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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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 Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 8:42 pm Post subject: Problems with School! |
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My 3rd grade son was dxed a month ago by a ped. neurologist with mild aspergers. The school won't accept it and they don't want to evaluate him. His grades look to good, trust me he has a 504 and his teacher helps him a lot plus we work extra hard at home and use a tutor. His grades would not be like this with out all the help and corrected and exempt papers. Do I have to let him fail before they will evaluate him? Why won't they just accept the Dr's dx? I live in N. Texas is it just us or all schools like this? Here are my sons syptoms, what do you think?
Always been in to one thing
Talks about that one thing even if we don’t want to hear it
He knows everything about that item
talks very loud
sensitive to noise
sensitive to smell
He hates tags in his clothes
He will put his clothes on backwards often
chews on his shirt
He spins when he is happy
He paces when he gets excited
He acts very young for his age
He doesn’t mind telling people just what he thinks
He takes everything literally
He sometimes repeats himself over and over
He will sometime just laugh to himself
has always been in his own little world
gets upset very easy over the smallest things
He is very unorganized
Routine is important to him
He doesn’t show empathy
He only has one good friend
As a baby he did everything late
Walked at almost 16 months
Talked at 27 months
He was a difficult toddler
Even with all of his quirks he is a great kid and my hero! |
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annie2
Deinonychus
Joined: Sep 18, 2007
Posts: 356
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd say that the school is ignorant of the autistic spectrum, as it seems they don't understand high-functioning autism. If I were you I'd start with finding out if your state has an "Autism Association" and seek advice on how to deal with the school. Probably the main answer is to locate the special needs support service who deal with autism for schools in your area (if one exists). |
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ster
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 24, 2005
Posts: 2456
Location: new england
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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| can you get a child advocate ?....or talk to the neurologist about how to get the school to understand ? |
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natesmom
Toucan
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 256
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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I am a school psych and have a son with mild aspergers. My child has been on an IEP for articulation but we are going the private school route for now (he will be entering kindergarten) just because it's smaller. If we end up going the public school route, he will have an IEP!!
A lot of times, school districts just look at academics. This is often times where schools fail. Social skills are an important piece of academic and school functioning. At my school, we put kids who are mild Aspergers on IEP's so that the language therapist can work on social skills stories with them and also work on pragmatics such as appropriate turn taking skills. It works great. We have a wonderful speech therapist who specializes in that area. Unfortunately, most schools aren't so lucky to have someone like we do.
The biggest question is what would an IEP do for your son? How would things change for him as compared to a 504. In order to fight this, you really need to be prepared to answer that question (i.e., social skills goals...).
Has he had an OT evaluation? What about an cognitive test? It would be interesting to see if he has a Nonverbal Learning Disability that sometimes goes hand in hand with individuals who have Aspergers. That could affect him the higher he gets in school.
When you disagree with the school, you can go through due process. I would first contact the director of special ed or lead school psychologist and talk with them. You really need to indicate why you think "specially designed instruction" would benefit your son.
I would definitely fight to have him put on an IEP!
They are merely looking at academics and not the whole picture. They need to look at the whole picture. |
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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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A advocate will be my next step, I've have a few phone #'s. I have a meeting in the morning I'm going to see how it goes before I take the next step. I'm worried about the cost of a advocate, but if he needs it we will find away.
Yes, I had a OT evaluation done (outside of school) and they said he needs 18 months of OT 2 times a week. I'm on the waiting list for that. He will start a social skills group in the summer ( outside of school).
I also did have some educational testing done in the fall (outside of school) his cognitive problems T-score was 72 (I'm not sure what it means) and his IQ is 88.
The neurologist also dxed him with ADHD and he is on meds. He does focus better, but it's not a magic pill we still have gaps with his learning.
Thanks! |
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natesmom
Toucan
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 256
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| Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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You are on the right path with an advocate. An advocate would help you navigate through the system.
What do you mean 18 months of OT?? How can someone put a time on OT?
The reason why I asked about OT is that OT services could be another reason you can bring up to get him on an IEP. In most states, OT is a related service and you can't get the OT unless your child qualifies in other areas. If he shows difficulties in school and those needs are directly impacting his educational performance than he may be able to get that as well. That is another thing you can bring up to advocate for him to have services.
Also, was there a verbal/nonverbal difference in his IQ? Just curious. |
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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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Also, was there a verbal/nonverbal difference in his IQ? Just curious.
I can't find it on any of the paper work, it could be I just not seeing it.
I had my meeting and the school gave me a letter of refusal , so they won't evauate him. I'm on to the next steps a complaint with the state of TX., and a advocate.I'm so upset with my school! |
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Tortuga
Phoenix
Joined: Dec 12, 2007
Posts: 531
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sorry that you are going through this. The school does not care so much about the label or results of an IQ test. As long as he's keeping up with the school work, they will find him ineligible. I do suggest you get an advocate. I don't know how much they are in your area. Where I live, it's about $100 per hour...which is much cheaper than an attorney.
