Mainstreaming in kindergartenThe term high-functioning is such a nebulous one, that its hard to say what the best path is. Because I know of Shelley's daughter's strengths after reading about her for so long, its easier for me to say...she is definitely HF and my opinion for Sarah is...xyz. Some people consider my son high functioning, yet he is not very conversational (but is verbal) and has horrendous attention problems. Daydreams constantly, but reads at his age level, is slightly less able with math. For my son, we did half a day in mainstream kindergarten with an aide helping him and other special needs kids, then the other half was more 1:1 instruction in the special ed classroom. FYI, this next info was hugely important for me to learn. In the special ed kindergarten classroom, they follow the mainstream teacher's curriculum TO THE T. They do not have him doing lower level academics or just crafts. In special ed preK, I had to fight them tooth and nail not to bore him to death with ABCs. He knew them all at age 2, as well as all shapes, colors, digits. His attention is awful anyway, but when they are asking him "can you say DOGGIE, Cole?" as if he were considerably less able, he daydreams his way to the Caribbean with Angelina Jolie & a Mai Tai by his side. So, if 20 kids is a bit overwhelming for your son to be able to listen and learn for the entire day, he WILL get taught the identical stuff if he goes over to special ed for a few hours. Hi Everyone I am about to start my son with high functioning autism in public school in a mainstreaming regular education classroom. Anyone that has been through this and can give me advice? He has had ABA, Speech and OT since he was 3 and is doing very well. I need to know what I should do to prepare him, any tips, anything that went wrong that you wished you had done differently, how teachers reacted to your child, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Paisley Welcome:) My dd had much the same as your son with the exception of OT and was mainstreamed for kindergarten. I wrote out a list of ways her teacher could help her with social skills and how to make her day much easier....if you would like to see it..just pm me and I will email it to you. I also had it in her IEP to have her close to the teacher at all times and not to be sitted by the door.I was afraid of her being distracted by noise and people walking by. I also had it written for her never to be last in line because she was a little slow and I didnt want her to get lost in the halls...hmmm?? I had the teacher get the resource teacher take her outside before the firedrills were sounded because I feared she would be overwhelmed but this only needed to be done once because they forgot after the first one and she done perfect for the others ever since. I was on first name basis with the nurse and had her email so that if my dd had any issues rough mornings or I was worried about "boogies" in her nose and she wouldnt let me near them..the nurse was an angel and was able to clean them up good~gross I know but I was so worried the other kids would pick on her if they saw them. ..she got on Zyrtec~problem solved:) I tried to get the teacher to journal a line everyday of what my dd did so that I could have some kind of report of how my dd day was but she kept writing ; terrific day or fantastic day..to the point I realized she wasnt going to give me what I really wanted. I did have her email if I needed to and I got a behavioral folder everyday with a sticker for good behavior or if any inappropriate ones should come up they had a box for that..thank goodness she never got one mark the whole year:) She was a model student and the top of her class..so much so that they wanted to move her up to the first grade class but I refused because of her lack of social skills. She just finished first grade this year and I did the same things as last year..but I made sure that ALL the teachers that worked with her were are given a list of ways to encourage her to socialize with her peers...the main teacher is the only one that is given the her diagnoses; The art, music, pe, science teacher..ect. didnt know her diagnoses until I told them~I thought all the teachers were informed. Nope. They stated they never knew or would of thought she was anything other than typical and were shocked to find out.....I felt they needed to know so that they could of help her.. She still has no friends. This is a big concern of mine and will be something we will be working on for awhile. The teachers are wonderful but because of all the therapy we gave our dd before school started I get alot of reactions of them believing she's typical and not autistic and she easily falls through the cracks..She doesnt qualify for anything and her school diagnoses is provisional autism with savant abilities but at 3 she had mild to mod. autism..and very affected.. We did 30 hours of private in home ABA and 2 hours ST a week for 3+ years, GFCF diet, Biomedical stuff, ABA playgroup for 2 years...it was alot of hard work that is very difficult to relay to the teachers where she came from to where she is now. They look at me in disbelief. I feel they think I made it up or something. Be tough.. write down all your concerns and desires you want for your son and take your BCBA with you to the IEP with you if you can....take all the medical evaluations, ABBLS and notebooks you have on him...it lets them know that you are not one bit intimadated by them at all and that you are on top of everything. I was so worried and didnt sleep that first 2 weeks but the whole year went perfect and she did better than I ever dreamed...I was up there for special lunches and parties.. and fieldtrips whenever I could and she had banner