for all 3 towns to come to and share 1 elementary in the town the Jr/Sr high is in... (yes we have 7th grade mixed in with 12th grade students!)

With the budget cuts and the running fewer busses they also decided to cut out bussing for 9-12 grade students! Now most 9th graders are 14 /15 years old! (I know I never turned 16 until the end of my 10th grade year) But 9 - 12 grades are expected to find their own way to school now Even for those who Do have their license, how many parents can afford to buy another vehicle for their child and pay the insurance on it and the gas for it???? Not many! So my oldest daughter will have to stay home and do online schooling for her senior year.

Whats really interesting is I just was told (will have to try it) SUPPOSEDLY it is ILLEGAL for your child to be on a school bus longer than 40 minutes! Now I don't know if that is just special ed kids, or all kids. And I don't know if that is just in the state of Ohio or all states. But I will be checking into it! I am really NOT looking foward to this school year!

Thank you everyone. I have so many more difficult things to cope with with my two and this was the one that really pipped me off. Chelsea has an IEP but because it hasn't been an issue the bathroom wasn't on it. She has managed all year ok and if the teacher had just said "Yes you can go" my dd would have managed that day as well.

As lucky as I am that she is functioning at such a high level, we sometimes come accross issues due to the teachers lack of understanding of her disability. I'm sure they will be more careful in future and as much as it was a little embarrassing for Chelsea I think she learned a lesson as well. I think she will be a little more assertive in future when she wants something. All of these things a learning experiences and even NT 6 year olds can have accidents at school.

Now I have had a chance to vent I feel heaps better. I feel for those who have much more difficult issues to manage as I have been there with my oldest and I understand how frustrating it is when the system won't even put in little strategies to help. You would think that human compassion should be enough especially as doing it the right way ends up saving them time and energy as well.

I found in fact with one teacher that when I explained that my DS wouldn't be causing her trouble if she put some simple supports in place, that her attitude completely changed. But if I ever hear again, "Well we can't do it for your child because we don't do it for anyone else".

It's only when I read some of the posts that I realise how hard it was and how far I have come. I hope that it will soon be the same for all of you.
[QUOTE=MsSteelersFan]

Under Ohio law, there are no specific time limits for how long a child's ride to school can take. Instead, each school district must set its own reasonable travel time. Travel time is defined as beginning at the initial pickup of the child and ending with the final arrival at the school destination. The school district must develop its travel time standard, approved by the individual board of education, and must consider the following factors:

age of child,
condition of disability,
geographic size of school district,
location of special education class,
traffic patterns, and
roadway conditions.

Michelle...that last paragraph makes it sound like A) you can specify something in his IEP if you know he has trouble with the long distances...and B) do you know how long the regular ed classes are bussed for? If they school is only 6/7 miles, maybe you can demand (OK, request) that he be picked up last? "should not be longer than comparable in-district trans. time..." hmmm...maybe there's something to that that will work in Tylers favor???

The whole system sounds horrible to me, to even imagine 7th graders and Seniors together....UGH! Just a vast difference of maturity in those ages that I would think it's dangerous to combine them....here, our 6th graders are even separated from the 7/8th.....unreal.

As always, I wish you luck.
~Lesley

wow thats not good at all!!

i know it is a completely different country but over here they can't be in taxi/bus for more than a hour

i know in pennsylvannia it is 90 miinutes. they never stick to it though. my son in cab this year with 2 other kids. one lives 45 minutes away from us. he is being picked up and driving 45 minutes to pick up other kid then they have and hour to school. having 90 minute law on books doesn't help. only thing is if they are late to school with all this picking up then you can call in state and say they are not getting all the schooling state is paying for and you want compensation. have done this before and he got his own cab. they are just trying to save money agaqin at the expense of the child. you know the no child left behind bush is always talking about.

Well that didn't take long to find. The information I got was aparently incorrect.....

* taken from the page http://olrs.ohio.gov/ASP/olrs_Transportation.asp *

Special Education

As with any other school-age child, a child with a disability is entitled to regular transportation if the child meets the state criteria for transportation. Generally, for children in grades kindergarten to eight, whether they attend public or private school, the school district is required to provide transportation if the child lives more than two miles from the school. For this age group, the only exception to this rule is if the state board of education agrees with the local school board that the transportation is unnecessary or unreasonable. Regular transportation for students in grades nine to twelve may be provided but is not required.

Even if your child does not qualify for regular transportation, he or she may be eligible for "special transportation" as a "related service." "Special transportation" means vehicle transportation service directly related to the child's disability and required by the IEP or any applicable state or federal law. If you believe your child needs special transportation, you should discuss this concern at an IEP meeting and have it written on the IEP.

age of child,
condition of disability,
geographic size of school district,
location of special education class,
traffic patterns, and
roadway conditions.

Travel time for children with disabilities should be kept to a minimum consistent with the requirements of the IEP and, generally, should not be longer than comparable in-district transportation time for children without disabilities. Transportation travel time out-of-district should also be minimized consistent with the requirements of the child's IEP. Different rules may apply if your child attends a community school.

The following list provides links to other organizations that offer information about special education and transportation. Some links in this section are to documents created in Adobe� Portable Document Format (PDF). To view and print PDF documents, you need to have Adobe� Reader�, a free software program, installed on your computer. Download Adobe� Reader�.