Need help with developing new mods for Aspie DS

[Hasil72]

I am in need of some serious assistance and since I can't seem to count on the school, I know I can count on you Dis'ers. I am so overwhelmed that I don't even know where to start. DS is 10 and in a mainstream fourth grade class with a one-on-one aide. He has always loved school and handles it as best he can. That is, until this year. It is a nightmare. As bookwormde always says, if the student's needs aren't being met, the anxiety level increases. Well, DS's anxiety is off the charts! So much so that he's talking to himself, he's cranky, his impulsivity control is shot and as the aide said, "he lost the spark in his eyes" among other things. The before school program leader says he's great until it's time to walk into the classroom, then they say you can just see the life drain out of him.

I've tried asking him about it but all he can tell me is he feels "so much pressure" about everything. At first I thought it was because this particular teacher has a heavy focus on writing, the one area that DS struggles the most. He just can't wrap his head around the interpretation of text, typical for the spectrum, right? Everything with DS is in definitives and concrete black and white. But now as I investigate, this teacher piles on the work more than the other classes and doesn't allow for any down time in the schedule as others do. She is a brand new teacher, and not the warm and fuzzy kind that DS is used to having. A few weeks back, the aide was out a few days for a family emergency and supposedly they were unable to secure a sub (another story for another time) and she reported to everyone that DS was no problem, he completed his work and raised his hand all day every day. He did what?!? HUGE red flag! He never raises his hand all day long. Ever. Turns out DS was hard to handle without the aide to redirect him during small group sessions and she gave the aide a stack of work to finish with DS on the day she returned which then caused a major meltdown. The aide thinks that the teacher was afraid that it would reflect poorly on her classroom management skills if she were to say she couldn't handle it.

I've contacted his case manager and she is going to stop in to observe unannounced a few times this week then we'll brainstorm.

Can anyone give me some suggestions for helping to ease his trouble with the writing? I'm sure once I have a third set of eyes to tell me what might be setting him off in the class, I'll be asking about how we can handle that too. I feel so helpless and poor DS is on his way to a breakdown.

 

[bookwormde]

This sounds like a version of what my son went through last year (4th grade). You have a teacher who is unwilling to adapt things to meet you child’s needs. We limit most social context in writing and let the focus be self directed on areas of our son’s interest.

I after the end of the week I would meet with the teacher and be quite blunt that the situation is damaging your child and that it has to change and if that takes an IEP meeting and additional modifications and accommodations then that is what will happen. I actually put the para in charge of monitoring anxiety and if the teachers were pushing or piling on too much or the wrong type for work she could intercede.

Quite honestly this mostly occurs with a teacher who has little or no knowledge of Aspergers and is unwilling to adapt the structure, workload and curriculum. Has she read any of the primary works on Aspergers.

bookwormde

 

[Hasil72]

Thanks bookworm. I really think that as a new teacher she just lacks any knowledge or experience in dealing with any student disabilities let alone Aspergers. I think it was very poor planning on the school's part to place DS with such an inexperienced teacher. We have been relying heavily on the aide to intervene as she sees fit. She really is a lifesaver. I know that she is trying to be professional and has gone to everyone from the guidance counselor to the principal with her concerns and has repeatedly reminded them that they are in violation of DS's IEP when they don't get a substitute in the event she is out. Now, I understand that they are under pressure to get these kids ready for the state tests in the spring but from what i understand, they are writing constantly. She even assigns the parents a weekly writing project. I'm hoping that the CST case manager will have some insight before this escalates any further. I've already requested a meeting to revise his modifications, I just don't know what to suggest at the moment that will ease the tension on DS.

 

[bookwormde]

I know everyone probably gets tired of me saying this but the best way to ease anxiety is to have an environment (and teacher) that has understanding of what it is to be Aspergers, and the quickest way to get a basic understanding is to have the teacher read Attwood’s “the complete guide to Aspergers “(in one weekend of reading she will have the basics and that generally makes an immense difference with anxiety if the teacher is willing to learn)

bookwormde