support for extra curricular activities.. | Autism PDD

I have a son in Kindergarten and starting in January, the school opens up certain after school programs to his age group...(ie art, pottery, acting, gymnastics, etc..)...anyway, I want my son to go to at least one program because I believe it will be another opportunity for him to socialize and he might possibly develop a new skill/interest...he will need some sort of support to attend (he can not just attend in a group of 20+ kids)...does the school have to provide support for him to attend?? or is it up to me to find/hire support since it is an after school program?? I can hire someone but am curious what his rights are...

tzoya, you make a good point. If the activity is publicly funded, the school cannot discriminate against anyone participating. Whether or not this would include the provision of an aide, I'm not sure. Is the school program publicly funded, or is it a program that parents pay for? Either way, as tzoya suggested, WrightsLaw.com is a good place to find out more information about legal requirements in special education.

Nicole

Free Autism Resources and Printable Activities for Parents and Teachers! ~ http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/

ACCESS. That is the ADA standard. An "entity" (in this case the school) HAS to provide access to disabled persons who want to participate. In your son's case, this would mean an aide. However, if they balk, sign him up anyway. My guess is that they will VERY SOON cough up an aide. If you are worried about doing that, stay near the building during the activity (don't tell THEM that) and give them your cell phone number. Then go in and take him home if there is an issue and IMMEDIATELY write to the District that they are not providing him access to a publicly funded activity and that they MUST figure out a way to accommodate him. The alternative is to get an aide for afterschool activities on his IEP. (go to www.wrightslaw.com -- there is info there on this).

The problem I ran into when my son was little was not that the District was unwilling to pay an aide -- it was that they had trouble FINDING an aide. Most of the aides in our District take this low paying job because the hours are the same as the hours their kids have, so they are simply unwilling to stay after school for the pittance they get paid and have to pay a sitter for their own kids. However, this is NOT YOUR PROBLEM. It's the school's. There are lots of HS kids who are REQUIRED to give volunteer time in order to graduate. The school can look into hooking them up as volunteers and getting them a bit of training. Heck, it's cheaper than a discrimination lawsuit.

One thing I would NEVER do is hire someone myself or volunteer to go in myself. This gets the District off the hook and they learn that if they don't step up to the plate, Mrs. Optimistic will. This gives them the incentive to deny future requests thinking you'll pay out of pocket anyway. JMHO.

As always, thanks (((T)))

That's great that your school offers these programs! It seems like a good opportunity for your child to have some time with his peers while exploring a fun activity that he may enjoy. As far as I know, the school is not required to provide an aide for these type of activities, since they are not part of the regular school day, and not part of a student's IEP. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

You could probably find a college student in special education, psychology, or another human service field to hire. They are often looking for part-time work.

Good luck with this!

Nicole

Free Autism Resources and Printable Activities for Parents and Teachers! ~ http://www.PositivelyAutism.com/