Schools, IEP and Aspergers

Filed under:Education — posted by admin on August 18, 2009 @ 1:10 pm

Hi there and welcome to this weeks blog post.

A big thanks to everyone who signed up as new members at www.ParentingAspergersCommunity.com this week and I hope you’re enjoying the materials that I’ve provided for you.

This week’s article is …

Question

How can I get help in obtaining services that are supposedly out there and available? My son’s ISSP (IEP) looks fantastic on paper, but in reality, most of the services are not obtainable due to extremely long wait lists or shortage of workers to completely fill the positions.

Answer

Developing a relationship with your son’s school and creating an acceptable IEP, or Individual Education Plan, is very important. “How Well Does Your IEP Measure Up?” by Diane Twachtman-Cullen and Jennifer Twachtman-Reilly is a book that can help you grow to be a valuable member of your son’s IEP team, giving you insight into the IEP process. You’ll learn about often-neglected areas that should be addressed during the IEP meeting.

Your son’s school has obviously been cooperative, working with you and acknowledging his disabilities. However, without follow-through, all you have is a stack of papers. By law, your son is entitled to FAPE or a free, appropriate public education due to his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome. His IEP is a legal document. Your son’s school is legally responsible to uphold the contents of his IEP. There are procedures in place to protect all parties involved in the education plan. However, someone has to initiate these procedures.

At the time of your son’s IEP meeting, his IEP team leader should have reviewed your state’s laws and your rights as a parent of a child with special needs. You should have been given a copy of your state’s FAPE procedures and parent’s rights handbook. Now is the time to review this handbook and determine your first step.

You must initiate a legal procedure called due process. Once you file due process, you will have the opportunity to show proof that the school system is not fulfilling your son’s services as set in his IEP. Your parent handbook will outline the steps you must take to begin due process in your state. You, as the parent, are responsible for holding the school system accountable.

Preserving your relationship with your son’s school is very important. Even if you file for due process, your son will remain in their care until the process is resolved. You will want to be comfortable with this arrangement. Remember to maintain neutral communication. While this is a personal matter in your life, this is not a personal attack. Moreover, it doesn’t have to become one.

Contact your state’s special education advocacy support group. This group is in place to support the families of special needs kids by offering information and advocacy training services at no charge. This group can guide you through the legal process of receiving FAPE for your son.

Have a great week,

Dave Angel

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Articles posted this week at The Parenting Aspergers Community

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My child has a dual diagnosis of Aspergers and Downs Syndrome — can you tell me what similarities there are and give me some helpful hints to help him better at school and home.

Asperger’s Syndrome and Downs Syndrome are two separate entities that do not share many similarities. Downs Syndrome is caused by the presence of an additional chromosome in a fetus. It can cause learning disabilities. Downs Syndrome has many special distinguishing physical characteristics, such as a small head, a small mouth, and upward slanting eyes. People with Downs Syndrome typically have trouble with physical coordination and are likely to suffer gastrointestinal problems as well as heart problems. Children with Asperger’s Syndrome suffer from … To read the full article go to: -

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/308.cfm

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We have one main concern with our child with Aspergers. Eye contact is very important to me and the people around me. And as I have read before, eye contact is something that is hard for a child with aspergers to do. We cannot get my son to look anyone in the eyes. If he does then it is only for a split second before he looks away again. sometimes he will say he is looking at us but his eyes are diverted elsewhere. Is there an exercise we can do with him to help get his attention on our eyes better?

It can be very difficult for children with Asperger’s to engage in eye contact with people they are speaking to. Many people are uncomfortable talking with someone who can’t look them in the eye. There are several things you can work on with your son concerning eye contact … To read the full article go to: -

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/306.cfm

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Could you please send me a list of calming music to help 12 year old boy with Aspergers to sleep? And can you suggest other techniques too?

During the course of the day, there are several things you can do to help your son get sleepy at bedtime. First of all, monitor his diet. Try to avoid as much sugar as you possibly can, as well as caffeine. He should have no soda or sugary snacks after lunchtime, if he must have them then. Sugar and caffeine can cause the body to be alert at bedtime. Try to encourage your son to …

To read this article go to: -

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/305.cfm
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comments (15)

15 comments »

In regards the parent whose son is not receiving FAPE at his present school. If his school can not provide FAPE then by law they have to offer a facility that does, and that can give your son what he so desperately needs. I had the same thing happen and hired an advocate who could help us fight for this. My son was given FAPE at a private school for children with high functioning Aspergers. The class size is 5 to 6 kids to a class. On site Speech Pathologist,etc. They incorporate a social skills class. It’s the answer to our prayers! It is fully paid by his old school district and they give him curb to curb transportation. He’s a different boy. Happy, excelling, and making lots of friends.

Comment by Shirleyanne — August 18, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
If you are not comfortable in filing due process just yet, you can also send certified letters to the principal of the school, the director of special services in your school district and the district superintendent as well as the state superintendent stating that your son has an IEP in place but services are not being provided. If you want, tell them that your next step will be to file due process. They cannot tell you that they “cannot afford” to implement your child’s IEP. That line has been used on us in the past, to which my reply is always “Your budget is not my concern.” If the IEP team has determined what he needs, they must find a way to implement the services, whatever it takes. The law says your son is entitled to a FAPE in the LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT. You must make sure your child is getting what is necessary for him to be successful in the classroom.

