Don't know where else to ask, need some guidance- 12 year old son with asd and long term suspension

Pirincessamberjoy

Hello. I haven't posted over here very often, although I have come to this board a couple times to look around. I have a pretty serious issue and I am hoping I can get some support and guidance. I apologize in advance for the length.

My son is 12 and has been diagnosed with asd (high functioning/aspergers), ADHD tendencies, severe anxiety, mild depression, and SPD. He is very smart, and attends a scho for gifted children...however, he has been struggling LOT this year. He is in grade 6 this year, he started attending the gifted center in 4th grade.

On Friday, I received a call from the school telling me that my son had a locking long blade knife in his locker. Part of his IEP is for the SPED teacher to assist him I organizing his locker. He told we before she opened the locker that there was something that wasn't supposed to be in there. The SPED teacher apparently took it and sent son to lunch. Ten minutes into lunch, The principal, assistant principal, security officer, and police officer all came and escorted him to the office.

Son first states that maybe someone put it in his locker. He then inmediaty changed his story and admitted that he had left the school to "explore" and had found it by the dumpsters. (We don't live in a great area, other weapons have been found in the same area, including BB and pellet guns). He picked it up and put it in his bag, then realized he would be late to class. He put it in his locker (this was Tuesday) and simply left it there until Friday.

He is now suspended 10 days with possible expulsion. We have to go to an expulsion hearing before his suspension is up. This is his second suspension this year. The first was 3 days for melting down and swearing in front of a teacher. (He said d*mmit). The police officer also filed a report and turned it in to juvenile intake. However, no one told the officer that son has ASD, so it appeared that my son was very uncaring about the situation. (He was actually terrified and rocking).
We are now waiting to find out if criminal charges will be filed, if so, he will have to go before a juvenile relations judge. The principal point blank told me the best outcome for the expulsion hearing is for son to appear repentant and concerned, which is difficult since he doesn't have animated facial expressions due to his disability.

He does have an IEP. I had requested a FBA last year, it was not done. I re-requested it almost 2 months ago and am just now going in to discuss a behavior plan. (Meeting is set for tomorrow). We are moving to a new district at the end of the school year, so this is his last year at this school. We have had a LOT of issues with the school and haven't been happy with the school for a while. (When he was suspended for swearing, I made sure that admin knew I felt it was not an appropriate punishment for what he actually did. I was told I was lucky he hadn't been kicked out because "any other child" would have been.)

Sorry this was so long, I am not even sure what advice I am looking for. I am terrified and heartbroken that this is happening. Son SHOULD have known to not touch the knife, but he tends to collect all sorts of things. He didn't have any malicious intent regarding it, an he never showed, told, hinted, or touched the knife again after putting it in his locker. We are hoping nothing happens at the criminal level, but we still have the suspension and possible expulsion. We are considering disenrolling him and homeschoing the remainder of the year if it will avoid him being expelled. (If he is expelled, it can affect him at the new school also)

Pirincessamberjoy

Thank you sooo much. I deeply appreciate it.

Forgot to mention that my son is developmentally around age 7-9, not 12 as his chronological age.

MCH77

If you requested an FBA, which would have lead to a PBSP, and the SD did not comply they are in the wrong. Don't be afraid to point that out.

There should be a Manifestiation hearing before any action is taken. A knife at school is an automatic no-no, BUT the school district should have to continue to educate him in an alternate location with appropriate supports (espicially since they were out of complice with the FBA). I would also request a full evaluation with FBA in writing.

Pirincessamberjoy

They told me they had 65 days to complete the FBA. I requested it in writing (this time) on feb 3. That was the same date that an addendum to his IEP was put into place putting him in a resource class with the sped teacher as opposed to pulling him out of various classes. He was fighting that and refusing to comply because he was missing class time and falling behind. (It has been an ongoing struggle this year.)

What does a manifestation entail? The school said the fba mtg tomorrow would function as that, and I haven't been able to locate any resources that explains it clearly. He will be allowed to complete his work, however, missing 2 weeks of instruction will put him at a disadvantage for sure.

He knew the knife was a no-no, but his reasoning was that was for people who brought it from home. He thought that because he found it on the school grounds that he could turn it in at some point and it would be different. He admits he got scared and made a mistake.

MCH77

Manifestiation meeting is looking at the issue and the disability. Did the action take place bc the disability?

Ex. ADHD impulsivly steals a phone left on a desk vs an Student with LD stealing the phone. The LD students disability has nothing to do with the action, where the ADHD kids might.

If the action (stealing) could be caused by the disability (ADHD) than the IEP team needs to look at the current plan and options. The ADHD kid does not have a get out of free card, there is still disipline, just might be more appropriate.

HOWEVER, some no-no trump everything (weapons, drugs, violence). Even if it was due to their disability. But instead of being expelled, the school will cont to provide education, but now might be different (night school, alt school, different school within district, etc).

Hope I'm making sense.

Pirincessamberjoy

Yes, that makes perfect sense. Although I am not sure what options there would be for a 12 year old in terms of alternate education.

So the FBA meeting would NOT technically be the same as a manifestation, correct? Or could the two be combined?

This is the third time this year that he has wandered from the school building without anyone knowing he was gone. Also, he is like a magpie, he will pick up and "collect" everything from bottle caps, to broken bits of glass, to stones, to anything shiny. We have been working on curbing that behavior, however, it is taking a while to do so.

MCH77

I thinking having both the FBA/PBSP and MH at the same time makes sense. Perhaps he needs a 1:1 (even just for transition time like changing classes), since his wandering issue is a safety concern.

Could he return to his home school (the non-gifted school)?

I don't know your area, but there are always a variety of placements available. Most you will never hear of. However, I think he'd be hard to match up with an appropriate place.

I agree with Auntie, I'm not a fan of him being homeschooled for many of the same reasons. I think there is enough on both your plates. It sounds like he needs the supports, social interaction, etc.