Behavior Challenge Thread

[bookwormde]

I am off to the yearly retreat for my state's Govorners Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens (which is also the IDEA state advisory council).

If you want to make a difference in your state it is a good one to be a part of (yes I am always recruiting advocates, sorry)

bookwormde

 

[C&G'sMama]

My city. Our police department. I am active in a Police Citizens group so I may contact one of the officers I know through that and see if I can do anything. Also, my next door neighbor's son became an RPD officer within the last year and he has a 20 yo cousin who's autistic. I might try to touch base with him. It's very frustrating.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/s1738416.shtml#disqus_thread

 

[Kat77]

C&G's Mama- That is very alarming. You would think officers would be much more aware after the other recent incident. The comments sections is a peice of work ... UGH!

 

[C&G'sMama]

C&G's Mama- That is very alarming. You would think officers would be much more aware after the other recent incident. The comments sections is a peice of work ... UGH!

That's why most of our local news outlets have either eliminated comments all together or limit which stories people can comment on.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Kirsten, so glad OT is working for Zoe! OT can help tremendously with the sensory stuff. Keep us posted on her progress.

Hope school is continuing to be going well for everyone.

DD is now in a private school that is going SO WELL!! I cannot begin to explain how much the change in attitude by a teacher and placement has helped her! They are still working on figuring out the reading difficulties. I am so thankful to have a school that is so invested in heping dd !

We went to Disneyland on Sunday and had a great time. DD rode the Matterhorn for the first time and loved it so much we ended up riding 6 times. I think I had some brain cells jiggled loose with all that jerking and bumping!

 

[kirstenb1]

Grace, I'm so glad you guys finally caught a break!!! Every child deserves a chance, and the right teacher means all the difference. You've both had a long ordeal with school, and I'm really happy for you.

Zoe is still doing well with O/T and school. We had a small hiccup yesterday. The O/T moved to a new office, and Zoe cried non-stop for 45 minutes. She kept cycling between obsessing about the old building, and apologizing to the therapist for her outbursts. Then a little girl, who is a huge sensory seeker, and Zoe's complete opposite arrived for her appt. The O/T had us stay so the girls could interact for a little while. Zoe came out of her shell, and the other girl seemed to calm down, so it was a win-win.

 

[bookwormde]

GraceluvsWDW,

Great to hear that things are going good at the new school (it would be hard to do a worse job than the last one), the change is our kids when they are in a supportive enviroment is truely amazing.

KristenB1

watching our kids with others who have the same genetics is always interesting, even if sometimes it does not "work", when it does it is really neat.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Grace --- Yayyyy!!!! I am so excited for you. It is so sad that the old school didn't come through. But so awesome that you found a place where she is happy and you know she's okay. That's priceless.


As for us. Things are going really well for DS, not so well for DD. Towards the end of last year there were 4 boys in DS's class that were doing really well together including DS. They kept those 4 boys together this year. Also, the little girl across the street is in his class. She's a great kid and does well with DS. He is very happy at school right now.

As for DD. The teacher is great. But there are still a lot of issues with some of the other kids. The other day on the playground 4 girls were around her while one of the girls called her fat. This child has emotional problems and is in trouble all the time. We truly believe she was goaded into it by the others. There's another girl that tells DD to watch her back. DD handles this all very well but I'm done. The teacher is aware and is working with the class (DD is not the only "target"). In the mean time her "BFF" hasn't been being very nice to her, girl drama. She knows we're considering home schooling and has talked to some kids she dances with that are home schooled. We talked to someone at the school and as long as DS is there she would get sibling preference if we decided she was ready to return in the future. She's in 5th grade now and the school, a charter school, goes up to 8th. She is working on a friendship with a new girl in her class. Unfortunately her class has been labeled the bad class and they are living up to their reputation.

I guess if it's not one it's the other. DP will start volunteering twice a week in DD's classroom as she has done the past 2 years at the beginning of October. That usually helps squelch some of the issues. The kids (especially the ones with issues) love DP and all beg to be taken out with her. She works one on one with them in the hallway either reading, or doing homework or just explaining the days lesson.


