Need input on shared time(Renee).....
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| Fri, 10-06-2006 - 12:10am |
I'm homeschooling this year but decided to give shared time with public school system a shot. Chase(8yo/ds-dx AS) has always been in a private catholic school so anything to do with the public school system is quite alien for him and us. The thing is, the resources are just not in the private schools.
My question, or concern is this: He only goes for 1 hour a day/five days a week for social skills and math instruction. He has been dx with a math LD because according to his scores on standardized and IQ tests his math performance should be much higher. Well, I feel like I'm addressing the math issues by teaching him one on one at home and my major concern is that he receives social skills, however the special ed at the school he is placed at does not specialize in ASD's per se and in fact have no specific training for it. I'm worried that he is being placed with kids that might influence him negatively given his AS. I guess I'm not sure what I'm asking except that I feel like this might just be a waste of time where Chase is in a classroom each day and not really benefitting from it. He still attends a social skills group once a week with two other Aspie boys his age and I'm now thinking this is adequate.
I'm all over the place with this one but if anyone can lend direction it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,Vicky

I would argue if the school/class he is in isn't specifically geared towards his dx then he isn't getting adequate services/education.
Lets approach this as 2 separate entities.
1) math - what sort of curriculum or math program are they using? Is it something that would be specifically beneficial to him with a math LD. Special education teachers do have a variety of resources and ways to teach skills that may be helpful to him. If he had struggles in math with the homeschooling 1:1 piece already he may need some specialized instruction. However, if this is the first time he is homeschooled and you have access to some specialized instruction then you could do it. I would probably at least want to be able to consult with the special ed teachers though on various approaches and what might work for him. I have no idea what he is struggling with in math specifically but "Touch Math" comes to mind for that age level. You could teach him yourself but you could likely get materials and consulting from the school RSP teacher.
2) social skills - I am not sure what the school is doing is adequate, however, he will need more than 2 sessions a week with ASD boys to gain and generalize social skills. Unfortunately I think social skills groups are overrated. Why? well because the kids can work on the skills in the group but then the skills are not generalized to where they actually NEED them.
What may work better is if he is working on a specific skill in his social skills group and then he has the opportunity to practice it at school. So for instance, if he is working on turn taking then he could go to school and play some sort of turn taking game with a mix of peers. Perhaps during recess or something but it would have to be with guidance and supervision of a facilitator. Like a Lunch Bunch or a Buddy Club. These are common approaches schools will use where they get a certain group together at lunch time and facilitate fun games with the focus being on teaching the ASD child social skills. However, the other kids don't know that is the reason.
I think shared time can work to your advantage IF set up properly. However, the situation you mention sounds like it could use some work.
You could also do alot of it at home yourself like you say. However, having those other kids at school for teaching generalization of skills may work to your advantage.
Renee
Okay, I am so bad at explaining all of this but here goes....
1) Regarding the math, I'm using Saxon Math for homeschool which has been great for him. His only low test scores on standardized and IQ tests were in math computation(basic addition and subtraction). On higher math, such as patterns, geometry and the like he is way above average. With Saxon there are 45 sec math drills every day on basic addition facts and he has really started to master them and actually looks forward to doing them now. Through the grapevine I have found out that the 2nd grade teacher he had at his private school wasn't quite doing her job in math and that the kids math scores on their stand. test dropped a full 30 points from 1st to 2nd grade.
The thing that bothers me is that I get the feeling that the public school thinks they know what's best for Chase(and in some regards they may be right) but to be honest,I just don't trust the school system enough to believe in the decisions they make for him. The counselor there made the idiot comment "well, you really need to let him grow up." That alone tells me she has no idea what is involved with ASD kids.
2) The social skills issue: He goes to a private therapist 1 day a week and there are two other AS kids with him. At the school there are 2 other boys with him twice a week and they work on things like respect(kind of generic). I just started a social skills unit with my kids: ds8(AS), dd7(NT), ds4(?). We role play situations like personal space, introducing yourself and conversation skills.
If I follow my intuition I will pull him out after a month. Just stressed about the whole thing. Thanks, Vicky
Vicky,
I once remember Sravan's old principal mentioning that she visited the special Ed. school in the district and Sravan will not fit in there. He might have quirks, but he can manage the workload of his class. At that time, we were so overwhelmed with his quirks and the calls, we were thinking about curiculum not being our top priority. Now I am glad I decided to stay with this school. So if you think, it is not a good fit, then visit other schools in the district.
take care,
Anandhi
In that situation I likely would pull him as well. Particularly considering the comment made by the counselor. Obviously that person would be of no help.
I still think he needs the opportunity to generalize the social skills he is learning, but that group in school you are descibing won't likely cut it. Is he in any outside activities like boy scouts, karate, etc? You can use those to generalize his social skills.
For instance, Mike was working on I think it was playing games appropriately in social skills. I was able to get the "terminology" the autism specialist used in the group and I used it with Mike when he was playing town basketball and it really helped him carry that skill into the team thing he was in. His aide would use the same terms on the playground and it helped him use those there.
Anyway, a big problem that is being found is that the kids in the social skills group aren't learning how to carry those skills into activities where they really need them. That was what I was thinking. It doesn't have to be at school, however, if you had a really supportive school then that would be a perfect opportunity. However, it doesn't sound like you have a supportive school.
On the math, if the saxon works, stick with it. If he is still struggling check out touch math. It would be perfect for addition, subtraction, etc.
Renee