Posted on May-30-12 at 10:32 PM (Eastern) by 76.101.220.48
We have been through so much with my son since he was 4 (now almost 10) and finally the school has done a assessment and has come back with... get this... He does have issues after all ...and let me just say HA! to the vice principal who suggested my son was being manipulative to get what he wants when all the time I was telling him he didn't know what he was doing!... I've been telling them this since kindergarden! He has a diagnosis of adhd, mood control nos and impulse control nos, but I guess the school needs to find one for themselves! Anyway, their own psychologist suggested I test my son for Autism... I've been telling them for years I thought he was Aspergers.
So, my question is what testing or procedure did you go through for testing for Autism or Aspergers? Did they also test for Emotional Behavior Disorders? Who did the testing, what was it like? Can a mental health counselor do it? Or does it have to be a Doctor? What do you do with a kid who is so high functioning that he doesn't fit in a autism class and really shouldn't be in a emotional behavior disorder class, but the school doesn't want him there in general ed classes anymore?
My mind is going nuts... I don't know where to start. What therapy works the best for behavior issues for autism or aspergers? Occupational Therapy?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! I just don't know what direction to start in... now that it's taken us so long to find this out, I feel like we are at a huge disadvantage because he hasn't been receiving the help or treatment he needs. My goal is for him to be a self sufficient adult leading a happy life... and I'm worried that things have waited way too long!
Any advice from anyone who's been there before?
Thanks.
Laurie
1|1|OMG! Are you saying that the school doesn't want him in regular education?|kdrink|kdrink34@yahoo.com|23:14:12|05/30/2012|
Posted on May-30-12 at 11:14 PM (Eastern) by 24.72.222.221
I went thru a similar situation with unmedicated adhd and the school thought that my child was manipulative, and defiant. They would not qualify him for an IEP. Fornuately I know the law and am a good advocate and let me tell you this..............He was kept in his school, given an IEP, and just recently made student of the month.
But of course when you have OPI on your side and they are clearly in violation of the law, things change in a very quick manner.
The Adhd dx itself qualifies for an IEP under OHI criteria (and don't let them tell you that it doesn't). The law is also very clear about educating children in the least restrictive environment which is the regular education classroom. Do not let the school bully you, you keep pushing, arm yourself with information, and keeping bullying back. They are not the end all be all, and often times can be wrong.
Ok, so testing. Aspergers is on the austism spectrum. So find yourself a pediatrician who specializes in autism or autistic related disorders. A good way to find this is to call your regular peditrician and ask. You will be given a battery of questions, similar to that of the adhd questions, then more testing will follow.
You mentioned Occupational therapy. Did you get the O/T report from the testing at the school? If not, ask for it. They should have tested in this area as well. You are spot on......yes, Occupational therapy is one way to help.
Does you son have an IEP at school? What kind of meeting was this?
4|2|I just wanted to add one more thing......|kdrink|kdrink34@yahoo.com|23:40:25|05/30/2012|
Although my situation is a bit different, it is still very much the same issue, just with a different diagnosis.
The school wanted to send my son to a special school for children who have conduct disorders, because my son was "defiant". Any therapist would tell you that you don't mix children with conduct disorders with non medicated kids with Adhd. It would create more of a problem. When I told his peditrician what they were wanting to do she became furious.
It didn't happen, but only because I advocated for his rights. And I can tell you from experience you might have to develop thick skin, but always remember that you have his best intertest at heart, more so than anyone else, and when you second guess yourself or are ready to give up, find someone who can encourage you and give you support to continue. Look on the Web for Wright's Law and read read read. It is valuable information. 6|3|They did want to send my son to a school for defiant children....|jdlaurie|savethosepennies@aol.com|06:58:28|05/31/2012|
so we scheduled a meeting with the school and brought the mental health therapist with us. They automatically took that off the table. That would have made things so much worse! I can't help but wonder how much better things would have been if they listened to me a long time ago. But until now, no one helped me with anything. They would tell me what to do, I would go to the school with it and then they would do as little as possible telling me they couldn't do more. It's frustrating!