Ah well, only 8 months to Disney.

Anyone else in for May 29th to June 5th 2011? Just sayin....

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Anyone else in for May 29th to June 5th 2011? Just sayin....

ooooooh, that's when we usually go because it's dd's birthday!! We MIGHT just go at that time.

I am pretty Disney depressed with no future trip planning in progress. I do not remember the last time I didn't have a least a small trip in the works. we had a trip in Dec planned with a cruise but had to cancel as all that $$$ went to private school. Money is tight and eating right is not cheap on top of therapies!

At least we had the one day at Disneyland so I can't complain.

I love going late May/early June. It can be crowded but the weather is still somewhat nice, you have Star Wars Weekends, and the end of Flower and Garden.

The office next to mine just hired a new girl who I met and was pleased to find she's a Disney fan like me. She came over during lunch today to show me some of her Disney stuff and it's kind of nice to find someone who gets it. I can tell we're going to be Disney enablers to each other.

Anyway, found out at school they are trying out colored overlays with dd to see if that might help her reading. I need to do some research on it. The Director of this school is so wonderful! She takes great pride in figuring out what works individually for each child.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Hey all!

Nothing new to report just jumping on to say hi and see how everyone is doing. DS started back up with chess on Tuesday. His shirt was soaked when I picked him up (chewing) so I'm sending him with gum the next time. He does it at school too and home etc. I think he just needs to be doing something all the time.

Other than that he's doing well. DD is doing okay. She's still not quite ready to let go of school so she's staying put for now.

Have a great day all!

 

[kymmyk13]

just jumping on to say hello and hope things are going well for everyone. Grace I am so glad things are better for you.

DD5 started Kindergarten in August and things were fine at first but now she is not completing her work most days, her sleeping pattern has changed and we are having more tantrums at home. We are adjusting her medication and I hope that will help.

Have a great weekend everyone.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Hello everyone!

Glad to hear school is going well for some and sorry to hear not so well for others. I hope it gets better for them soon.

The updates for us:

DD is doing really, really well. Anxiety is at an all time low. School refusal behavior is still somewhat present but it is getting better! The new private school did testing on dd that showed she is on K level in reading and writing (end of K for reading). They are continuing to try to improve this by working one on one and using various strategies. Of course her math is excellent so we can focus on the reading/writing right now. BTW, she is testing at the exact same level the neuropsych tested her at 15 months ago. Basically the last year at public school was a WASTE as far as reading skills and why they told me she was "on grade level" is beyond me!?!?!. My mother told me that my brother didn't read until 3rd grade so I am trying to keep that in mind because my brother is amazingly brilliant and adept now. I have to keep in mind everyone is on their own "schedule". It's just troubling because all of the other children in her class are reading 100 page chapter books and they are assigning 10 page-10 words per page books and she is struggling with those. I know I shouldn't make the comparisons but it's hard not to.

I received a formal letter from DOE OCR and they have determined my complaint is valid and they are opening an investigation. I don't really know where it goes from here. Obviously I am not going to re-enroll dd in that school. I was just hoping they would ensure compliance for the other kids with no options. They are basing the complaint on violations of 34 CFR 104.33, 104.35-.36 and 28 CFR 35.130 (whatever that means) and failure to provide FAPE pursuant to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I really hope all this headache makes a difference at the school for someone's child.

Sad that for the first time in about 4 years I am not planning a WDW trip. But I would trade ALL WDW trips for what we have now-more happy and stress-free with every passing day!

Hope all is well with everyone!

 

[C&G'sMama]

Grace,

That is so awesome what a difference a year and new school make, huh?

Glad to hear you filed a complaint and like you said maybe it willl help someone else. Disney will be there, you are definitely doing right by your DD.

Hope all is well with everyone else.

 

[bookwormde]

Grace luvs WDW,

Here is a little info from wrightslaw

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by recipients of Federal financial assistance, including IDEA funds. The Section 504 regulation at 34 CFR Part 104, 104.33-104.36, contains free appropriate public education requirements that are similar to the IDEA free appropriate public education requirements. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Title II prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by State and local governments, whether or not they receive Federal funds; OCR interprets the requirements of Title II of the ADA as consistent with those of Section 504.

