Liam and camp....
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| Fri, 07-13-2007 - 8:13pm |
Well, Liam has so far has had an exceptional summer, and back to school is Aug 6th, (he is a 100% better than last year let me tell you). We signed him up for three spaced out weeks of a spec needs camp that the county rec dept runs. He has just finished week #2. Now as usual, Liam is the highest functioning kid there, but last year when we tried to do reg camp; he fell apart. and I wasn't willing to go there again, kwim?
Today the director asked if Liam as mainstreamed. Dh laughed, as Liam is still in a self contained class with other more affected auties, although we are going to try to do more inclusion for 2nd grade. They were shocked to hear he wasn't mainstreamed and even suggested the camps they do during breaks (we get random weeks off in Sept, Nov, Feb and April) he would do well in the reg camps. In fact apparently he has been wandering over to the reg camp when they share the Gym, (curtain in-between). Dh was soooo thrilled to hear this. I amd a bit more reticent, as I know Liam is HF, but among moderate to severe mr teens and moderate to severe ASD's he seems great; put him in a reg situation and he's the oddball all over again. I dunno, I would like to think he'd be ok in reg camp, but I guess I stil need the year to know, kwim? Oh well, guess I'm'm just bouncing ideas,
Dee







Hey Dee,
We have so had your experience, Malcolm is always such the high-functioning one when in most special-needs group activities that the staff think he should be mainstreamed. Even all the public school people we are now interviewing Malcolm with think so too, we are MUCh more reticent, mostly because we are so incredibly leery of NYC public school programming...
Right now the camp we have him in is the best of all possible worlds, a small group of super high-functioning kids, all very verbal and fun and having big discussions about behavior, all working together on behavioral plans, I wish to he!! this was a school instead of a camp! Malcolm DID do well in regular camp one summer, very well for over 6 weeks, until the kids started finding out how fun it was to tease him, and the young staff didn'nt catch them at it...
I do think Malcolm could be mainstreamed with proper support, I just have BIG doubts about the programs and the way it all seems so sink-or-swim here. So for us, right now, it just seems too big a risk to try out inclusion in our chaotic, overcrowded, underfunded public schools, although we are now talking with a few small private NT schools, we'll see where that takes us.
But anyways, I understand your reservations. At least you will get him challenged a little bit at a time and that will give you much more information! And you have a good relationship with school and staff, right? And you trust they have his very best interests at heart? That rocks.
Sara
Hi Sara,
Yup, I often think of Malcolm and Liam as two peas in a pod (although a few years apart, lol). I too wish they ran a hf autie/aspie summer camp here. Here he is eitherlumped in with pretty severe mr kids or is dumped in reg ed and the sink or swim philosophy is prime there.
< you have a good relationship with school and staff, right? And you trust they have his very best interests at heart?> Yes for the most part, although he has a brand new classroom teacher this year (haven't met her yet). The academy that oversees Liam's IEP would love nothing more than to get Liam to a good place where he can be returned to reg ed. Although we are lucky that don't push or pressure it, kwim? Man I would sooo love to meet Malcolm,
Dee
I missed this post when I was gone last weekend.
Once I saw a siggy by a person with autism. It said "to normal to be disabled, to disabled to be normal". Does that discribe our kids or WHAT?
I was talking to my new boss today about this. She was thrilled because I would get that kids can be academically able and STILL unable to function in a general ed setting and I may actually know what they need to get ready.
I get this about Mike too nearly everywhere we go. People look at him at first and make some sort of comment that is he "so high functioning" and I tell them "wait" or ask what functioning means to them cause my son cannot function in general society.
This year I got that at special olympics. Mike was the most "typical" looking but he also was the only one that refused to try the bathing suit on, who had to have people go into the pool to get him out, who kept swimming into others he didnt see near him, who hit his instructor. Sure, yeah, he functions fantastic. (sarcasm). He gets kicked out of or refuses to return to everything.
this is a sore spot for me because I know it is going to be the one thing that keeps Mike from living a successful, happy life. He will be misunderstood by all because he can look normal and yet look so abnormal.
Sometimes I feel like we live with a foot in disability world and a foot in the NT world and I just wish we would pick a side and go with it, kwim? I am SOOOOOO dang sick of hearing at SN camps and such about how HF my kids are. Maybe if it were real. Maybe if the unspoken vibe wasn't "what are you doing here" it would be ok.
Today Cait was leading a rider at REINS. The mom was videotaping (the girl has Downs). Well at the end the mom goes to videotape Cait and is asking questions. Cait shuts down, doesn't answer and doesn't make eye contact. You could tell the mom was getting pissed that Cait was being so rude. I went up and prompted cait through which seemed to appease the woman but I still know that she had NO CLUE Cait had special needs too. That makes me a little batty sometimes. The complete lack of understanding our kids get.
To normal to be disabled, to disabled to be normal
renee
I put Peter in a regular-ed camp one year, (between 1st and 2nd) and it was a year that he really progressed. However, he HATED that camp!
I was initially impressed because he finally learned to tie his shoes after two weeks in that camp. I subsequently learned that the other kids teased him that he was almost 7 years old and couldn't tie his shoes.
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