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GradStudent
Emu Egg
Joined: Sep 02, 2008
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 12:01 am Post subject: Thoughts on education-related complaints? |
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| Hi, I am a graduate student trying to investigate common education-related complaints and issues of parents of children with Asperger's. What difficulties do you have resolving these complaints? |
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DW_a_mom
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 1251
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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Common issue: how to keep a bright child's mind functioning and fed at a high level, when that same child has problems that prevent him from managing the workload at most schools. Perhaps motor skills, sensory issues, stress/anxiety. Special ed was designed for kids who under-perform, and often our kids do not. But they still need help, or their will flounder in school and lose their love for learning. Some schools understand this, some don't, and those that don't will not meet the needs of kids like ours in any acceptable way.
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GradStudent
Emu Egg
Joined: Sep 02, 2008
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Do you find that school psychologists are at all helpful? |
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aurea
Deinonychus
Joined: Sep 22, 2007
Posts: 381
Location: melb,Australia
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| Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry I just found your post. 
I'm in Australia, our school psyc told me that my son was manipulating me. Why, because he had a massive anxiety attack at a local sports field and his normal classroom teacher told me to "pretend I didn't see it, ignore him". My son doesn't feel safe at school or trust anyone there, so he bottles everything up for me and home.
They (school psyc's) all need to do placements as part of their trainning in special ed settings, they all need to then do refresher courses in special ed settings. Although where I come from it's very hard to get special ed services for aspie kids, infact its hard to get schools to recognises as symptoms at all. |
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Orwell
Outer Party Member
Joined: Aug 09, 2007
Age: 19
Posts: 4243
Location: Room 101
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| Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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In the public school system (primary and secondary) the main issues would be ability to study material at a level appropriate for the child in question. I wasted years of my life on things that did not challenge me. Also, understanding of other autism-related issues like sensory integration problems and dislike of crowds/chaos, preference for routine, CLARITY in communication, etc would be helpful.
| GradStudent wrote: | | Do you find that school psychologists are at all helpful? |
No. They have an obsession with tests. Take this test, take that test. They will not help you, or even talk to you, before you show them the results of a whole battery of tests.
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DylansMommy
Emu Egg
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 11:22 am Post subject: |
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| the psychologist at the school my son had previously attended, developed an IEP based on a functional/behavioral assessment filled out by the guidance counselor, 2nd grade teacher, and myself- without even seeing my son. |
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Magique
Snowy Owl
Joined: Aug 27, 2008
Age: 51
Posts: 133
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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I second DW and Orwell. Kayli can't read or write, and refuses to participate in group activities--which is the majority of her first grade instruction. Sitting in a group of noisy, jostling children is torture for her, especially added to noisy air conditioning. Mostly, Kayli hangs out in the back of the classroom doing her own thing, learning nothing. However, she is very bright and understands concepts way beyond her years. She has severe behavioral issues at school, but few or none at home.
She has been diagnosed with ADHD due to her "inability to focus". She shows few or no signs of ADHD at home. ASD, yes. She will not cooperate with testing so gets low scores, although the testers feel that she would do better if she'd cooperate.
Kayli would benefit from a smaller class size, specific social skills training, and a curriculum that includes one on one reading and mathematics instruction in very basic skills, plus auditory/visual presentations of more advanced materials that actually suit her intellectual level. Her IEP is coming up, but I've already been told that smaller class sizes are not an option.
So...what would help? Methods of testing that do not rely on social abilities, perhaps administered by computer. Kayli's scores are low because she is very, very uncomfortable with face to face questioning so she doesn't cooperate. Kayli probably has dyslexia/dysgraphia, but her diagnostic tests are inconclusive. Testing via the traditional methods is inaccurate due to her social issues. |
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Triangular_Trees
What is right is sometimes found on the left.
Joined: Jul 18, 2007
Posts: 2053
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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As a student teacher, I observed that one of the main issues preventing parents from getting the school district to listen was that parents came in convinced they had to do battle and everyone was against them. While that is no doubt the case in some school districts, and some parents literally broke down and cried when they discovered the teachers wanted to help and work with them during this meeting, this particular one required core teachers of a childs grade to have a 45 minute meeting with the principal every day, and those meetings were when parents came in. New students were also brought into one of these meetings where they were asked how things were going and what the teachers/principals could do to make their transition easier
one parent wanted her child moved up to next academic level. All she had to do was come in and ask and her wish would have been granted because the teachers decided that the girl should be capable of doing the work, even her grades would be so high. But she didn't ask. Instead she was trying to get other parents upset about the academic groups and distorting open house comments to get these parents to back her in the fact that the academic groups were wrong. So there had to be a few weeks discussing an agreed upon method for the teachers to converse with this parent should she confront, what should and should never be said to her, and agreed upon ways of dealing with the parents she upset whose children would not be capable of moving into higher groups, before any discussion of her concern could even begin to take place. That parent thought being the parent-from-hell was the only way she could get any support or have her issue resolved, when in reality being the parent-from-hell was the only thing that was preventing her from having her concerns addressed and resolved to her liking.
