Would you allow temporary placement in this SDC?

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Things are going very badly for DS7 in mainstream first grade. In the last two weeks he has started physically attacking other children in the class, and also a parent. The school finally has a temporary 1:1 aide in place and a behaviorist is working with him. I think both are very good, but it will take time to see results.

The school wants to move him into the only special day class they have. It has about 7 kids, who spend at least half their time there. It is designated as a moderate/severe class, and has kids K-5. Three boys are older than DS and the behaviorist says she is surprised they are considered moderate/severe. They are described as "almost at grade level". I've seen one on field trips and he appears to me to be mild ASD with mild cognitive issues, as much as one can guess at these things. Two students are in K and have Downs Syndrome. Two girls are foster kids and need touch pad software to communicate, which the district claims is too expensive to provide. The SDC teacher protested when I described them as nonverbal, not sure where they are cognitively or language wise.

The class day is described mostly as "centers", where they set a timer and rotate to the next station when it goes off. The task at the center is supposed to be individualized for each child. DS has many issues during centers in his gen ed class.

We have an advocate and a lawyer, who says we have grounds to go to due process. It would make our case stronger if we allow this placement to be tried and then document that the bad behaviors continue. We also plan to move to a new district within the next six months, so anything we won in due process would just have to be fought for in the next district again anyway. Homeschooling would not put us in a good place to get the right placement after we move, so is a very last resort.

The advantage of accepting the placement is that he would have a good behaviorist working with him, and the school knows him. No telling what we would get at another SDC in the district. The disadvantage is being in a class with cognitively impaired kids. The teacher seems ok, possibly even good. The school claims this is temporary, to get his behaviora under control, and then he will be gradually reintroduced to his mainstream class.

Thoughts?

Wow. I am sorry, Zette, I would hate to be in your shoes because this is really a tough one.

Is there a way that you could control the duration of the "temporary" placement? That is the only way I would feel comfortable with it, is if I could end it at any time without argument and put him back in his previous placement. I mean, it seems like there are enough potential positives to make it worth trying, because in the event that it really helped, it might put him back on the right path. I just wouldn't want someone else in control of what "temporary" meant, ykwim? I would also watch very carefully what they are doing with him because if they are primarily accustomed to kids with cognitive delays, I would be afraid that they would not be giving him appropriate materials, but if they are, and it is successful, this might be a way of keeping him in pace with his peers while you work out some behavioral bumps in the road.

I'm rambling now. And simply stating things I am sure you have already thought about. I just really feel for you but have no useful advice or insights since I have not had to make a decision like this.

What is causing your son's behavioral problems? Are they meltdowns caused by the overload from eberrything at school, from too much hoooman interaction to too much sensory stimuli?

I have to give you a warning about special ed classrooms. Some people have had good eggsperiences in them, but it could moar easily go the other way of your son doing things that are below his grade level, him not being intellectually stimulated, him falling behind his peers in cognitive development. This happens to many autistic kids when they are placed in special ed classrooms. Meanwhile, the parents don't know what eggsacly their kids are doing at school unless they go and see for themselves.

I think InThisTogether has a very good point - it seems like the goal of "behavior under control" is awfully ill-defined and liquid. Plus, what do you do if he behaves better but isn't challenged enough to improve either his behavior in non-controlled situations or his academics?

I guess that's my sticking point - what if this idea "works?" If the only goal is to keep your child from being disruptive, they may well be able to achieve it. In addition to a limited length of time, I'd want a list of specific goals both behavioral and academic that you want out of the temporary placement. Not meaning that you have to fight this if it turns out to be a successful strategy - meaning that you have to carefully define "success" so that it ACTUALLY means success, not that your school is just plugging the numbers in.

Based on my experience I would suggest giving the 1:1 aide situation some time. I thought we were headed the same way as you though I would have been strongly opposed to our sdc because at least 2 of the kids I have observed in that class have pretty severe behavior issues. When our school finally put an aide with DS things improved dramatically. Not instantly, it took a bit of time but now he is doing great! It was like he just needed a guide to help him make sense of what was going on. The light has come on for him. The child must be given time to develop a trusting relationship with the aide.