I slept horrible last night, my mind is going crazy. I always knew he has issues, but after all these years, to have it confirmed... it's like a weight was lifted in some areas, but now I realize how much work there is ahead of us. Life is about to drastically change. I love my son so much, I feel so bad for him. I can't imagine what it's like to be uncomfortable in your own skin and for people to not understand for so long. 2|1|my 17 yr old is High functioning Autism|couponsnsamples|cpsnsamples@aol.com|23:22:21|05/30/2012|
first off...the school system is obligated to see to it that he gets the education he is entitled...........
have u ever been given a booklet by the school system ..that tells you your rights?
thats a very good place to start........
i learned many ,many yrs ago........that if u dont speak your mind and make them work for you.......no one else will..........
my son had his first testing at age 3.......he was diagnosed by a physicratic(spelled wrong) traveling team from Louisville,ky
he is not on any medication and has never been........he does have out burst at times..but they have gotten much ,much better with age.......
when my son first started preschool.......they had no teacher in the school system qualifed to work with an autistic child.......
by law they had to provide him one.........and they did....and they also sent 2 other teachers for training to be able to be his helper....
my son is in a life skills class.......he is taken out to regular class rooms with an aid....he does really well..
since he is in high school now ,he is able to go other places in the school...without an aid following him around to make sure he does what he is supposed too....
and he has done very well.......
the goal is for him to be able to go to other classes for a short period of time without an aid......
and progress from there.........
im sure i havent answered alot of your questions..but feel free to email me privately at cpsnsamples@aol.com and i will answer what i can and will try to help u get the answers u are looking for.......
3|2|why do they not want him in reg class?|couponsnsamples|cpsnsamples@aol.com|23:29:08|05/30/2012|
? 7|3|they claim to not have the resources for him at this school|jdlaurie|savethosepennies@aol.com|07:00:51|05/31/2012|
I thought they had to make resources available to him.
5|1|My best resource in having my daughter tested, was her peditrcian. Our school district shrink spent 10 minutes with her, and stamped her as autistism. As is turns out, she is not!! It was a whole other problem. But all the school did was really qualify her for services. If they need them, and they do not KNOW what is wrong, they just stick them on the Autism spectrum to get them qualified for special ed. Sorry you are going through this, and I hope you find your answers. |dlpavitt|dlpavitt@att.net|05:28:54|05/31/2012|
If you are a HONEST trader, there is nothing to fear in having a feedback link. If you do not have one, please set one up, BEFORE contacting me for a trade. If you insist on not having a feedback link, please do not contact me to trade. Feedback links protect all of us, on RS. Thanks for understanding. Donna 8|1|Laurie, some information inside. If your son goes to a Public School and gets money from the government, they have to help. Check out the Advocate link at the bottom.|Ranalt|ainebailey@gmail.com|10:15:21|05/31/2012|
Edited to add more links.
Adding two more links.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/individualized-education-programs-ieps-for-autism
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/School/attachments/Documents/IEP_FAQs_Vol1.pdf
IEP information from ED.GOV
http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html
2. Introduction
Each public school child who receives special education and related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.
To create an effective IEP, parents, teachers, other school staff--and often the student--must come together to look closely at the student's unique needs. These individuals pool knowledge, experience and commitment to design an educational program that will help the student be involved in, and progress in, the general curriculum. The IEP guides the delivery of special education supports and services for the student with a disability. Without a doubt, writing--and implementing--an effective IEP requires teamwork.
This guide explains the IEP process, which we consider to be one of the most critical elements to ensure effective teaching, learning, and better results for all children with disabilities. The guide is designed to help teachers, parents and anyone involved in the education of a child with a disability-develop and carry out an IEP. The information in this guide is based on what is required by our nation's special education law--the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
The IDEA requires certain information to be included in each child's IEP. It is useful to know, however, that states and local school systems often include additional information in IEPs in order to document that they have met certain aspects of federal or state law. The flexibility that states and school systems have to design their own IEP forms is one reason why IEP forms may look different from school system to school system or state to state. Yet each IEP is critical in the education of a child with a disability.
MORE IEP INFO
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/iep.html
MOST IMPORTANT, LIST OF ADVOCATES
An Advocate can move mountains
http://cfaii.com/
Life is like a cup of tea,
It's all in how you make it.
Lisa
Life is like a cup of tea,
It's all in how you make it.
Lisa
9|2|Answer me this.....Does your son have an IEP?|kdrink|kdrink34@yahoo.com|11:31:00|05/31/2012|
Posted on May-31-12 at 11:31 AM (Eastern) by 72.175.235.50
We need to start there. I can help you and i'm sure other board members can too, but this question needs to be answered?