Comment by Lela — August 18, 2009 @ 3:38 pm
I am interested in what help is leagally available in the UK. My 11 year old son is about to start secondary school in Devon – without a statement there appears to be no help … the consultants who gave the Asperger’s diagnosis, said that the government are no longer statementing Aspergers children as there are now too many, and budgets would be swamped. Any advice gratefully received.

Comment by Philippa — August 18, 2009 @ 4:52 pm
Looking a person in the eyes can be very distracting for an Aspie. I have found that looking at the bridge of a person’s nose is less distracting and the person I am talking to doesn’t even know I am not looking them in the eyes.

Comment by Pete Freeman — August 18, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
I have a child 15 that has been diagnoised with PDD..What kind od help can we get through the schools ??

Comment by SUSAN — August 19, 2009 @ 6:27 am
Regarding the comment by Shirleyanne, I am happy that your son is getting the facilities that he needs. Where are you based? My son also has high functioning Aspergers.

Comment by shaima — August 19, 2009 @ 7:12 am
I would like to know where this school for High Functionis Aspies is? My son in 14 and does well with his iep, and I communicate well with his teachers…but where is this school? Shirleyanne?

Comment by Sue Orr — August 19, 2009 @ 11:42 am
Hi Shaima and Sue,
My son is 11 years old and attends NewBridge School in Poway, Ca. I live in Carlsbad, Ca. which is considered the San Marcos Unified District. We have curb to curb service provided however this school is 50 minutes from our home but well worth the ride. It starts at 3rd grade and goes up to 8th grade. I hope this helps.

Comment by Shirleyanne — August 19, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
Don’t be suprised if the school is resistant. Providing extra services means spending extra money. My son’s middle school was atrocious, the high school has been a completely different matter. My son does not qualify for an IEP and as such has a 504 Plan, but by using his plan paperwork from home to show the kinds of support he gets outside of school, it helped me to get him help in school. The law is on your side but unfortunately at least in Maine, the people responsible for providing the services (IEP of 504) are the same gatekeepers that get to say whether your child qualifies. Keep the faith, it can work.

Comment by Heather Boyd — August 20, 2009 @ 7:33 am
With my son eye contact was a real issue. When he was smaller, even before we found out he was Aspergers, I would make him look at me by using two fingure and pointing from his eyes to mine, then I would begin speaking. If he looked away, I would stop speaking and reestablish the eye contact before proceding. When finished I wold ask him to repeat back to me what I had said (he also has short term memory and processing issues). After a while he would keep the contact but his expression was like a glare. This mellowed over time as he learned to let his face relax. When he was actually tested for Aspergers one comment the doctor made was that he had good eye contact.

Comment by Heather Boyd — August 20, 2009 @ 7:37 am
Hi,I have some problemas with CREC Magnat schools. My son is a 5th gr. I will like to retain him back in the same gr. but they don’t want to. The school have not educared him the right way, his ABA was his teacher for 1 yr. and half. What should I do with this manner. Plase I need some help…Thanks Ms. Vargas

Comment by Maria — August 20, 2009 @ 8:02 am
It is because of issues like this that as an adult Aspie without a formal diagnosis (I was diagnosed with darn near everything else when I was a kid) that I have mixed feelings about getting the formal diagnosis, etc. When I first heard about Asperger’s, I was in favor of getting “labeled” as such for the sake of future generations in my family; so they could get the help they might need and not have to go through some of the stuff I did. But now I am not going in for the evaluation because I consider public school special ed in the US as one of the worst things that happened to me (consider the arbitrary bureaucratic authority which decides what constitutes FAPE and who has “disabilities” and “why”) and I wouldn’t want to put another kid through that.

Comment by Laura Brose — August 20, 2009 @ 8:25 am
If anyone has any information or referrals for services in the McHenry County, IL area – we would LOVE to know!!! My son is a high functioning Aspie – but our school district WILL NOT provide any services for him because he doesn’t have an IEP. He hates school and i know it effects his self esteem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Comment by Vicki Klempner — August 20, 2009 @ 9:12 am
Hi Vicki,I am anIllinois parent of a high functioning aspi, also. In order to get him services in Illinoisyou must fo thru the Special Education Department of your district. I can tell you that my son was in Cross Categorical Special Ed all thru elementary school. The teachers were able to work closely me and my son to get the results I wanted and he needed. My son is not a gung ho student but now at 17he is on track to graduate and attend a community college that also offers him services he will need. Try talking to your son’s teacher and get down to what you want for him. You will need an I.E.P. and believe me it is the only voice you you and your son will get inside the Illinois system.

Comment by Nancy Brandenberg — August 25, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
could you tell me in easy to understand terms exactly what an iep does for the student in the classroom. is it a person or a program the teachers carry out or what? we have a 13 year old granddaughter in our custody, our daughter passed away in May, and she had ADD plus Asperger Syndrome. we have been fighting along with our daughter when she was alive for 2 years and are now in our 3rd year. we have several meetings with the “team” and they say she is not eligible. we have a letter from a well known children’s center in Charlottesville va, from her doctor there who says and iep program would be appropriate for her needs.
they still deny that she is eligble.
can you help.

Comment by GLORIA CRAIG — October 5, 2009 @ 5:06 pm