Autism, IEP's

Spockles

Ahhh....I just had to get that yell out. ;-)  My naïve parenting bubble has been popped. :-(  Parenting a SN child is hard but dealing with the public school district is harder! Ugh...

I am so frustrated. DS has autism, he turned 5 this past June and we always thought we'd hold him back a year. Well, we were pushed and strongly encouraged to send him this year; so we did. Kindergarten is all day here. DS is in a self contained classroom for the math, reading, etc...and in a mainstream classroom for morning meeting and "specials" like gym, music, media center, etc...

School was going great!....for the first two weeks. Then he started coming home telling me "J" was hitting him. "J" is in the special ed room and also has autism. He has his own 1 on 1 para. The school never told me about DS being hit but daily he would come home and tell me that "J" hit him. I brought this up to the special ed teacher and was blown off as "J hits everyone-staff and kids." This isn't ok! Fast forward two weeks. The hitting continues. I have witnessed "J" hitting and kicking staff and also running out of the classroom and down the hall. DS is starting to copy the negative behavior that he's seeing in the special ed room.

Then, last week I get a call from the school nurse letting me know that DS was hit rather hard in his back and he had welts and they were icing it. They also had to take photos for documentation. This was the first time I was notified by the school of the hitting. This incident was unprovoked. DS was sitting at the table doing writing work and "J" was across the room and apparently came running and whacked him on the back.

Anyway, I want to request an IEP meeting to change some things but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I don't feel this is the right class for DS. He seems to be more higher functioning and he's just learning these bad behaviors. He has had a drastic change in his behavior and his private therapists have also commented about that. He has told us that he likes being in the mainstream classroom better. He has friends in there he says! :-)

I keep getting negative feedback about DS. We have NEVER had such bad reports given by teachers/staff until this school year and really just 2-3 weeks ago. All last week DS and other kids in the special ed room were kept in from recess for "not listening and following directions." There are 7 students in the special ed room and all have autism.

Also, they aren't following DS's IEP. They aren't giving him the sensory breaks and they aren't providing the OT that he's supposed to get there.

Is there some sort of template that I can use/follow in requesting a meeting?

Thanks!!

MirandaHobbes

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. We had a rough start to kindy as well (after a two week honeymoon period). I just wanted to add that you can ask for a FBA (functional behavior assessment) and BIP (behavior intervention plan) when you reopen his IEP. I was getting awful reports every.single.day in kindy and it was driving me crazy. Nothing was changing his behavior. He was losing recess and choice time too, and I have to agree with Auntie that while it may be required in some circumstances, it really doesn't help matters. Basically you're kicking a kid when he's down- not only is he having a rough go, but you take away the only thing he enjoys.

 I didn't know diddly squat about these things, but when I asked for an FBA and BIP my entire IEP team snapped to attention. The results weren't entirely fruitful for us, unfortunately, but only because I didn't know better. They basically came up with a sticker reward system for him and his behavior miraculously improved. Come to find out the reward system morphed into Ipad time at the end of the day in his self-contained room. Mid-year he got a new teacher who was much more innovative; she scrapped this plan (with my agreement) and started him on the same positive reinforcement system used by the typical kids (coupons you earn for good behavior that are used in a weekly raffle to win books). He rose to the occasion and he had a wonderful second half of the year with a LOT less support than he was receiving the first half. 

When you reopen your IEP meeting, you can ask that they set aside time to work on social skills with other NT kids. This could be during lunch or recess, or DS was allowed to have "play dates" in his self contained room with a typical kid of his choosing (they usually guided him towards ones that were pretty laid back.) So it was a treat for him because he got more "choice" time. It can be hard to find other ASD kids that are good "fits" to work on social skills otherwise. I push this in DS's IEP because otherwise he gravitates towards the type of ASD kids who don't challenge him, i.e. nonverbal kids who let him run his mouth all day.