1. Does he have an IEP?
2. If he does we can move on from there. If he does then what types of school based services does he receive? Meaning describe his typical day at school,,,,teachers, special assistance, O/T, Pspeech therapy, etc
3. If he does not, why not? Has the school refused? What reason have they given you?
4. Is your district small, medium, large? If you live in the country it is probably small, but otherwise it will be the other 2 choices.
10|3|My son, until this year, had a TSS (Therapeutic Staff Support) worker that would sit with him in most classes.|Beaglesfly|lmllr77@aol.com|12:36:06|05/31/2012|
His TSS worker would help redirect him and keep him on track. At one time, when he was younger, we would even have a TSS worker come after school to help him with his homework because it was taking him so long each day to do his work (like 3 or 4 hours for easy work). The TSS worker was from an agency independent of the school and was recommended by the doctor that had diagnosed him.
My son's diagnosis is autism spectrum disorder, and more defined, symptoms of Aspbergers, ADHD, and ODD.
The school also tried to place my son in the class of children that had behavioral problems, and I'm glad that I stopped that. Though he had some behavioral problems, getting very angry at times, treating the underlying issue got rid of those. I think being in that class would have been very detrimental to his growth.
This is the order of how things went for us - daycare recommended that he might have some issues and recommended Early Intervention. Early Intervention said that when he got older, we should discuss a possible diagnosis with a doctor (as he was too young at that time to pinpoint his problems). When he got older, like 6, we took him to a specialist, I'm thinking it was a child psychologist. That doctor just asked a lot of questions of me and him, if I recall that's how he came to the diagnosis. He recommended getting in touch with an agency that could further work with us in diagnosing my son and providing any services he might need. That agency, Children's Behavioral Specialists, set up a TSS worker for him to have at school. We had yearly appointments where they would reevaluate his progress.
We tried ADHD medication for a while - the first time he took medicine, the change was absolutely incredible. It made me cry. It's hard to describe, but it was like he had been carrying this frenetic energy about him, even when he wasn't doing anything, and the medication just stilled that energy. Unfortunately, the medication stopped working after a couple of weeks. We tried a couple of other ones that didn't work. We stopped using medication 2 years ago.
Today, Elijah gets his schoolwork done and his homework at a fairly normal pace. He no longer has a TSS worker nor takes medication. He still has a few problems in school getting stuff done, but nothing like 5 years ago. He's 11.
Sorry for the book! Feel free to ask any questions!
Lauren
11|4|Oh, and about the IEP......|Beaglesfly|lmllr77@aol.com|12:37:37|05/31/2012|
My son's school said he didn't qualify for an IEP.(?) I thought it was law that they had to do one when requested. I never pushed the issue as he seemed to be getting the services he needed, but if your school is giving you a problem, definitely force the issue!
Lauren 12|5|I have a 19+ daughter with HFA|angNC|memawang@nc.rr.com|13:50:24|05/31/2012|
we had her tested and she has MR to.
Low IQ,but if you meet her you would
think she is just a little odd
13|5|Oh dear....|kdrink|kdrink34@yahoo.com|13:58:16|05/31/2012|
Beaglesfly.....your son did qualify for an IEP, but he received services thru another avenue. It just amazes me how many schools try to disqualify children. Congress has passed law and within that law it expressly notes Autism/Aspergers as a qualifying disability for additional school based services.
I have had nothing but difficulty even with early intervention and when they refused speech therapy I asked to read their federal regulations in which I did. After visiting with the director of the district about there lapse in judgement about the guidelines (I was also told they were short staff with speech therapists, NOT MY PROBLEM!)we came to the agreement that they would pay for private speech therapy and would also go back and give my son what sessions he was owed since the start of the program.
Sadly, not all parents do this. It takes great will, and stubborness, but one must understand the law. I wish I could help all children get services, but it simply isn't possible. 14|6|Kdrink, you are so right. As a parent,you have to stand your ground and sometimes force the issue. The law is on your side. If you dont' get results, you keep going higher up the chain until you do get the resources needed by your child as dictated by law.|Ranalt|ainebailey@gmail.com|14:52:59|05/31/2012|
Makes me angry when they say sorry, we don't do that.
Life is like a cup of tea,
It's all in how you make it.
Lisa