Glad things are going well, she will catch up, although reading as a linear process may never be her favorite way to learn about the world

bookwormde

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

I have a funny story. DD has really taken to the Disney promotion "Friends for Change". She's been walking around the house saying she's a "Friend of the Community" and she's here to "help the environment". She's telling her imaginary friend, Dale, how she can help the environment. She even told me today that she can't breathe in her room any more until I get her a plant that will make her some oxygen.

If our kids have one thing going for them it's definitely their commitment to certain "truths"!

 

[bookwormde]

Helping our kids develop there since of responsibility to making the universe and the future a better place is one of the most fun and unique things that many of us as ASD parents get to do. Yes some NT kids parents have the opportunity also, but for our kids it is so much part of the fabric of who they are that it is a real joy.
And let her know the oxygen that she converts to CO2 is clean and exactly what plants need to survive, It the other use of oxygen that is not co clean that she should be concerned about.
bookwormde

 

[C&G'sMama]

How's everyone doing?

Things are okay here. While DS still has his moments overall he's doing well. The MATCH team finally came to his school yesterday and have him set up with a device on which he can type. I can't remember the name of it, it's not an Alpha Smart. Koolaidmoms can fill in the details. His classroom teacher is excited about it. They still want him to write the rough draft by hand but then use this device to finalize everything. We'll see how that goes. One of DS's issues is he has so much in his head but has a hard time getting it written down as handwriting can be such an arduous task for him. Heck, I hate writing and am so happy I'm in the computer generation.

A couple of boys made fun of him for wearing a purple shirt, he told them Mr. H wears a purple shirt, it is not girly. I say good for him.

DD is doing okay. Her biggest complaint is they have silent lunches because her class can't keep the volume down (I have a hard time with silent lunches) Another one of her neighborhood friends just got in the school and we're still holding out for her BFF to get in this year. We'll see. Things have really seemed to click for her this year and she doesn't seem to struggle with homework as she has in past years. It's like a switch turned or something.


And that's all I've got for now, I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[bookwormde]

Great to hear thing are going well. My DS is still struggling some since the school still has only partially implemented his IEP. Great princpal and primary teacher, but the teachers do not understand the importance of having a basic understanding of Aspergers to avoid making "mistakes".

bookwormde

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Hello everyone!

All's well here. Really, really well. I want to stand on a soapbox and rejoice!

We have a few bumps in the road here and there but I must say things are 100% better than three months ago. It's amazing how resilient our kids are and how quickly they can bounce back from a debilitating, horrible situation.

OCD behaviors-almost gone. Daily Meltdowns-a thing of the past. It's now more like once a week and they are but a fraction of what they once were.

We still haven't made up for the academic regression of last year but we are focusing on anxiety reduction and fostering trust within the academic setting. We have a WONDERFUL teacher who is going out of her way to understand dd. She is going to a conference on AS in a few weeks. Wow. All I can say is WOW.

We had our very first field trip with no meltdown last week. Some stimming and withdrawal but the whole thing went amazingly well. I feel like when we are with/in the school the people there don't avert their eyes when we come in as they did in public (like they knew there was something "wrong" with dd). Parents actively encourage their children to buddy/befriend/and help dd. There have been so many moments tears have come to my eyes in amazing happiness as opposed to last year when I would walk down the hallway after depositing her in her class with tears in my eyes and the awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was putting her in harm's way.

It makes me want to do something to create change-but where do you start?

I haven't heard from OCR, they are supposed to be "fact finding" but I haven't heard from them in almost a month.

I hope things are well with all of you.

 

[bookwormde]

GraceLuvsWDW

It is heartwarming to hear things are going well

If you want to have an impact, attend your states IDEA advisory council and present you experiance if you can get a slot and if not just relate it during the public comment section (usually limited to 5 minutes), and supply thrm a written letter with all the details.

here is a link to the panel

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/cac/

bookwormde