year. Whatever mishaps that happened was handled instantly and without tears. She did great..I had a hard time. I was so used to her being at home & in therapy all day..with me and not away with 22 kids and a teacher who never had a child with autism before..but it worked out okay. I think the better I communicated what my dd needed the better she was accomadated..some teachers were not open to me telling/advising them how to help her..but most were very grateful I was involved. Best of luck:) Revised to say; My writing is horrible due to migraine meds that make me dopey! (Topamax~stupamax!!!!) shadow aide. It was a work in progress. I think we revised the BIP at lease three times. Academically, he did extremely well. we had to work through some issues with rigidity though. That was never a problem until Kindy. these examples would be not wanting to ever be late to school, not wanting to spell things incorrectly, while not having the skills to do things perfect, he would want his work product to look like his teachers. I VIP ed in his classroom all day every Wednesday so I had a good grasp on how my child was doing and also how he was in relation to his peers. I had an on going communication with his teacher, it helped that she Knew our family (my older daughter had her as well. She expected him to be able to read over 100 sight words, write 4 sentences on his own, count by 2's 5's 10's and add and subtract simple numbers. She would send me upcoming themes by email ahead to time so I could prep my son if it was unfamiliar, that was so helpful. The thing is, all our kids are different. I do think the right teacher makes a world of difference. My sons teacher wrote him personal emails to read at home and asked that he send her letters in the summer! I want to clone that woman! Thanks to all who have responded and to those who may in the future. I love your list ShellyR. Norwaymom I love the links and checklists. Thanks Micki for your experiences and your folder idea. KathyK it sounds like a great teacher you had. I hope for one as good. The rigidity is also something I thought with since even with ABA you have breaks and things to earn quickly at school you must just do at someone else's direction. You all have made me feel better about the process but I may need to dig deeper. Anything more to share? I want to hear it all good or bad. Thanks, Nicole Thanks for the links. Do tell me from the teacher's side. Are you a reg ed or special ed teacher? Do you do mainstreaming? How do you view aides? Inside aides or outside ones? Thank you Paisley [/QUOTE] I'm neither I guess! I'm actually an Autism Specialist at a private inclusion school. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE inclusion when it's done right. And of course, there is really no specific, magic, "right" way; there are always going to be challenges. I think what makes the difference is the attitudes of the parents, teachers, and other school staff. It should really be a team mentality, that we're all working for the best for all of the students. Of course, being an educator, we are extremely busy! I don't think that people outside of the field of education understand how much most teachers put into their classes, working many, many hours outside of the school day. So, I think that something you can do is to volunteer in your teacher's class, either in the classroom or making copies or cutouts, etc. if he or she needs it, and if you have the time. I know parents are busy too! Ask the teacher what he or she needs most. It may simply be information about Autism in general (like the links in my last post) or specifically about your child. I know I'm "preaching to the choir" here, but be really compassionate towards your child's teacher. A teacher who makes some mistakes, but is really committed to giving your child a great education is what counts. If he or she is a general ed teacher, she's probably received very little training, through no fault of her own, in Autism or special education. There's a great letter that you can fill out at the beginning of the school year for your child's teacher to give some specific info about your child that I think would be really helpful: http://www.nlconcepts.com/autism-teacherletter.htm About aides, I think that they are great if you have them! Either from the school or from the family, I think that they both work well. I think that they are very important and help form a connection from school to home, but honestly having an ouside aide does make teachers a little nervous I think. Just make sure you emphasize to the teacher that the aide is there to help the child participate in all of the wonderful learning activities at school, not to spy on the teacher. Just kidding, but I think that this is how some teachers might feel. Good luck! My ds did not get a dx till mid first grade and has been mainstreamed.During 2nd grade he received some pull-out into special ed and in third grade he will have an aide. My ds has had some great teachers who were very open to figuring out how he works best and he had an awful teacher who made it very clear that any minute spent with him was an imposition on her and the 'normal' children. I guess over the years our kids will get some of each. Be sure to be an active member on his IEP and know how to advocate for him. If your ds has no aide most teachers will be willing and able to put extra work into him but it will have it's natural limits. One thing that has been helpful and well received was that I make a folder for my ds to give to the teacher/special education staff. I explain his diagnosis and his strength and weaknesses and quirks. I write what behavior to expect and possible strategies. I try to keep it under two pages to be sure it is