Why dont public schools have a classroom setting for PDD~NOS, aspergers, ADHD

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Etc...?
I mean really? These kids are on the high functioning side of things...most are very intelligent..how much easier would it be to do that instead of what they are doing now?
How much easier would it be to mainstream these kiddos together with a teacher that is trained in these areas. A classroom where they 'fit' in and feel good about themselves! Where the learning/teaching is geared towards them...
I really do believe these children would flourish and thrive, instead of being pegged a behaviorally challenging kids. I believe their self esteem would remain high and they would feel good about themselves, instead of the 'different/strange' kid!
Why hasn't this been done...am I missing something????

 

[Mrsjvb]

MONEY. or more precisely/.. the LACK of money

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Yea, but dont they get more money for children with disabilities anyway?
What about all the time/resources spent trying to make these children conform to their cookie cutter ways?
Just seems crazy why they don't try it...because I really don't think the way they go about it is working very well, at least not from my viewpoint!

 

[Mrsjvb]

not enough.



not to mention they would be sorely UNprepared for the real world after they graduate.. life is cruel and they need to develop coping skills.. coping skills that come with the occasional non rose colored glasses view of normal every day life and normal everyday social issues.

 

[bookmama]

Etc...?
I mean really? These kids are on the high functioning side of things...most are very intelligent..how much easier would it be to do that instead of what they are doing now?
How much easier would it be to mainstream these kiddos together with a teacher that is trained in these areas. A classroom where they 'fit' in and feel good about themselves! Where the learning/teaching is geared towards them...
I really do believe these children would flourish and thrive, instead of being pegged a behaviorally challenging kids. I believe their self esteem would remain high and they would feel good about themselves, instead of the 'different/strange' kid!
Why hasn't this been done...am I missing something????

Some school do. Here in Philly there are several schools in the school district that have AS classrooms. They teach life and social skills as well as the usual subjects.

 

[AverageDiser]

Long time lurker, first time poster. My 10 yr old dd has Asperger's, and I would never agree to her being in a specialized classroom all day. She knows she's different than a lot of the other kids, but it only comes up as a negative once in a blue moon, for the most part she's a very confident girl. I also don't think it would improve her social skills enough to make it worthwhile, studies have found one of the ways a lot of AS girls learn social skills is by mirroring their peers. She actually wasn't even diagnosed until last year because she was so good at "passing".

That said, she rarely has behavioral issues, for her it is more social, sensory, and anxiety issues. I also think it would single these children out even more than what happens on a day-to-day basis already. She may never be the most popular girl in class, but she always has one to two good friends who would do anything for her, and I think that's even more important.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I don't think there'd be enough kids the same age with those issues in one school to warrent this, not unless schools got a lot more funding. Then would you a class that's specialized for each grade level, or would you group some of them together? It just isn't logical or practical to have a teacher who only has maybe 3-7 kids for each grade level. And you obviously can't put kids with drastic age differences in the same class. Not all kids with ADHD, or Aspbergers or any of that kind of thing are the same, and a specialized class may have just as many issues as a mainstreamed one.

I also agree that it'd probably be a hinderence to those kids in the long run. I hesitate to use the word, but I think a specialized class would "coddle" them a bit. Once they graduate, they'll be expected to integrate with mainstream society. PP has it right, the more you single them out the harder it will be in the long run for them.

 

[Piper]

I don't think this is a good idea either. Our school had 2 PPCD classes. At one point, one of them was in the room with my "regular" kids. Now the kids weren't separated by high /low functioning--they were both as level as you can get.

The kids in my class made far more progress at the end of each year than the kids in the "other" class. Children do imitate each other and learn from each other. Even when they are still in the parallel play mode and not cooperative play yet, they see what the other children are doing and often "try it out." All the resource personnel came into the class instead of pull-out.

The district in it's (lack of) wisdom decided to move the PPCD classes to another school when it drew new property lines and that ended our cooperation, but I was often given the undiagnosed kiddos from the other Pre-K classes and had kids from Life Skills integrated in my class in many ways throughout the day. What better way to build the self confidence of a 4th grader reading at 1st grade level than to have them read to an adoring 4 year old!?!

 

[LMC]

I wish they would do this in junior high and HS. My PDD/NOS child is slower than other kids so he would benefit from being in a smaller class with other kids on the same level for core curriculum. I think he could learn more in a smaller class where he could get more one/one and where they slowed down the instruction in the areas needed. For example, I don't expect the mainstream english and science classes to go at a snails pace so my child can learn but that's where they have him and he can't work at the same pace. Mainstream the electives for socialization.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I don't think a smaller class is a bad idea, but really classes should be smaller in most schools throughout the country. Teaching 30+ kids no matter what is difficult. I just think putting kids with issues like what we're talking about in a class by themselves is bad. They need to exposure to "normal" kids.

 

[bookwormde]

federal IDEA regulations require exactly what you are asking about, It just requires being willing to enforce the regulations. In addition they must supply a parprofessionsl if it a needed support ot keep a child in the least restrictive enviroment, which for most of our kids is the general education enviroment.

bookwormde

 

[clanmcculloch]

If our school tried to put my Aspie in a segregated classroom they'd have a fight on their hands. My daughter is academically well above average in all classes and in fact qualified for our district's equivalent of a gifted class. She has an aid in the classroom to help her (and other kids with special needs; she doesn't need a dedicated aid) when she starts perseverating but she thrives in regular classrooms and needs to learn to function in the world of neurotypical people.

A child should ALWAYS be in the least restrictive environment. Don't forget that it's much easier to move a child to a more restrictive environment as the need is seen than it is to move a child to a less restrictive environment. Once a child is in a segregated classroom, that child is not going back.

Of all of the Aspies I know, not a single one is in a segregated classroom. The parents of one of them is considering a segregated high school for her daughter because of specific difficulties but that's a very specific decision for a specific child's needs.

If you want to create prejudice against special needs kids, put them in a segregated classroom. This is NOT the life I want for my kids.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Thanks for all the great input...I now can see it in a much clearer light. My child is also in the gifted range but struggles badly on the behavior/social side. Just trying to figure it all out

 

[ilandrazdsw]

I think part of the issue is proper teacher education. With IDEA/PL 94-142 students are being put in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) regardless of $$. Teachers are not necessarily prepared to teach students who need to be taught "outside of the box." For that matter many teachers are not necessarily prepared to teach students who learn "outside the box" without "disabilities" either. Personally, I believe that ALL teachers should have to double major in general education and special education. The college I attended made this mandatory. Students were able to complete the degree in 4 years with 2 classes during a summer session.

 

[PatMcDuck]

You need to look around and figure out what works best for your child, they are so different. My nephew is an "Aspie" who had so much trouble in school, he ended up in a private segregated school from about 2nd to 12th grade. He had very small classes there, and flourished, he is on a full college academic scholarship beginning in Sept! Esp. in the younger grades he needed to be there to work on the social issues he had. It was the right choice for HIM, but maybe not most kids with Aspergers of course.

I think the best thing for our kids, is to have choices. I have a son with Downs and Autism, who went from a segregated public classroom to a private special needs school at grade 6-age 21. Other kids with DS, that I know, without his level of difficulty, graduated main stream with their public school classes. It all depends.