Adventures in special education. Read advice, see frustrations. An attack-free thread

[belle&beast]

Perhaps the posts that seemed insulting to me as a teacher were only meant to be helpful... but to me, the way they were written only suggests that I'm a special ed teacher who was only hired because they were a warm body... "what does she know about doing this? she must think that she will be able to never physically deal with her students... what an idiot." And that is one thing that I am not.

Dreadfully sorry for this incredibly long post, but I really feel like my intelligence has been attacked.

No more flames/attacks...

I am going to assume that you think I was attacking you, and I certainly did not mean my post in that way. I was agreeing with a previous poster that you will not be able to not hold another student's hand. I do not think you are an idiot and I think you must be a great teacher. Just remember when you ask for opinions, you are going to get them. Sorry if I offended you, it was not my intention at all.

 

[FutureMrsC]

I'm glad to know that you didn't perceive me as an idiot. I was hopeful that it was only meant to be helpful, but you can't really tell from text! I'm sure you know that some aspects of special education are changing, and there are many people who accept the jobs because they need a job... and really haven't the foggiest idea as to what they're doing. I didn't think that I'd ever clarified that I wasn't one of those people.

To conclude the hand holding topic (and as I'm the OP, I assume I can do that!), the moral of the story that can be applied to everyone [and is in action at my school], is to look at the hand(s) BEFORE you grab it... and make your judgement call. If it is known that the student has tendencies to carry skin illnesses/parasites/etc, then hold a covered part of their body (i.e. their arm)... and if things get REALLY bad (behaviorally, w/ runners and the like...), then call for assistance! I don't think there's much to debate about that. Let's use my bad experience as a learning one! It's not fun to constantly be itching and break out into rashes that look like ant bites on steroids...

Now that everone is back on the same page, let's go back to what I intended this thread to be... somewhere to share experiences and get advice w/i the special education realm...

 

[freckles and boo]

My daughter has just begun her second year of Early Childhood and it is clear that she is on the autistic spectrum. Her teacher is beyond brilliant. She has helped us to understand the sensory aspect of autism and we have almost daily communication about her progress, stategies, therapies, etc. I respect that her time is limited and I am grateful that she takes the time to keep us informed. In turn, I believe that she appreciates our involvement and willingness to support her efforts in the classroom by being consistent at home.

The only hiccup we have had is my daughter's amazing teacher is often caught in the redtape of district budgeting. In the IEP meetings we have had to date I have felt bamboozled - not by our teacher but by the administration which makes every attempt to whittle down services without warning parents. They actually snuck her one-on-one aide out of her IEP this year without me noticing! (Advice to parents -VERY CAREFULLY READ EVERYTHING THEY HAND YOU BEFORE YOU SIGN IT!!!) Her teacher was forbidden from drawing my attention to it in the meeting - she could lose her job if she is found coaching parents through the system, so on occasion we have had to speak outside of the school environment. This is risky for her because it could be considered insubordinate. She has put a lot of faith in me by doing this and it shows that she is very invested in the success of my child.

Although my experience is limited, I get the impression that most special ed teachers have to make a similar choice... are you going to do what is in the best interest of the child or the best interest of the school district? Will you do what is easiest or what is right? Hopefully you work for a district that won't put you in that position.

Sorry - I have a lot more to say but I have to cut it short. Thanks so much for taking on this career!

 

[Talking Hands]

Another idea we have used for runners is to leave the bus harness on for times we are moving from place to place. Last year I had a class of 7 deaf k and preK with 1 also having autism and 1 with mental retardation. While the one with autism was not a runner she was a wanderer and you can't sign to a back so we had me at the back of the line and the para at the front. That way we could catch her which ever way she went. Also other teachers of the deaf were aware of the problem and the older deaf kids watched out for her and the other deaf babies.
If it is an issue allowing the harness vest in school it could be written into the IEP if the parents are agreeable.
Check at a health food store for herbs to boost your immune system. I use echinea (sp) and another I forget the name.
Ring worm unless it is in the hair use Athlete's foot cream (fungal cream). In the hair, oral meds have to be used.
Head lice - use olive oil, leave it on over night to smother the bug and then comb out the eggs with a metal nit comb. Repeat in 10 days to get any bugs from missed nits.
I also find using Denorex shampoo 2-3 x a week helps avoid reinfection.
And of course good old hand washing with soap and water and frequent use of handcream to keep my hands from getting dry and cracked. Can't afford cracked nasty hands since I am also a sign language interpreter.
Oh one kindergarden teacher has her kids use hand sanitizer before leaving her classroom. As they walk out the door they each get a squirt.