Again from the teaching perspective, I think a large part of the problem is parents demand to have children mainstreamed, who are incapable of participating in a mainstream classroom without significantly lowering the ability of the other children to do and learn the expected work. Some parents refuse to accept that there child simply is not capable of being in a mainstream environment for lessons as well as lunch/recess and get angry when the teachers try to explain that to them. I did observe one class taught by a 20 year veteran that was 2 months behind schedule because of an undiagnosed boy without an aide who was constantly walking around, shouting, throwing things, etc When i taught there the teacher distracted him so he didn't disrupt my lessons, but when there is only one teacher thats not possible
There is also a problem with parents expecting the teacher to teach the class and monitor every movement their child makes. It would be great if the teacher could stop and write down every odd behavior the kid does, but if they did that, there would be no time for teaching the other students. When student teaching the teacher showed me a list of behaviors a parent demanded she record every instance of and it was like "how nuts could you be to even consider this is possible?"
I think big part of the parent/school problem is that a lot of what parents think teachers should do are impossible given the circumstances of one teacher with 18-25 kids to deal with.
Also come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing any parent here talking about observing their child's classroom for a day or afternoon even though that would be the best way for the parent to have realistic expectations for what the teacher can do with their child in the classroom and to understand or contradict the teachers perspective of why certain things can't or aren't being done- anyone ever do that? If not, why not?
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BigK
Raven
Joined: Jan 14, 2008
Posts: 116
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Again from the teaching perspective, I think a large part of the problem is parents demand to have children mainstreamed, who are incapable of participating in a mainstream classroom without significantly lowering the ability of the other children to do and learn the expected work. Some parents refuse to accept that there child simply is not capable of being in a mainstream environment for lessons as well as lunch/recess and get angry when the teachers try to explain that to them. I did observe one class taught by a 20 year veteran that was 2 months behind schedule because of an undiagnosed boy without an aide who was constantly walking around, shouting, throwing things, etc When i taught there the teacher distracted him so he didn't disrupt my lessons, but when there is only one teacher thats not possible |
The kids are mainstreamed because there is no where else for them to go. Why do you think there are so many home-schooling threads.
Mainstream school is for the most part a nightmare but the only real alternative is teaching your kids yourself.
| Quote: | I think big part of the parent/school problem is that a lot of what parents think teachers should do are impossible given the circumstances of one teacher with 18-25 kids to deal with.
Also come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing any parent here talking about observing their child's classroom for a day or afternoon even though that would be the best way for the parent to have realistic expectations for what the teacher can do with their child in the classroom and to understand or contradict the teachers perspective of why certain things can't or aren't being done- anyone ever do that? If not, why not? |
It is the government and education authorities who set the budgets and decide that they are not going to make any extra provision. Basically they won't supply classroom assistants because they cost money. They don't want to issue statements because that means that they must provide more assistants (among other things).
One couple I met had the cash to pay for their own classroom assistant that they selected. Nice if you have the cash.
It's pretty obvious one person cannot run a class and look after all the special needs kids as well.
To be cold and hard about it. It would probably be cheaper to pay for more assistants now than pay decades of benefits for all those people can't get jobs because they struggled so badly at school.
Without our excellent assistants school would be worse than a waste of time. Even considering the very good measures and programmes that have been put in place.
And yes, it appears that the authorities try to fight us every step of the way.
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Triangular_Trees
What is right is sometimes found on the left.
Joined: Jul 18, 2007
Posts: 2053
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| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | The kids are mainstreamed because there is no where else for them to go. Why do you think there are so many home-schooling threads.
Mainstream school is for the most part a nightmare but the only real alternative is teaching your kids yourself. |
So then homeschoolers are the kids in all the special ed and life skills classrooms during the day only sharing lunch, recess, specials, parties, movies and classes they are capable of keeping the pace up with the general ed class? And thats why aspies who attend school have to be mainstreamed. 
mainstreaming is the practice of including special education students in the general classroom because it gives them a boost in social skills and self esteem. which can be great if utilized correctly, but a lot of time kids are mainstreamed who do nothing but bring the learning of the other students. Children should not be mainstreamed in any class taht their mainstreaming hinders the learning of other children
Mainstreaming a poor student oftentimes means the only way the teacher can get the class to the state required level for the year is to have the gifted students tutor the mainstreamed student while she teaches the average ones
| Quote: | | is the government and education authorities who set the budgets and decide that they are not going to make any extra provision. Basically they won't supply classroom assistants because they cost money. They don't want to issue statements because that means that they must provide more assistants (among other things). |
Thats not always the case. i've seen parents fight tooth and nail to keep their child from having an aide. The particular child I'm thinking of was as aspie, more of the severe side and had been in special education schools up until 6th grade. The public school refused to accept him unless his mother acquiesed to him having an aide
| Quote: | | It's pretty obvious one person cannot run a class and look after all the special needs kids as well. |
Which is why its ridiculous to demand your child be mainstreamed then expect the teacher to teach and monitor all of your childs behaviors and get angry when they don't or say they can't
| Quote: | | And yes, it appears that the authorities try to fight us every step of the way. |
In some cases yes. In other cases no. Like the example I pointed above the only reason that parent had a fight with the school is because she deliberately set out to have one. The school wanted to work with her but she was doing everything in her power to make sure that was impossible. I've seen parents on here approach their school the same way at the beginning of kindergarten/first grade. Sometimes and probably more often than not you do need to fight, but if you start out fighting you don't give the school a chance to even attempt to work with you toward your goals. You can't blame the authorities for a fight if you started the fight without first seeking cooperation from them
anyway we need to stop hijacking this thread so if you want to continue start a new thread and let me know where it is at
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Magique
Snowy Owl
Joined: Aug 27, 2008
Age: 51
Posts: 133
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I would love to see another thread on school options. It's clear to me after a day of observation that my dd does not belong in a mainstream classroom for her sake and that of the other kids. |
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