Accommodations for spectrum kids?

[BlueTaelon]

I know this is a HS'ing board but I'm willing to bet lots of you had kids in a B&M with an IEP:)

 

dd13 has high functioning autism and severe mental illness issues at this point. She has been referred by her testing psych to a school an hour from here that specializes in kids like her (HS'ing isn't working as a working, single mom with no support, no childcare anymore and a kid who refuses to do work)

 

I just talked to the local B&M, these are the ONLY supports they offer spectrum kids:

 

Extra time on assignments

They go to the resource room for tests

 

Thats it.

 

Now were new to the spectrum dx and I'm learning but don't they need a whole lot more then that? Especially when the child has virtually no executive function skills, CAPD and visual processing issues? They also were baffled as to why I was contacting them because while we live in the district she is not enrolled there so they have no responsibility for services period. People here are outright hostile to those who choose not to use the local B&M, its really weird. These are also the same people who told me I had no right to request testing or spec ed services and that the law says after she fails a quarter the TEACHER can request testing but not a parent which is pure BS.

 

According to the SN school and the mental health dept who refers kids over the local school is required to pay what our insurance doesn't cover. She meets the criteria to get into the school and I have a meeting with mental health later this week about it. I'm kinda excited, its a virtual learning environment which she does well in with a 1/3 teacher/student ratio in a highly structured classroom. It will be such a relief if she gets into the program, she gets an education, the counseling/therapy/social skills training she needs to prepare to go back to mainstream and I have childcare while I work and don't have to worry about getting her to various appts.

 

I work in the city the school is in so transportation isn't an issue, I would just drop her off and go to work:)

[EndOfOrdinary]

My husband teaches in our districts alternative high school. I am not privy to much, since that would be total violation, but I have a soft spot for spectrum kids and often become better acquainted with their situations. My husband also doesn't have the greatest empathy and will ask for advice sometimes. Anyway, long story short, in his school the written and spoken program is very different from what happens in class. If a kid is trying and parents are on board, much more help and freedom are given. It shouldn't legally be this way, but it is in reality. Districts talk and so do teachers. If your daughter has a reputation for being a handful, you might have to fight a lot harder for services.

 

I am not saying that is what is happening, just that I know from experience it can happen.

[8filltheheart]

I don't know about ps, but those are the only accommodations our ds ever received. In private high school and college. He had self-helps like planner in which he had to learn to write down everything (perhaps you could ask for a syllabus with due dates for yourself? College was easier that way bc of the printed syllabus and Blackboard. Do ps use a Blackboard type system?)

 

Oh I forgot, he also had the right to sit up front so he would not be distracted as easily.

[PuddleJumper1]

If it is a public school they must follow the mandates of IDEA. A great place to find information on IDEA is http://www.wrightslaw.com/ They have taken the law piece by piece and given explainations and legal interpretation.

Just a quck search brought this up for me:


http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.accoms.mods.pdf

There are a lot of accomodations that should be made available. We've sat in IEP meetings for ds (who is home now)and discovered that the powers that be don't know what the law says in many cases. Dh teaches special ed and carries his own copy of Wrightslaw into meetings so that his kids get every help they need.

ETA: I'm assuming you're thinking of enrolling her. This all doesn't apply to homeschool students. In my state homeschooled children with disabilites can recieve some services from the district but that is on a state by state basis. If you are enrolling her in a public school she is entitled to every accomodation she needs according to her disabilities.

If you can get a hold of a copy of the Wright's book From Emotion to Advocacy it is an excellent resource for parents working within the public school system.

[Tap]

There is a difference for accommodations based on what program a child is registered under.  A person classified as a traditional student will have different accommodations than one with a 504 vs one with an IEP. 

 

My guess is that you were told what the most basic accommodations are with just a spectrum dx.  If a child is capable of attending traditional classes, turn most things in on a traditional timeline with only minor modifications, they will likely make a 504 plan.  If the student needs the work load changed, needs significantly more modifications to the school day, has behavior issues that require intervention, will be in classes below grade level, etc then they will file a IEP for the student.  

 

Our school districts are required to use the least invasive plan necessary to educate the child.  That is why the parent is not usually the one who prompts the more restrictive classroom environments.  The child will be given a chance to succeed in a traditional classroom first, then a 504/IEP will be generated based on the success of the student.  Some schools can move fast on getting those into place, some take months. 

 

I understand that the school needs to try to keep kids in the mainstream classrooms, but it really hurts everyone involved along they way when it is an obvious miss-match from the beginning.