[Azreial]

I am so close to the end of my rope I think its whacking my feet.

I'm going to try and make this short. My ds is 9 and was dx autism/pdd this spring. We got a very good neuro-psych report very throrugh, 28pgs! With some recs for smaller class room, aba, pragmatic speech therapy, 12mth/yr schooling etc

C had an iep last year that we rejected except for a 6wk summer program. Now we got the neuropsych report (after waiting 14wks

: ) had a meeting in mid-Sept. WE though we were going to an iep meeting, we got an iep amendment. I was told by the director of special ed that if we accept even a portion of this iep amendment (which offered little more than a 1:1 aide) that the rejected iep would automaticly go into effect.
Does anyone know if this is true? We live in MA. I can't find ANYONE who knows, the only advice I can get it to recind my partial acceptance of the amendent (the 1:1 aide)

Ok now to throw more into it we have an open CPS case re: C because of his violent tantrums and the other kids.

C NEEDS to get out of the mainstream classrooms. All his therapists agree. We've submitted letters to the school from OT, meds nurse, neurologist, neuropsych, reg therapist all reccomending placement in a year round specialty school.

C's thrown tables, desks, chairs, pencils while tantruming at school, he's hidden under his desk and refused to come out, he's hit other kids, he's run away from teachers screaming, interupts the class with outbursts. Socially he's blantly doing terrible. The kids pick on him though we always get "I don't allow that in my class"
However acidemically he does wonderfully and is far ahead of his peers the school is using that as a reason he doesn't need services. Basiclly he has special seating, 1 15min session with the school therapist a month and the 1:1 aide which is new this year but he's still acting up even with the aide

We need help. HE needs help. We've been working with the only legal advocate we could find that even had time to listen to our case but its been 9months and her case load still doesn't have an opening.
I just don't know what to do. Things are hard at home, hard with the school dept

:
Any advice would be great

 

[Da WIC Lady]

Call for a 504 hearing NOW! This is bull patties. Just because you accept one part of the IEP doesn't mean you have to accept it all. Put everything in writing. Document, document, document. Names, dates, and converstaions are important. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. The schools here did something similar to us using the academicly ahead argument that there was nothing wrong and he was perfectly neurotypical.

Anna

 

[LowFlyingAnimals]

That's terrible! I've heard of similar things happening before when a child shows emotional trouble that doesn't affect the academic performance.

Do you know about what services are available within your school district outside the mainstream classroom? Also have any of the people working with your son made suggestions about programs outside the school system that might help? Sometimes if you go to them with a concrete idea backed up by medical reports that helps.

Do you know about the Federation for Children with Special Needs? http://fcsn.org/index.php They are a Mass. organization, and although I haven't yet needed to contact them directly for anything, I have gone to seminars they put on. I've anecdotally heard that they are a great help with policy and advocacy.

There are so many rules and deadlines, but you really need to know them in order to force the schools to follow them. If you find other sn parents who have been in the system a long time, they can also be a big help. That has been where I've gotten my best advice.

I hope you can work it out for him very soon!

 

[Mommasgirls]

Um the school doesn't see his behavior as a reason to need help. You need an advocate or lawyer. Where in Mass are you? I may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can help.
There are private schools in Mass for kids with Aspergers/HFA. Currently my daughter goes to a school in Chelmsford MA. PM me if you are in that area and want the name.
And why is CPS involved? Did the school call them?

 

[WuWei]

Any possibility of homeschool with an aide?

Pat

 

[Azreial]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da WIC Lady Call for a 504 hearing NOW! This is bull patties. Just because you accept one part of the IEP doesn't mean you have to accept it all. Put everything in writing. Document, document, document. Names, dates, and converstaions are important. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. The schools here did something similar to us using the academicly ahead argument that there was nothing wrong and he was perfectly neurotypical. Anna

What is the difference between a 504 hearing and an iep?