I was told several times during the IEP process (i homeschool now after the heck we went through) that my son had to fail in a placement before they would make changes. They documented each and every one of his failures until they had a paper trail and then changed things (for the worse). Even still, we were denied adequate services. If your son is not having significant academic issues and is not having behavior issues, they will let things ride. |
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ster
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 24, 2005
Posts: 2456
Location: new england
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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| it's possible, that if you are in financial straits, that you can get an advocate on a sliding scale fee..... |
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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| I found a non profit group to help me. I gave the school a letter requesting an indepent evaluation if they turn me down then we have a hearing. |
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liz2008
Emu Egg
Joined: Jun 05, 2008
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: Problems with School! |
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| consmom wrote: | | My 3rd grade son was dxed a month ago by a ped. neurologist with mild aspergers. The school won't accept it and they don't want to evaluate him. |
My understanding is the school has to do an evaluation if the parent requests one. I was told to put the request in writing and send it by registered mail. This way, you have proof that you made the request and proof that they received it. They have certain time frames they have to follow so you should receive a consent to evaluate form to sign and return and then the clock starts ticking.
If, after receiving your written request, they still refuse to evaluate, I'd contact your state's Department of Education to ask for their recommendation on what to do. With the DOE behind you, you may get results.
If not.....I learned early on that having an advocate present at every team meeting can be a sanity saver. I won't attend a team meeting without mine. |
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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:34 am Post subject: |
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The school is not doing a evaluation, I have a letter of refusal. The reason is "they say he's making progress with current interventions". his grades look great with his 504 , but the theacher has been very kind with his grades ,she doesn't put in every grade , she exempts him from work, he corrects papers ,ect. The fight is on I'll do what ever it takes.
I have a question, the special ed person at the school told me since his DX is mild aspergers the can't do anything.Where can I find this written in the laws (TX) that "mild" aspergers doesn't matter. He also has ADHD and a reading disorder, you would think they would help. |
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liz2008
Emu Egg
Joined: Jun 05, 2008
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:45 am Post subject: |
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I don't know anything about TX law but I would politely ask the special ed teacher who said that to show you where that law is written. My son has a mild form of AS (relatively speaking) and he has been on an IEP for the last 2.5 years. I don't think any diagnosis in and of itself will automatically get your son services -- he has to need the services to get them. The hard part can be proving to the school system that he needs them - especially when they're insisting he doesn't.
Have you tried responding, in writing, to their letter of refusal, indicating the specific reasons you feel your son is not making effective progress? Grades can be very subjective. Do you have any proof - emails from the teacher, samples of you child's work, etc. - that you could use to show them why you feel your child isn't making effective progress? (If you haven't been keeping that kind of thing, I'd start collecting it. When the school told me my son no longer needed his late/missing homework accommodation, all I had to do was pull out the very long list I had been keeping of all the assignments he either missed or would have missed had he not had the accommodation. They really couldn't argue that he needed that accommodation!) I'd also contact the DOE if you haven't already. Ask for the liaison for your school district. Explain the situation and ask if you have any recourse regarding the school's decision not to evaluate. My state's DOE has been very supportive whenever I've called them for help.
If you've tried that and they're still refusing to do an evaluation or if you don't think it would do any good, I would definitely consult with an advocate. A good advocate is familiar with state and federal law and can help you fight for an IEP more effectively. |
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schleppenheimer
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 01, 2006
Posts: 970
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:26 am Post subject: |
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We were facing a move right after our son was diagnosed at age five, and the two locations we were having to choose from were California and Texas. We visited Texas, spent time at some of the elementary schools (in Spring, Texas), and felt that the schools would be just fine for our NT children, but NOT at all for our AS son. After much searching, I was under the impression that most Texas parents really struggle to get appropriate educations for their children. We ended up moving to California, where we had multiple problems in our school district as well, and ended up moving back to Pennsylvania, where we got everything that we were fighting for in California.
I think that the advocate idea is a great one, but if you're in a district that doesn't want to spend money on children with AS, the fight will be long, hard, and costly. We were under the impression that, in California, we would have to sue the school district, pay costly legal bills, and even if we won, it would take years and would not be effective for our son's immediate needs. This is why we moved back to PA, where research proved that the school district we left when we moved to California would provide most of what we were fighting for in California.
If you cannot move, then a private school MIGHT be a possibly good option. Homeschooling might be a better one.
Kris |
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consmom
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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I have saved all of my son's school work from 1st grade on, so I do have proof and the school knows it.
In the morning I'm calling a advocate! |
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