read. I also include materials that are helpful like 'dealing with meltdowns in asd kids' , teaching strategies for asd kids, social stories helpful for him....I try to not make it to overwhelming for someone with little experience (which most teachers have little asd experiences/knowledge) but comprehensive enough to be helpful. Realize that they will have a learning curve with your kid as well. School can be pretty overwhelming for many of our kids and increased anxiety is pretty common. Be helpful, keep in contact, know your rights! I've only experienced it from the teacher's side, but here are some great autism and inclusion links that may be helpful (the teacher may find them helpful too). http://www.paulakluth.com/autism.html http://www.ellennotbohm.com/ten_things_article.html http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume2issue1.html http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume3issue01/ http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume2issue10/ Nicole Nicole Thanks for the links. Do tell me from the teacher's side. Are you a reg ed or special ed teacher? Do you do mainstreaming? How do you view aides? Inside aides or outside ones? Thank you Paisley
[QUOTE=positiveautism] I've only experienced it from the teacher's side, but here are some great autism and inclusion links that may be helpful (the teacher may find them helpful too). http://www.paulakluth.com/autism.html http://www.ellennotbohm.com/ten_things_article.html http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume2issue1.html http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume3issue01/ http://www.positivelyautism.com/volume2issue10/ Nicole [/QUOTE]If you're looking into getting your child an aide, these resources may be helpful: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=24328&am p;KW=aide My oldest son started public school with no diagnosis and no special help in place, but even with a bad start like that, we've gotten good results thanks to dedicated teachers. You might want to take a look at my placement evaluation checklists, which are posted under the following topic: http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26270&am p;KW=placement+evaluation These checklists will give you some things to consider about what it will take for your son to succeed in the mainstream environment. If you can, I highly recommend scheduling a meeting before school starts, and another meeting a few weeks down the line, so you can both prepare the teacher and quickly fix any glitches that turn up. Good luck! Thanks LeAnne C for your response. I have made the leap to do it all in regular ed since it is a shortened day. I know each child is different and using the HFA label alone did not illustrate him definitively. I should have described him more. I think he is ready. You did make a good point about the number of kids and whether he can handle it. I have to look at that. Also I had heard that special ed classes had to do it like regular ed. I didn't know if it was true so thanks for confirming that. It was good to read your reply. Thanks. Paisley
[QUOTE=LeAnne C] The term high-functioning is such a nebulous one, that its hard to say what the best path is. Because I know of Shelley's daughter's strengths after reading about her for so long, its easier for me to say...she is definitely HF and my opinion for Sarah is...xyz. Some people consider my son high functioning, yet he is not very conversational (but is verbal) and has horrendous attention problems. Daydreams constantly, but reads at his age level, is slightly less able with math. For my son, we did half a day in mainstream kindergarten with an aide helping him and other special needs kids, then the other half was more 1:1 instruction in the special ed classroom. FYI, this next info was hugely important for me to learn. In the special ed kindergarten classroom, they follow the mainstream teacher's curriculum TO THE T. They do not have him doing lower level academics or just crafts. In special ed preK, I had to fight them tooth and nail not to bore him to death with ABCs. He knew them all at age 2, as well as all shapes, colors, digits. His attention is awful anyway, but when they are asking him "can you say DOGGIE, Cole?" as if he were considerably less able, he daydreams his way to the Caribbean with Angelina Jolie & a Mai Tai by his side. So, if 20 kids is a bit overwhelming for your son to be able to listen and learn for the entire day, he WILL get taught the identical stuff if he goes over to special ed for a few hours. [/QUOTE]This is the list~I revised it for First Grade but it is basically the same:) I just emailed it to ALL her teachers involved with her last year.Of course All of these were only suggestions and it was up to the teacher to actually do them!...I was happy if only 1 or 2 was done a week..it was better than nothing.Good Luck!SARAH’S SCHOOL GOALS FOR FIRST GRADE:
