Since Sam's Big Meltdown (see earlier post) at school Oct 22 and a smaller, very defiant, but not aggressive episode on Oct.25, the school had been trying to establish an Emergency Plan which would go into effect if/when the staff felt Sam was a danger to himself, others or property. I am now finding myself having conversations I NEVER would have imagined myself having.
The District wants a plan that may include a padded room that Sam would be removed to with the *help* of 2 para's and locked into, alone, if he a) did not comply with staff requests within 5 minutes, b) if staff thought Sam might become a danger to himself, others or property, c) Sam was a danger to himself, others,property.
The school does not have any place that is suitable to lock Sam into, most of the staff are reluctant or unwilling to take such measures and I have stated that I WILL NOT GIVE CONSENT to this. The District states that they must protect the staff and students, there must be an emergency plan in place before Sam returns school, and next week they will make a visit to the school to inspect it ( for a padded room is my understanding)
I spoke with the principal and she is willing to allow Sam to return to school ONLY if I am there at all times. Sam will be placed into a graduated return program where he will spend small amounts of time per day in a separate room earning the opportunity to come to school for longer amounts of time. Then they will gradually re-intoduce Sam back into the classroom.
At the IEP meeting last week I was told that they would be focusing only on this and that the other educational goals would be addressed later. I repeated refered to a doc. by the Provincial Autism team which outlined many steps to be implemented. It wasn't until a meeting earlier this week it was discovered Sam's file is missing this important doc. I am also discovering that the new spec. ed teacher has almost no understanding of ASD issues: does not know anything about ABA, ABC(Antecetant,Behavoir,Consequences) forms, boardmaker, visuals, social stories or sensory issues. I have little confidence in her ability to provide an effective program for Sam. Oh, and I just found out that Sam has not been complying for her for more than 6 weeks and nothing has been done. I feel like Sam was set up to fail and the spec ed teacher is refusing to take any responsiblity for not doing her job.(at the IEP she told me that she was still "bonding" with Sam
Sam's growth the past 3 months has been astonishing. He has friends at school, kids who seek out his friendship, he is beginning to read, he is putting up his hand and volunteering info in class, he is showing empathy, labelling his emotions, showing he can learn skills to help himself during a meltdown. I could go on and on. Every day I see or hear Sam reach a new milestone. One aggressive meltdown, that most of the staff agree was a sign of Sam testing boundaries, and now Sam had a Violent History. Please do not get me wrong, I am not trying to make light of the fact Sam punched and scratched his para and teacher. This needs to be addressed. I am just overwhelmed at how quickly the district labelled him violent and at how they arrived at a padded room as the solution to any future hint of a meltdown, or even for not complying within 5 min... I think I'm still in shock - I wake up in the morning thinking, Whew, it was just a dream. Then reality sets in. I am definately out of my league on this one and need to quickly educate myself on issues of aggression at school and what my rights are. I am looking for an advocate in my area. If you got this far, thank you. I need some perspective on this, my head is spinning. Please share any insights you have. Please, Please, Please. mama to Sam 8yrs PDD NOS OCD ODD PDD and Alex 2 yrs Sam's growth the past 3 months has been astonishing. He has friends at school, kids who seek out his friendship, he is beginning to read, he is putting up his hand and volunteering info in class, he is showing empathy, labelling his emotions, showing he can learn skills to help himself during a meltdown. I could go on and on. Every day I see or hear Sam reach a new milestone. [/QUOTE] Starting with the good stuff - How fantastic that he's accomplished these things! He's making some awesome progress. I see you're in Canada. Can you request an FBA? I would want a BCBA to observe my child and come up with an appropriate BIP, not the school. The special ed teachers lack of knowledge would make me really uncomforatable. Is she willing to learn? I've requested a FBA to be done again. We had one done in June but I feel the new growth in Sam and the new issues require a new one. Sam's para is trained and did the last one. The spec ed teacher seemed uncertain that she knew what we were talking about and when the para mentioned she taped incentives into the book - gummies and gold coins - she was very disapproving saying school policy was to NOT hand out treats. Sam's teacher was great - she basically said it was a policy that could be bent to meet the child's needs and that getting an evaluation done was more important. I've also requested a Vineyard. The spec ed teacher keeps saying she's not worried about Sam's academics, he's a smart kid. I would be alot more comfortable with a more scientific dx of Sam's intelligence.
I fear the spec ed teacher is realizing that the para and I know much more about autism and is feeling threatened by that. I am trying to tread carefully but I found myself very frustrated explaining what a ABC form is for and requesting, again, that one be filled out for EVERY undesirable behaviour.That this is the first step in making an effective BIP. I was able to express my concern to the principal about the lack of knowledge the spec ed teacher had and she did agree she felt we needed a whole team approach, including an BCBA to address Sam's needs.She,too, felt she needed more support from the district, which is slow in coming. It's sad that all of Sam's accomplishments are being overshadowed by this incident. I have so much to celebrate and I feel I am being consumed by this issue. Thank you for your thoughts. mama to Sam 8yrs PDD NOS OCD ODD PPD and Alex 2 yrs Good grief, you don't lock a kid in a padded room for 5 minutes of nonaggressive noncompliance! If noncompliance is a persistent problem, then it needs to have its own intervention. If noncompliance is a sign of escalation to a potentially aggressive meltdown, then putting him in a padded room isn't the way to stop the escalation. Rather than STOP the escalation, I think that solution would actually SPEED IT UP. I don't know your rights here, I'm afraid, but I wish you GOOD LUCK in dealing with this gruesome turn of events. I'll be thinking of you. Thanks for the support! I met with the principal and head of spec ed on Friday. After a bit of politically correct chit chat I tried to get down to business but had the distinct feeling the Boss man was trying to give me a run-around. When I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere I opened my binder and started pulling out documents on autism and aggression, behav. plans - what works and doesn't, facts and checklists etc,..... Ten minutes later I got all that I asked for. We are now top of the list for the BCBA. I am glad Sam's going to get the supports he needs, but when the Head Spec Ed said he told another family they weren't the priority anymore I looked at him and said, "You do know that there's another mom crying herself to sleep tonight, wondering when HER child will make it to the top of the list?" The padded room issue is off the burner and a safe place that Sam can calm down in, with support, will be re-visisted, with BCBA input. The staff is getting training on when and how to move a child safely. They will also be brought up to speed on ASD issues. I have good feeling about the school again. All the staff are working hard to get the education they need to do their jobs well and I felt well supported by them advocating for Sam. I did need to go home and shower after the meeting. I felt like I had just spent and hour with a sleazy politician
All in all, I feel I did an awesome job advocating for my child. Just hope I don't have to do this often. mama to Sam 8yrs PDD NOS OCD ODD PPD and Alex 2yrs That's so awesome that a BCBA and staff training are on the horizon! Way to go!! Maybe they'll think twice next time they want to suggest a padded room!! Your advocacy is like a stone tossed into a pond -- the ripple effect will be felt by other families and other staff members, indirectly benefiting them and raising awareness. Wishing you continued good luck.
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