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I have a student who is autistic. He came straight from a self-contained special ed class into my regular education classroom. My student has some great skills but not within the range of fifth grade. I was told not to worry about his academic needs and instead develop his social skills. In a classroom with 27 others and the focus being on raising test scores, there are not many opportunities to have social activites. He does participate with others when we play math and spelling games though. He works in a group during science. I am giving him Tier 2 interventions in math; science and social studies are more difficult to do. I have created color coded folders with graphics to give him a visual to help him stay organized. I have chosen students for each day of the week to be his mentors. I touch base with the family every week to let them know that he is doing well and to get their feedback because my student is very uncomfortable speaking directly to me. Our special ed teachers seem to have forgotten about him; they don't ask about him or check up on his progress, even though he is still on their class roster not mine because he "really isn't my student". These special ed teachers, who profess to be experts dealing with autism, just dropped him off at my door and didn't share any of their expertise with me. My question is shouldn't there be an aide in my classroom, at least part of the day, to assist me with the reteaching and repeating of directions(part of his IEP) and helping him stay organized? I am determined to make this a good year for him, but I do know that my attention to other needy students is being diverted. Do general ed teachers have a right to ask for assistance? I hope I don't sound too whiny. Am I overreacting? I do think my classroom is a better placement than the SC room and I enjoy this boy; I just would like a little bit of assistance during the day. Hi, overworked. I suspect there is something going on here that you have not been made aware of ... perhaps for legal reasons? There is some barrier to communication about this child and unfortunately you are being kept in the dark, about it. The whole ting sounds fishy to me. Have the parents shared anything about their desires/expectations of this placement? Let me get this straight... This boy was in special ed and got mainstreamed this year and doesn't have any kind of assistance for the transition? Something is VERY wrong with that picture. You can't expect a child to do that - or a teacher. And you should have been given lots of information and training in order to make this work. I would definitely speak up - but only you know how far you can go with it. Because it is your job and I don't know what the political environment of your school is. Some schools would be very open to helping - but if a school allowed the special ed teachers to transition him to your class with no assistance for you or for him - I'm guessing they won't be as open to helping you. When you speak to the parents, do they ever express frustration that he isn't getting what he needs? Where is he getting academic help if the special ed people are telling you "not to worry about that"? You are to teach academics (I'm guessing you just naturally help with SOME social skills - but aren't trained to do so for kids with autism!) and with 26 other kids - I can't imagine how you would find the time to majorly help him with social skills. But from what you are doing - it sounds like you're trying hard and doing well in what you have been able to set up for him. I think he needs an aide - I wonder if the parents could request an IEP team meeting to discuss this issue. You have to be careful though - the administration could frown on your talking to the parents and trying to get them to do that. I'm sorry you are in such a tough bind. Please keep us posted! And, I hope others chime in to give their opinions and ideas as well. Good luck with this! Let me start off by welcoming you and saying that, your task isn't easy, and I commend you for trying so hard. I don't know how all the school systems work but, I do know I have helped parents all over the country when it came to IEP goals and exactly what was being done in the classroom. Some schools do not have paras--assistants--I know parts of NC don't, and Mass. didn't either when I was in Dracut. Tzoya is the IEP person on the board and I know she can be of great help. In my own personal fight with IEP's and schools, I have heard one thing, over and over with my 3 children: "Don't worry. Under an IEP they will graduate anyway". That isn't my goal for my kids. It's just a piece of paper--I want it to be an achievement and a pride moment--not just something they get because they have an IEP. Just from the little that was said, it sounds like the same attitude--and that is so wrong. It is an injustice for the child, the parents and also, for the teacher trying hard to reach an ASD child and teach them. I can't see how you could give him the special attention he needs, without help. You have a full class and ALL NT kids need help too. It will also take away from them, while it takes away from the ASD child, because the needs are greater there. Not fair to anyone. I would go straight to the principal and ask about an aide for this child. As I said, Tzoya can answer your question much better than me but, as a parent of 3 with IEP's, I wouldnt want mine in a class without one--and I wouldn't sign any IEP that said otherwise. If that doesn't work..I don't know what you can do, legally. I would discuss progress with parents and suggest they seek the school to do something to accommodate his learning needs but, I also don't want to jeopardize your job either--so I will wait for someone with real experience to answer on your next step. As a parent, I thank you for giving this much effort to helping this child. I would love you to be a teacher at any school my kids are at. :) God Bless, Kelly I can't believe that they did this to this child...he is not on grade level so he definitely needs to have some additional supports ...this is NOT inclusion but rather dumping...inclusion happens with supports so everyone is successful. I think you are making the best of a bad situation but I am sure b ased on your response that this child is MUCH better off with you than back in the self-contained room with the "expert" A regular ed teacher can ask the school to convene and IEP Team meeting (although the school does not HAVE to if the request is from the teachers, but it HAS to if the request is from the parents). At that meeting, you can bring up the things that are not working and ask for support. Since decades ago when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, it became a requirement of all public entities to provide access to those who are disabled by giving "reasonable accommodations." IDEA was an outgrowth of this. So, being publicly funded entities, schools are REQUIRED to give students with disabilities access. This means they must find a way to support the social skills of a child with autism. As a teacher whose salary is funded by taxpayer dollars, when you signed on, you signed on to be a part of this. One alternative is to work for a private school that accepts NO taxpayer dollars. Then you will not have to deal with IEPs. Another alternative is to ask for consultant services to learn how to manage the child or ask for other supports from the school. Parents are very powerful, so you can enlist the help of the parent to get some other things taken care of. School administrators respond to bad grades. If this boy gets failing grades from you because he cannot manage to function in your class, they MAY listen to your plea for either more support or to putting him in a smaller, more appropriate environment. Mainstreaming does not work for everyone.
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