 

[Azreial]

I've contacted the federation for children with special need and sadly I have to report that they were not helpful at all. The woman just refered my back to their website (after waiting over 2 days for a call back) and told me I could file a complaint with the DOE. She also suggested getting a legal advocate, when I told her how we've been trying she said hoe sadly that seems to be the case lately. She didn't offer any further ideas or resources

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowFlyingAnimals That's terrible! I've heard of similar things happening before when a child shows emotional trouble that doesn't affect the academic performance. Do you know about what services are available within your school district outside the mainstream classroom? Also have any of the people working with your son made suggestions about programs outside the school system that might help? Sometimes if you go to them with a concrete idea backed up by medical reports that helps. Do you know about the Federation for Children with Special Needs? http://fcsn.org/index.php They are a Mass. organization, and although I haven't yet needed to contact them directly for anything, I have gone to seminars they put on. I've anecdotally heard that they are a great help with policy and advocacy. There are so many rules and deadlines, but you really need to know them in order to force the schools to follow them. If you find other sn parents who have been in the system a long time, they can also be a big help. That has been where I've gotten my best advice. I hope you can work it out for him very soon!

 

[Azreial]

I'm up in Gloucester, there's an asd school in Beverly (20 min from us) BUT the school say he doesn't need to go there and we don't want him to be with "those types of kids"

: Everytime they say that I want to scream throw the table and say "HE IS ONE OF THOSE KIDS!!!!"

No sadly the school doesn't see his behavior as a reason to give him more sevices or a special school. Though they did send him to camp triumph a social skills camp for 6wks over the summer. During those 6wks he was like a new kid

Its so unfair for them to keep these needed services away from him

CPS is involved becuase C went to summer camp with a big mark on his face from tantruming and throwing himself on the carpetted floor and he said dh did it

Er visit investigation etc and it was determined that dh did not do it BUT C's tantrums' are so bad and can get so violent that he is a danger to the other dc. I joke a lot that I have two sets of twins becuase C emotional and socially is about equal with 2.5yo E problem is that he has the strength of a 9yo behind the 2yo's outburts. And yes, the other dc have been injured by him

thankfully nothing more serious than bruises but E would go next door to il's everyday and wouldn't come home until C went to bed for almost a month

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mommasgirls Um the school doesn't see his behavior as a reason to need help. You need an advocate or lawyer. Where in Mass are you? I may be able to point you in the direction of someone who can help. There are private schools in Mass for kids with Aspergers/HFA. Currently my daughter goes to a school in Chelmsford MA. PM me if you are in that area and want the name. And why is CPS involved? Did the school call them?

 

[heatherdeg]

I've heard about states that allow acceptance of an amended IEP overriding the old IEP. BUT, if you reject the amendment, then they really have nothing else to go on but the old IEP--so yeah, that would stay/go into effect. I honestly don't know how you would nullify that, but I'm not sure you'd want to because if behavior is part of his old IEP, it means he can't be suspended for extended times or expelled due to behavior issues because they are related to his documented disabilities.

A 504 is a MEDICAL special needs plan. It's the medical version of the IEP. If your son was dx'd by the neuro who is a medical doctor, you could do this. I've seen 504s for ADD/ADHD simply because the problem was dx'd by a medical dr. vs. a psychologist or therapist. (I'm a teacher).

You do need a lawyer. Contact a local support group for parents of autistic children and see if you can't get some help or guidance there. Contact the school in Beverly (was that it) or the other one that the pp listed and ask THEM where to get the help you need. Betchya they'll know!!

Also, try your state's Dept. for Developmental Disabilities. They may also have some good resources.

And yes, document EVERY LAST THING. Keep copies of everything. Sounds like you have some serious trouble brewing.

 

[cchrissyy]

I'd love to write but have no time. leaving for a meeting right now.

We've been through ALL this with the schools, the diangosis, the dangerous behavior. my boy's a bit younger, but we did get super self-educated and win against the district at every turn and I'd be glad to converse with you about it and brainstorm and share info... but not right now! my 800# is in the links below, really, call sometime if you want the support.

quickly though, if you are presented with an IEP or IEP addendum, you have the right to sign on for some, all, or none of it. if you decline some or all, the last signed IEP remains in effect. IEPs do NOT expire, do not need to be re-signed ot keep current, do not get demoted when you're presented with a newer offer. the last signed IEP (and addenda to it) stay in effect, period. If you aren't happy with the current IEP-mandated placement and you're not happy with their new offer, you DO have the option to unilaterally remove him if you cite their failure to provide an appropriate placement. we've done this. if you handle it right, it's a powerful card to play. again, I'll tell you the necessary steps and pitfalls here.

and as always, aboutautismlaw.com and wrightslaw.org