If I could do kindy over I would have approached his mainstream teacher more often. She was very experienced, and much less negative than his ASD teacher. Now that we're in first grade, I've almost exclusively dealt with his mainstream teacher. She is very capable, and wants to talk about how we can get DS fully active in her class.

And don't be afraid to have his private therapists come to the IEP meeting. You're allowed to bring them. I was too shy to ask ours to come to our first one and they actually contacted me and asked if they could come! They were great at suggesting ideas on what has worked with DS in the past.

Good luck!!

Spockles

-auntie- said:

Why was a self contained setting chosen for academics? Does your DS require a smaller classroom setting for support related to attentional or behavioral issues? Is he too  academically challenged for mainstream? Are there services, like speech or OT that are  pushed into the sped setting?

Self contained classroom was chosen because that's what the special ed preschool teacher suggested. I have to admit that I am clueless about all this IEP/placement stuff. I also thought that a small setting/group would be good for him with academics but now I think the mainstream would be better. DS is also supposed to have pull-out OT and speech services but he hasn't started those services in the district yet.

For some brighter kids on spectrum, doing academics in the mainstream during the more structured part of the day sets them up to be more successful than visiting during specials where they have different teachers, rules and less structure. How is your son's behavior during his time with the mainstream class?

This is a good point. I think doing academics in the mainstream would be more beneficial to him. However, I think he should have access to some support if needed. DS's behavior in the mainstream classroom is good when he's the only special ed kid from his class. He does tend to follow the negative behaviors that he sees, but he will also tell you that so and so is doing something they shouldn't be, etc...he knows right from wrong.

It's pretty typical of kids on spectrum to have a honeymoon period at the start of each year. FYI- I would expect that the school will see your DS's downturn in behavior in this context rather than being a result of being exposed to and copying challenging behavior.

You seem to have 3 completely indpendent issues at school right now. Do not try, for the sake of convenience to combine them. Do not try to use this other child as a reason why your child needs to be in the mainstream.

The school needs to protect your son. He has a right to be physically safe in school. I would make an appointment to talk with the principal about a plan to keep your DS safe. When DS was under attack by another student with ASD, who was in a mainstream setting with him, we documented and visited the school until they eventually forced a re-evaluation on the family and turfed the kid to a different program. I had to threaten to show up with the police to press charges which was a bit easier in my situation because the child in question weighed over 200 lbs. 

I emailed the principal to set up a meeting.

Are you sure? It's not the usual MO for a kid on spectrum to "copy" other kids. If they could do this routinely, you'd be able to point them in the direction of well devloping kids and cure them. 

We keep being told by the spec ed teacher that he is copying his peers when they do the bad behavior. I could see this. He likes the reaction that he's seeing. Apparently he has been pushing chairs around with his mouth copying another student doing this. (ick!) So the spec ed teacher started removing the chairs. To me it just seems like she is unable to handle the students. It seems very chaotic. 

I suspect the school will assert that he's developing behaviors which often happens. It takes a certain amount of cognitive bandwidth to act out, his behavior could be developmental. If he's behaving appropriately during specials, you can use that to make the case that typical peer models are critical to helping him behave in the manner expected of students his age. If he's not, it's unlikely you'll be able to convince them to make the move on that basis.

He does act appropriately when he is with the mainstream class/peers without the other special ed kids. He does well if he goes in the mainstream room in the morning while the paras and special ed teachers are getting the other students off the buses. He also

Pretty simple. You write a letter to the CST asking for a meeting to reopen his IEP. If you waive your right to a 10 Day Notification you can make it happen more quickly. There are templates on the Wrightslaw website or in their book "Emotions to Advocacy".

Thank you! I will look into this website/book.

The way to advocate for your son effectively is to make the case that he doesn't require the level of support in this self contained class. You have to be very careful to "keep your nose on your own paper" in this situation. Don't discuss the other kids, for one "high functioning" only refers to IQ- and you just can't know. We had an aggressive scout in our troop who was non-verbal at age 8, he's taking AP sciences and math in high school. The kid who beat the crap out of DS in 6th grade was smart enough to hack the district's computer system for shitz'n'giggles.

