What can I do???? | Autism PDD
There is no special ed. teaher in my son's classrom and hasn't been for
about 6 weeks now. They "are looking for a replacement" Things are
going downhill. I do not know what to do.
I took him home today after an entire morning of crying. He's in a
"collaborative program" and his reg ed teacher was out for a district
meeting. He melted down with the sub (who he knows and has liked in
the past)
I hav never taken him out of class before (this is his second year). And
when I left, the assistant said, "he just needs to work through this..." I
said, "There is no value in torturing him." and we went home. He had
been screaming and crying for more than 2.5 hours at that point. He
does not have any history of this kind of melt down at all. In fact, he
recovers quite quickly.
I don't think there is anyone there who "gets" autism. Let alone the mild
forms that often pass as "willfulness" or "defiance". I am really concerned
and do not know what to do. I left an (unanswered) mssg with the pre-
school special ed coordinator. And have asked to meet with the
"assistants" who are "helping" him. I don't think there is anyone modeling
and shadowing him appropriately at this time, and I am extremely
worried. He has never been left "to his own devices" to "work through
this" on his own. It is backfiring in a big way. What is Special Ed, with out
any Special ed. teacher?????
What can I do? Thanks for the advice, guys. I guess I will be writing a letter to the district
today.
I just feel bad for my son. He got on the bus this AM without any problems,
so today will probably be better. But, I have a whole lot of "investigating" to
do. I don't think he's being properly supported at this time.
His teacher left for "medical leave" and then decided not to return. No one is
saying what the story is. She just dissappeared. Didn't even say bye to the
kids (She was J's teacher all last year, as well) The district has been "looking
for someone" ever since and while there are plenty of special ed teachers at
his school, there are none in his class right now. Just "aides" who seem nice
enough, but not really educated about autism specifically. 
Mamakat are the aides in school ABA trained? It sounds that Jasper needs a
better trained support system. How can a child without adequate supports
or skills work through something? I would tell the preschool that yes he
needs to learn to work though stuff. First however he needs to have these
skills modeled and taught step by step. Then he needs to master these skills
before he can work it out on his own. I am sorry your little guy had such a
rough day.
Two things seem really strange to me.....first he is in a collaberative program ? Should't that just be chock full of special educators ?? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the term ??
Second.....While I completely agree that over 2 hours in a meltdown is wayyyyy too long and he needs something more to help him......I have to say it is refreshing to hear a shcool say he needs to work through it......at Erin's old school.....it was as if they had never seen a meltdown before !!! and I was called every time it happened to take her home for the day !!! I felt THEY needed to work through it and understand that it could be "nipped" if they handled it properly.
As for "what can you do " question.....forget the phone calls !! WRITTEN word is much more powerful !! Write letters and bring them to special ed office......they have 10 days to respond ......in the letter....say that you need to reconvene IEP team because this is NOT working....if special ed teacher is in his IEP....HE MUST have one....even if it is a sub....they can't do nothing !!
Keep me posted !!
Well he could work through with help and a plan in place by some who understands autism. In this situation I would have taken my son home also but what do you do when you have no SE teacher in place? Can't keep him home everyday. Is there another placement that they can offer that does have a teacher who understands autism? Can't they send everyone to training until they get someone?
I do leave my son to work through things like this but there is a plan in place that adresses this sort of thing.
My ds was not getting the special ed services he was supposed to twomonth into the year. I had talked with school twice about it and everyone
was very agreeable but they just never did follow through - they had a
lot going on and my ds's needs were pretty down on their priority list. I
decided to bump him up on the list. I made a list of all the points where
my ds's IEP was not being followed, for how long and how it affected him.
I listed the ways the school and I had tried to work on this. And I made a
list of what I needed to change while keeping in mind what was possible. I
wrapped it together into a letter explaining why my son currently was not
receiving a 'free and appropriate education' and which changes I needed
to see in the next ten days and requested a response from the district.
And then I mailed the letter to everyone from the school special ed to
principal to superintendent and everyone working in the district special
ed department. I tried not to be heavy handed but I tried to get across
that I was very concerned and would not be brushed off or mainly
reassured. And I think it worked to the degree that anything works in this
district: my ds is getting moe consistant services, there was a
consultation with an autism specialist, they document better and I will
still meet with the district director of special ed.
The comment of 'he needs to work through this ' to me means that they
do not understand that the responsibility lies with them in providing
appropriate services. They figure that he just needs to pull himself
together - it is not his responsibility or in his ability to make up for their
non-compliance with his IEP!. I'd advise you to either write or call the
district and be very clear about your son regressing because they are
non-compliant with meeting his IEP (no special ed teacher). Don't be
reassured away but press your point. If you don't already, keep a journal
to document everything.
Bah...No advice...just wanted to send you some good vibes...
The only thing I can think to do is to call a new IEP meeting and look into other placements for him.
MamaKat,
I agree that that is way too much for a 4 year old to have to "work through" at this point. I hope that they find a qualified replacement soon and seek to understand Jasper more in the meantime. I know what you mean about the 'willfullness' thing, too. I think T's teacher sees his behaviors as intentional as she made a point the other day to say, "he is so bright, he shouldn't have problems with calling out in class, etc." Even setting apart autism, that is not a logical statement. I'm getting the impression that she is not very receptive to hearing about any 'special needs.' On some level I think it is good for him to be treated like everyone else as much as possible, but if it continues on a negative trend, I'm going to have to take some action. Hope things get better for Jasper soon and that your course of action is clear.
--S--
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