If you have experience, please help in dealing with an autistic student. UPDATE p.6

[Wishing on a star]

You are NOT a failure...
Sometimes one has to 'fail' before they can succeed!
Sometimes it is darkest right before the dawn.

The quicker this child ends up in the Behavioral Class, and his parents see that they really do NOT want him there..... You can 'dangle that carrot', as I had mentioned in my earlier post.

Either he receives full testing and a diagnosis, or he WILL stay in that class.

So, doing everything to write up infractions could be the best thing to ever happen to this child. It is a win/win.... Your other students will have a better learning environment. And, his parents my suddenly see the big picture and have a change of heart.

 

[LMC]

That does not even sound legal. (according to Federal IDEA)
Once a parent signs to request or agree to testing, is there not a required time limit.

This does not sound right at all.

I think maybe this was a private eval. It takes many months to get into the dev neuropsych here. The school district has 60 days to test not necessarily give results. It took us almost a year to go thru the process from the initial call (getting an appt, then filling out all the forms, then the actual eval and then the results meeting).

 

[LMC]

OP:
bookwormed posted a link over on the DISabilities board for IDEA. You may want to take a look at it. It appears there is something called "safeguard procedures" under Part B that the school district can initiate to have kids tested when their parents won't allow it. It appears it would go to mediation and a judge would rule on it. SO, with that in mind, keep detailed records. Every hit, outburst of rage, suspension, etc. This would help the school districts argument that the child needs an eval if it were to go to mediation. Of course, if the child is removed from public school and sent to private or homeschooled then the school could not proceed with procedural safeguards.

 

[KirstenB]

I can sympathisize with the parents to some degree.

I mean, "autism? Like the guy in Rainman? My kid's not like *that*!!! And, she doesn't sit in the corner, banging her head against the wall all day long, she doesn't have autism!!"

It is so hard to let go of all the daydreams you had for your perfect child, that started before they were even born and admit there may be something wrong.

Also, in my family, there was still shame in admitting relatives have autism. I had no idea my cousin has a son who also has autism and that it runs in our family further back because people were ashamed.

I hope S get's the help and services he needs and is entitled to to help him thrive. But, please put down the pitchforks for his parents. It's a giant jagged pill to swallow to recognize your child isn't perfect...

I totally agree. There is a spectrum, that encompasses a huge group, all classified as autism spectrum disorder. Yet, to the average person, unless they know someone with autism, the stereotype of Rainman continues. That makes it hard for parents to accept that they have a child who may be on the spectrum.

I know this is how I felt when our dd was dx'd 2 years ago. That kid has always made fabulous eye contact. But as she gets older, unfortunately, there are many other ways in which she's very different than her peers. She constantly parrots whatever the person in front of her is saying, rather than coming up with independent words/thoughts. She's hard to engage in activities with peers, etc.

But when she was dx'd at the age of 21 mths, it was so easy to rationalize that she was just slow. The bitter irony is, the longer the parent waits, the less likely the child is to get closer to where their peers are. I include our pediatrician in my prayer list everyday. She dragged me kicking and screaming into the reality that our younger dd was not developing normally.

 

[Ember]

That does not even sound legal. (according to Federal IDEA)
Once a parent signs to request or agree to testing, is there not a required time limit.

This does not sound right at all.

I'm in Canada, so US laws don't apply. Our school councilor can only do so much testing. There are forms that need to be completed by teachers and parents and then signed by a doctor and then sent in. The child will then be able to be seen by the neuro-developmental people (if mum agrees to this, we'll wait and see). This service is outside of the school board, though it often works with schools and teachers. For most learning disabilities it stops here. The neuro people can pin-point what's going on and recommend treatments (speech, OT, etc) and help with classroom adaptions. A team is then put in place to oversee the child and their program.

After this, if recommended by the neuro people because the child needs more support or testing than they can offer, the child would go through further testing at a rehabilitation hospital. This is an intensive period where a child will go through many evaluations and assessments, with all the various specialists and experts housed under one roof. They can handle just about anything you can think of and offer a range of services that is pretty impressive, including both home and school supports. They will then create a program for the child the includes all the specialists that child would require.

It's a good system. The down side is that it take time, the referrals take quite a while. A child referred in February or March my not be seen until the summer. Had S's parents done this testing in preschool, as recommended, all of S's programming would have been taken care of long ago, before he even entered kindergarten. He would have had an aide (if that's what he needs to be mainstreamed) as well as access to many other rehabilitation services. There would have been a team in place having regular meetings to ensure his needs were being met.

The problem was the mum refused all help, including early intervention services (speech, OT), back in preschool. She outright refused the extra funding S was entitled to so he received no help at all during those early years. So we're literally years behind in getting help to this little guy.

I hope this answers some of the questions being asked about testing etc.

I also wanted to quickly say that the whole idea of sending S out of the room on a little task wouldn't work for him. He wouldn't make it or he would never come back. I know I never mentioned his tendency to wander, but he'll happily walk off if you aren't watching him. I've had a few panic situations because I'll be busy with something and then notice that he's not there anymore. He's never left the school, though.

Anyway, it seems this may not be my issue to worry about much longer... Today mum announced she may pull him from the school entirely.