How Would You Respond To This Problem At School?

[beaners]

My son apparently opened a steam oven in the school kitchen today and no one told me. He has special needs. He is 13, developmentally early elementary, recently adopted from Eastern Europe with ZERO experience attending school. He is in a multiple disabilities classroom and has an aide. It's not a one on one, but he isn't supposed to be going places by himself right now. He is fairly high-functioning but with his background he doesn't yet understand the expectations in most situations.

 

Okay, so that should give an idea of where we are coming from. He knows enough that he shouldn't have been touching things in the kitchen at school (and I have addressed that part with him) but I'm trying to figure out how the heck this even happened. Where was his aide? I know the lunch staff likes him, but why would they let him in the kitchen?! How come no one thought this was something I needed to know about? I only found out because the bus driver (who we love) mentioned it. I was even AT the school today for something else and no one told me! His daily notebook home just said he had trouble sitting still during breakfast and lunch. I asked him if he touched something in the kitchen at school and he gave me the guiltiest look and said, "Yes, hot." He's lucky he didn't get burned.

 

We've been having trouble with the aide from the beginning but I'm starting to feel like this is a dangerous environment if they can't keep him properly supervised. Lord only knows how much worse it could have been. We have to keep an eye on him at home, but we have never had this kind of problem. I'm waiting for an email back from the teacher. I'm going to be contacting the special ed coordinator and probably principal too, but I can't even come up with a rational reaction right now. 

[SKL]

I wonder if having him in the kitchen was on purpose as part of life skills or something?  In my middle / high school, the special needs kids were given jobs in and around the kitchen in connection with lunch service.

 

But yes, I think you should have been told that he was in the kitchen for whatever reason and got into a bit of trouble there.  I think teachers need to be held to a higher standard of communication with kids who can't really speak for themselves.  I would probably just tell the teacher that you want to be informed of incidents that involve him leaving the area where he's supposed to be, breaking safety rules, and similar.  Tell her that you work on these things with him at home and therefore need to know how he's doing with them at school.

 

They might not want to tell you they exposed your son to a risk.  Speaking to them will clue them in that you are going to find stuff out one way or another, so they might as well tell you their version of the facts up front.

[beaners]

We pushed to have him placed down a few grades from his age, so he is in the K-6 school. This was while a meal was being served, but students were in no way assisting in the kitchen. For life skills in the junior/senior high they don't even go in the school kitchen. They use the old home ec room.

 

Part of the reason I think these things are happening is because they aren't listening to me and treating him like they would any other student. He is excited and enthusiastic to be going to school, and they think it's cute. He gets away with stuff no other kid would. He's impulsive as it is. If they aren't willing to tell him he can't go into the kitchen until he starts fooling with the stove, something bad is going to happen. I've said it though. I've sent emails so I have it in writing. It seems ridiculous to escalate when school has only been going for a month, but I have no idea what trouble we are going to have next.

[kiwik]

Maybe they aren't very aware (polite word) and you actually have to sit down and write a list of where he can't go - call it hazards analysis and go through every room, identify each hazard and how to manage it. Actually they should have done this so maybe just ask to see it. If they don't have one ask why. Reporting requirements should be included.

 

I am not saying this as a legal requirement but it is what you would do in a work environment.

[beaners]

Not aware is putting it very kindly. ;) Since they aren't making him follow typical rules for students, I don't even know what to worry about. Why would I think we need rules to keep him from locking himself in the kitchen's walk-in freezer when he should never be in the school kitchen to begin with, you know? It seems like the breakdown is much more fundamental than trying to patch each possible situation. If he isn't being supervised, we could have an incident involving anything. Maybe it wouldn't be dangerous like this one was, but he could make a mess or destroy something.

 

I'm still waiting to hear back from the teacher, but he and his brother are staying home today anyway since they've caught the fever running through our family.

[Caroline]

He needs a one on one aide. If he cannot be trusted not to wander into a kitchen and open an oven, then he needs a personal paraprofessional to be with him at all times. It may fake an emergency IEP meeting to get that to happen, but you need to make it happen in order to keep him safe. Call his case manager or the special ed supervisor to make it happen.

 

It is not ok that the school didn't inform you. It also isn't ok that the school let it happen. You all need to get the problem fixed, though.

[Library Momma]

He needs a one on one aide. If he cannot be trusted not to wander into a kitchen and open an oven, then he needs a personal paraprofessional to be with him at all times. It may fake an emergency IEP meeting to get that to happen, but you need to make it happen in order to keep him safe. Call his case manager or the special ed supervisor to make it happen.

 

It is not ok that the school didn't inform you. It also isn't ok that the school let it happen. You all need to get the problem fixed, though.

 

 

This.  There is a world of difference between having an aide and having a one-on-one aide. If a student cannot go places by himself then he needs a one-on-one aide.

[LibraryLover]

They should have told you. Some kids move fast. They might not have 'allowed' it.   It's possible they don't realize how needy he is, and didn't anticipate this scenario. It probably happened in the blink of an eye. So yes, one-on-one aide.

[beaners]

For him in most cases I really don't think a one on one is necessary. I have six other kids at home right now and no problem keeping him out of trouble or taking him places with a few other kids. The problem is that the aide he has doesn't make him follow directions or pay attention to him. And I found out they did allow him to be in the kitchen, but it was the commercial dishwasher he opened, not the oven. They were letting him watch dishes getting washed. He is quick, but he shouldn't have been put in the position for that to be a risk. I told them he can't be in that environment anymore.

 

Getting a one on one would be a battle, and I don't know if it is one I am willing to make. We are sending in our IEPs for our kids for a scholarship/grant that would cover private therapies or private school or a teacher coming to our home. (It can only be used to pay registered providers, not for supplies or materials.) If the IEP is in mediation or anything like that, we aren't eligible. We had planned to keep our newest sons in school but it really isn't working out. The grant will pay up to $20K each based on their listed disabilities, which would go a long way for private therapy compared to the very minimal amount of therapy the school is doing.

 

I did tell the teacher I specifically wanted him to be supervised one on one on their field trip Thursday to a local pool. Our other son who has more severe physical needs is in a group that is 1:1, but the group this son is in will be 1:2.5. The teacher said there is a lifeguard and she will stay near him in the pool, but isn't getting that I'm worried about more than just him drowning.

 

It is not my problem, but they have no one they can hire to add an aide. They have hired everyone who passed the background check. Even if they thought the need was founded they would find a reason to fight it, and they don't think it is necessary so it will be twice as tough. I'm just not sure it is worth it to fight to get a one on one when we plan to pull them after the grant comes in. They should be home by the time we would win that battle, and we can't get the money for therapies if we are still battling.

[kiwik]

You wouldn't be thinking about rules for places he shouldn't be but there should be clear followed stuff like "hazards in x area = no going in x area", "hazards in y area = 1:1 aide in that area", "hazards in C area = put a barrier around hazard or 1:1 aide" etc. If the area hasn't been assessed fully assume the worst case until you have assessed it. Otherwise you get the arguement that "we hadn't been told that he couldn't or we didn't know that whatever".