1. ALL TEACHERS INVOLVED GET AUTISM SPECIALIST TO TRAIN THEM IN AUTISM AND HOW IT AFFECTS SARAH & HOW TO HELP HER. 2. VISUAL & VERBAL PROMPTS DAILY. 3. AWAY FROM DOOR AND NOISE/DISTRACTIONS (INCLUDING LOUD & DISRUPTIVE KIDS)~SHE WILL ZONE OUT. 4. FOSTER EXPRESSIVE/SOCIAL SKILLS AT ALL TIMES WITH VERBAL FEEDBACK TO NOTE UNDERSTANDING FROM SARAH. 5. ENCOURAGE SARAH TO PARTICIPATE & VERBALIZE AT ALL TIMES. WILL REMAIN QUIET IF NOT ENCOURAGED OR PROMPTED. 6. NEVER LAST IN LINE~LOSES GROUPL 7. GIVE VERBAL CUES OF TRANSITIONS: TO AVOID MELTDOWNS. 8. WORK ON COMPREHENSION WITH STORIES/WORK IN HER WRITING AND ILLUSTRATIONS/VERBAL COMPREHENSION. READING SKILLS VERY HIGH BUT VERBAL FEEDBACK IS POOR COMPARATIVELY. 9. **NEEDS MUCH HELP WITH: DECLARATIVE SPEECH/EXPRESSIVE/PRAGMATICS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. SHE IS CHOPPY, FRAGMENTED AND SOMETIMES MUMBLES RESPONSES~UNABLE TO MAINTAIN CONVERSATION. 10. INCREASE SOCIAL MOTIVATION & RECIPR0CATING IDEAS AND OFFERING FEEDBACK TO OTHERS IDEAS AND THOUGHTS. 11. ABLE TO VERBALIZE NEEDS SUCH AS ASSISTANCE WITH WORK/PROJECTS ECT..OR REPORTING THINGS SUCH AS POTTY/PAIN/BULLIESL 12. LOTS OF PRAISE FOR ANY PARTICIPATION WITH OTHERSJ 13. FEEDBACK FROM ALL TEACHERS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK TO HELP KEEP GOALS FRESH AND FOCUSED ON & HELPS PARENTS TO WORK ON THINGS AT HOME. 14. CLOSE TO TEACHERS AT ALL TIMES~WATCH OUT FOR OTHER KIDS OUTCASTING HERL 15. ENCOURAGE HER TO SPEAK LOUDER, INCREASE MORE SPONTANEOUS LANGUAGE~SHE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHEN PROMPTED TO’’ Thank you ShelleyR. You gave me a lot of information. I am grateful for it. I would love the list and will pm you. We sound like we have a lot in common although I am behind you just a bit. The therapy does make such a difference I agree. Thank you for your reflections I hadn't thought of the other teachers like PE etc. You have made me feel much more secure. It is such a hard time letting your child go with strangers in a huge classroom after home 1x1 ABA. I am nervous but you are helping ease it. Paisley
[QUOTE=ShelleyR] Welcome:) My dd had much the same as your son with the exception of OT and was mainstreamed for kindergarten. I wrote out a list of ways her teacher could help her with social skills and how to make her day much easier....if you would like to see it..just pm me and I will email it to you. I also had it in her IEP to have her close to the teacher at all times and not to be sitted by the door.I was afraid of her being distracted by noise and people walking by. I also had it written for her never to be last in line because she was a little slow and I didnt want her to get lost in the halls...hmmm?? I had the teacher get the resource teacher take her outside before the firedrills were sounded because I feared she would be overwhelmed but this only needed to be done once because they forgot after the first one and she done perfect for the others ever since. I was on first name basis with the nurse and had her email so that if my dd had any issues rough mornings or I was worried about "boogies" in her nose and she wouldnt let me near them..the nurse was an angel and was able to clean them up good~gross I know but I was so worried the other kids would pick on her if they saw them. ..she got on Zyrtec~problem solved:) I tried to get the teacher to journal a line everyday of what my dd did so that I could have some kind of report of how my dd day was but she kept writing ; terrific day or fantastic day..to the point I realized she wasnt going to give me what I really wanted. I did have her email if I needed to and I got a behavioral folder everyday with a sticker for good behavior or if any inappropriate ones should come up they had a box for that..thank goodness she never got one mark the whole year:) She was a model student and the top of her class..so much so that they wanted to move her up to the first grade class but I refused because of her lack of social skills. She just finished first grade this year and I did the same things as last year..but I made sure that ALL the teachers that worked with her were are given a list of ways to encourage her to socialize with her peers...the main teacher is the only one that is given the her diagnoses; The art, music, pe, science teacher..ect. didnt know her diagnoses until I told them~I thought all the teachers were informed. Nope. They stated they never knew or would of thought she was anything other than typical and were shocked to find out.....I felt they needed to know so that they could of help her.. She still has no friends. This is a big concern of mine and will be something we will be working on for awhile. The teachers are wonderful but because of all the therapy we gave our dd before school started I get alot of reactions of them believing she's typical and not autistic and she easily falls through the cracks..She doesnt qualify for anything and her school diagnoses is provisional autism with savant abilities but at 3 she had mild to mod. autism..and very affected.. We did 30 hours of private in home ABA and 2 hours ST a week for 3+ years, GFCF diet, Biomedical stuff, ABA playgroup for 2 years...it was alot of hard work that is very difficult to relay to the teachers where she came from to where she is now. They look at me in disbelief. I feel they think I made it up or something. Be tough.. write down all your concerns and desires you want for your son and take your BCBA with you to the IEP with you if you can....take all the medical evaluations, ABBLS and notebooks you have on him...it lets them know that you are not one bit intimadated by them at all and that you are on top of everything. I was so worried and didnt sleep that first 2 weeks but the whole year went perfect and she did better than I ever dreamed...I was up there for special lunches and parties.. and fieldtrips whenever I could and she had banner year. Whatever mishaps that happened was handled instantly and without tears. She did great..I had a hard time. I was so used to her being at home & in therapy all day..with me and not away with 22 kids and a teacher who never had a child with autism before..but it worked out okay. I think the better I communicated what my dd needed the better she was accomadated..some teachers were not open to me telling/advising them how to help her..but most were very grateful I was involved. Best of luck:) Revised to say; My writing is horrible due to migraine meds that make me dopey! (Topamax~stupamax!!!!) [/QUOTE] |
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