I had heard that about IQ and high functioning before. Thanks for reminding me. What would the correct terminology be then? It just seems like he has more skills than the other students.

 He has had a drastic change in his behavior and his private therapists have also commented about that. He has told us that he likes being in the mainstream classroom better. He has friends in there he says! :-)

Are any of his therapists psychologists? Would they be willing to attend the IEP meeting with you and make the case that the behavior is the result of an inappropriate classroom placement?

None of his therapists are psychologists. DS's private OT has asked if she can come to his IEP meeting to help advocate for him/us. The special ed teacher always tries to poo-poo this. Why do they have to make everything so difficult!!

This is your 3rd problem. They need to follow his IEP. IMHO, this is critical. How do you know the sensory breaks and OT aren't happening? Is he in the class because OT is pushed in? What does his IEP say about the OT services- who is responsible and where do they happen? 

I asked if they are giving him the sensory breaks when the special ed teacher was going on and on about how terrible of a day he had. She paused and said they try but aren't always able to and if they try to give him "squeezes" on his shoulders/arms they told me that he says to not touch him. His OT services should be a pull-out 20 minute session once per week, but they haven't gotten the schedule figured out yet (it's the 6th week of school!).

 

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!!

Spockles

MirandaHobbes said:

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. We had a rough start to kindy as well (after a two week honeymoon period). I just wanted to add that you can ask for a FBA (functional behavior assessment) and BIP (behavior intervention plan) when you reopen his IEP. I was getting awful reports every.single.day in kindy and it was driving me crazy. Nothing was changing his behavior. He was losing recess and choice time too, and I have to agree with Auntie that while it may be required in some circumstances, it really doesn't help matters. Basically you're kicking a kid when he's down- not only is he having a rough go, but you take away the only thing he enjoys.

Thanks for those tips! I will look into those assessments.

 I didn't know diddly squat about these things, but when I asked for an FBA and BIP my entire IEP team snapped to attention. The results weren't entirely fruitful for us, unfortunately, but only because I didn't know better. They basically came up with a sticker reward system for him and his behavior miraculously improved. Come to find out the reward system morphed into Ipad time at the end of the day in his self-contained room. Mid-year he got a new teacher who was much more innovative; she scrapped this plan (with my agreement) and started him on the same positive reinforcement system used by the typical kids (coupons you earn for good behavior that are used in a weekly raffle to win books). He rose to the occasion and he had a wonderful second half of the year with a LOT less support than he was receiving the first half. 

Yea, I just think that the staff isn't good with the kids. They don't seem well trained or something.

When you reopen your IEP meeting, you can ask that they set aside time to work on social skills with other NT kids. This could be during lunch or recess, or DS was allowed to have "play dates" in his self contained room with a typical kid of his choosing (they usually guided him towards ones that were pretty laid back.) So it was a treat for him because he got more "choice" time. It can be hard to find other ASD kids that are good "fits" to work on social skills otherwise. I push this in DS's IEP because otherwise he gravitates towards the type of ASD kids who don't challenge him, i.e. nonverbal kids who let him run his mouth all day.

This is a great idea. I didn't know that I could request things like this.

If I could do kindy over I would have approached his mainstream teacher more often. She was very experienced, and much less negative than his ASD teacher. Now that we're in first grade, I've almost exclusively dealt with his mainstream teacher. She is very capable, and wants to talk about how we can get DS fully active in her class.

I have been in contact with his mainstream teacher. She seems wonderful. When I try to get things accomplished with DS though, she always reverts back to having to ask the special ed teacher. She says she can't be the one to make changes.

And don't be afraid to have his private therapists come to the IEP meeting. You're allowed to bring them. I was too shy to ask ours to come to our first one and they actually contacted me and asked if they could come! They were great at suggesting ideas on what has worked with DS in the past.

Good luck!!

Private OT has asked to attend the IEP meeting.
Which district are you in @Mirandahobbes?