 

[riu girl]

Sorry, I was just shocked by this and had to comment. I feel so bad as to how the school tried to do this to you and your child. I never sign anything at any meetings. I always take it home first to review with DH.

At the end of Grade One , my DDs team at school asked me how I felt about cutting down DDs inclusiton assistant to 50% (from 100%) for Grade 2. I said fine since she was doing very well academically and pretty well behavioural/social. I was told there would be an assitant full time in the Grade 2 class for other kids and she could keep an eye on DD. plus she was in a social skills group at school at that time.

In spring of Grade 2, I was called to a meeting with the team and asked what I thought about DD losing the assistant for grade 3 since was doing well, no longer met the criteria (which I already knew) etc etc . I knew there had been huge gains that year in development so I said I would consider it as long as there was a COMPLETE re-assessment by the school board (academic, psych etc) in case we were missing anything. She had this assessment a few years earlier and was shocked that they said OK to another one. I know that these tests are pricey. Within a month or two the assessment was completed.

I feel like a team member at our school and not a parent looking in. I feel so fortunate. Maybe things are just easier in our school board or maybe it is just Ontario. I don't know. I just feel very blessed we live where we live.

A note to parents: you are your childs best advocate and you have to do what is best for your child. As noted on this thread, you can call an IEP meeting at any time and don't have to sign any documents without follow up meetings/discussions etc.

DD is just my whole world and I will do anything for her.

 

[freckles and boo]

Sorry, I was just shocked by this and had to comment. I feel so bad as to how the school tried to do this to you and your child. I never sign anything at any meetings. I always take it home first to review with DH.

QUOTE]

I certainly learned that lesson well!

 

[belle&beast]

Sorry, I was just shocked by this and had to comment. I feel so bad as to how the school tried to do this to you and your child. I never sign anything at any meetings. I always take it home first to review with DH.

I'm not sure if it is the norm, but in my district we send a draft copy of the proposed IEP a week in advance. That way parents have time to look it over and they aren't hit with a bunch of surprises at the conference. It also opens a dialogue and people do not feel like they are not part of the decision-making process. Many parents come in with lots of notes and questions to be addressed based on the proposed IEP and it is usually worked out easily.

 

[riu girl]

I'm not sure if it is the norm, but in my district we send a draft copy of the proposed IEP a week in advance. That way parents have time to look it over and they aren't hit with a bunch of surprises at the conference. It also opens a dialogue and people do not feel like they are not part of the decision-making process. Many parents come in with lots of notes and questions to be addressed based on the proposed IEP and it is usually worked out easily.

Wow, that sounds like a great idea. I am lucky to get the first page the day before the meeting, although every year I request a complete draft well before any IEP meetings.

 

[belle&beast]

Wow, that sounds like a great idea. I am lucky to get the first page the day before the meeting, although every year I request a complete draft well before any IEP meetings.

Do you have access to a parent advocate? We have a group of parent advocates who read over the IEP and attend conferences with parents and it is great for all involved. They offer advice and are knowlegeable in the workings of special education and therapies. They definitely are there to help parents understand the programming and are fair to the school representatives as well. They are not emotionally biased and they really do help the communication process. I have also worked with parents who did not read or read well, and those who really did not understand the IEPs. The advocates are great in those cases as well. Keep asking for the IEP in advance, it really makes the conference go more smoothly and it pretty much eliminates the need to reconvene.