I'm not sure what's wrong with DS
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| Mon, 10-31-2005 - 11:47am |
It's so frustrating. DS is in first grade in the ED (emotional disturbance) program. He attends some classes with the regular kids (art, P.E., music), but most of the times he is in the ED classroom.
He keeps being physically aggressive at school to the point that they are threatenning to have him removed and put in the day program for severely emotionally disturbed kids where he would have no contact with regular kids.
He is not physically aggressive at home. He does well when he works with an adult one-on-one, but can not handle sharing a teacher with other kids. When the teacher takes his attention off of my son, he will act out.
He is capable of some remarkably good days at school, but he has some absolutely horrible days as well. Like today, I got word that he kicked a teacher's aide when he was informed that P.E. was over.
The school called in an autism specialist who said that DS does not have autism. But, I find a sound bite on the internet of a kid with Asperger's to see the way they talk and I thought I was hearing my own son.
I'm asking his pediatrician to refer me to a pediatric neurologist. Is there any other kind of specialist I should consult? Are other kids here in ED programs?

Hi,
It sounds to me like there is a very simple solution here: Give the kid a 1-on-1 aide. then he has adult attention all the time and won't become aggressive.
Am I oversimplifying?
To answer your question. I have been fighting the district regarding my son's DX. The school keeps telling me the AS is the most over (mis)diagnosed DX these days -the ADHD of the 90s. They have been tryign to label him ED and I have been fighting tooth and nail. I dont; care if it's overdiagnosed. That doesn't mean he doesn't *have* it! We compromised: He is labelled Speech Impaired, but gets a lot of services. He is in a self-contained class with mostly ASD kids, but by accident, not design.
He is in 2nd grade so will have his triennial (sp) evaluation this year. I will be sharpenign my claws for that one!
I don't recommend a neurologist to get a good DX. I recommend a pediatric neuropsychologist. Second choice: developmental pediatrician.
HTH and good luck!
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Thanks for the recommendation regarding the pediatric neuropsychologist. I will see what I have to do to get that referral.
About the one-on-one aide, I tried to get one last year for DS. The school would not go for it and were ready to ship him off to the severely emotionally disturbed day program where he would have been the only kindergarten student. They hired an extra aide on a temp basis to finish out the year, but she wasn't assigned to DS. However, he was able to finish the year with the extra help in the classroom.
I doubt I could get anywhere on the one-on-one aide front. Our school district only seems to give one-on-one aides to those with cognitives delays...which isn't my DS. He tested at average IQ.
>>Our school district only seems to give one-on-one aides to those with cognitive delays<<
You can fight that policy. It's bogus and has no basis in the law. You have the law (and right) on your side. The law states he should be in the Least Restrictive Environment and a day program is NOT it, if a SDC with an aide will meet his needs. This is about HIS needs -not about what the school district decides to provide. They are required under the law to meet *his needs* NOT *their convenience*.
Sorry for the rant. I am a bit frustrated right now.
Hop over to the Special Ed board for more advice on this. Steph knows a lot more that I on the subject. Good luck!
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Yeah, I made that Least Restrictive Environment argument last year. The supervisor of the ED program was so irritating at that meeting when they tried to get me to sign off on that paperwork to have him moved to the day program.
She said he had to learn to work on his own and that he required too much attention. I started gathering paperwork from them as if I was preparing for legal action. Lo and behold, they found a way to keep where he was.
Now, it seems like they are case-building (yet again) to have him moved. I hate this cycle and I'm sure other people have experienced the same thing. The school comes up with a plan. Loses interest in that plan. Expects your child to straighten up and act right, as if he doesn't have a disability. If not, it's off to the day program for your kid.
I do not want DS to experience another failed placement. He's so hard on himself when he gets "kicked" out of school. He was kicked out of 2 preschools, regular kindergarten, and I don't want him kicked out of the ED program.
It sounds as though you need to do some case building of your own. I'd gather my info and consult an advocate. Least Restrictive Environment is a biggie with most advocates. Having an autism Dx will help your case (in our school district the autism kids get all the perks-- one on one aides etc) it just takes one mom to stand up to them to get your child what they need and the SD will change their tune.
Betsy
ok, had to respond to this post right now. I have a cold. My brain is foggy and if I don't I will lose my train of thought, lol.
What you said in the post I have read is the information you need to gain an 1:1 aide for your son. You said that he was able to complete the year in the mainstream class with the aide when they originally wanted to put him in an ED class as the youngest student.
The law states that a child must be taught in the "Least Restrictive Environment" even if that requires extra support including an aide to make that happen. Now some will say that an aide can be more restrictive, but that is an argument for a different day. In this case I would say that he has clearly shown that he can be successful in a less restrictive environment with extra support in a classroom from an aide. Then they need to try that first before putting him in a special day class.
Next, I would just argue innappropriateness of that other class. I am sorry, but I just think that putting him into a emotionally disturbed classroom that young as the youngest child is NOT an appropriate placement.
Brain is still foggy, but I would definitely ask Steffanie at the IEP boards for assistance.
Renee
Just a little clarification. He never had a one-on-one aide in the mainstream classroom. He was moved to the ED program, which isn't a bad place for him because he still has some classes with the regular 1st grade class.
However, last year, he was only able to stay in the ED program after an extra aide was added to that class. The extra aide is not back again this year. So, it looks like they are ramping up again to try and have him moved off-sight to the severely emotionally-disturbed day program. I don't want him there because there would be no mainstream classes and that facility is far from our home and it services kids from 1st grade through high school.
I need to follow-up with the school and make sure that he is getting all of the one-on-one support that he's supposed to be getting according to his IEP. He's supposed to get 30 minutes of individual instruction on each subject, each day. I really don't see how he could be getting that much time with the current staffing situation. Also, he's supposed to be getting frequent breaks.