You see the school wanted to make Doodle a half day student because of her new aggressive behavior. Flinging chairs in class has never been something that Doodle has ever done. But when her teacher conditioned her that she can get out of class with crying well it started the regression. When crying in class no longer worked to get out of doing school work Doodle amped the anti. Or she took it up a notch. Apparently this teacher hasn't had much experience with teaching children with autism though she claims that she comes from a school in our state that is nothing but an autism school. So she would have learned how to deal with these type of behaviors and she would have known the way that kids on the spectrum are to be taught and treated.
I came into this second meeting with information from Doodle's teacher from 3 years ago. The one who pulled Doodle out of her first regression. And I also had information from Doodle's pediatrician. All three of us are in agreement that medication is not going to work as there is lack of structure in the classroom. Once the structure is re-established then and only then would any type of medication be effective. But considering that Doodle can function very well without medication, there really is no need to put her on it. The stuff I use at home works at home but doesn't work at the school. So where does the problem lie? You guessed it, with the teacher and her teaching methods.
Now as you all know I'm not a happy camper with my childs' regression and I'm not a happy camper with with her aggression in the classroom. I don't have aggressive behaviors with her at home. It's only happening at school.
So going into the meeting I made them very much aware of what Doodle's teacher from 3 years ago informed me of. Finding out the function of her behavior. Is it avoiding, wanting to avoid, attention escape or sensory? Those are the questions that have to be asked when trying to figure out why the child with asd is acting the way that they are. According to her previous teacher it's because she was trying to escape doing her school work. And with that information on the table I went straight into what needs to be done to nip this in the bud according to her previous teacher.
Doodle is going to need to re-take compliance training, hand over hand training and even re-taught her expectations. Once who ever the teacher is going to be in that classroom does this it will all stop. But according to the temporary teacher in the classroom right now, Tuesday was the only day Doodle flew into a rage and right now everything is getting back on track. Doodle is actually progressing at home and is progressing at school since Tuesday.
She's been placed on half days currently but it's not from 7:30-11:30, it's 7:30-1:30 and we will work it back to normal schedule from there. Being that she is getting out at 1:30 every day won't be going against FAPE. IDEA and FAPE both say that a special education student has to have the same time frame in school as regular ed students. They have to be treated equally. And unless all the children in the school are getting out at 11:30 everyday that was a no go.
What I have noticed this week is Doodle is now speaking in complete sentences. I'm pretty shocked and ecstatic over this development. Last night watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year with her she pointed to the television and said, "Look its a vulture. V V V (v sounds) starts with V". That may sound normal but for me its not. She normally says, "Look mom look, its a bird!" So you can see that her naming the type of bird that this creature was is a huge step in the right direction!
I do know that the teacher that was teaching this class will be back on Monday. She's out this week. But when she comes back Doodle's not the only one taking compliance training. The teacher and the para educators will be too.
You see the reason I am pushing so hard is because Doodle was diagnosed as mildly autistic which means that with the right help and therapy she will have a normal life eventually as a regular ed student. She will be able to get into college and will be able to become a doctor just like she wants. She will always have her autism but she will be in regular ed classes, can do the work without help like regular ed students, be able to get into art classes with regular ed students (technically she's allowed that right now, it's in IDEA and not allowing this will be in violation of IDEA and FAPE).
I can't stress this enough, know your laws, know your rights. Not everyone can hold your hand every moment of the day. If someone who has a lot of experience with ieps and they get results is giving you advice, make sure you are following it to a T. No if's, and's or butt's about it.
And for another part of the meeting, I really hated to do this but it had to b done. Doodle's regular education progress report came home (not her iep/special education report which is against the law if I don't get it) and she made A-B honor roll. Now the meeting we had 2 weeks ago it was stated in that meeting that Doodle eats more work then she does. Which means that my child is not on A B honor roll. I really hate being lied to. I can't stand it. So I requested that her grades be changed to reflect the current work in class. Yes, there is a possibility that she will flunk this year and it will look bad on review when she applies to college. This could damage all changes of getting into college. I'm aware and I'm already dreading it. But what can I do? Let's not sugar coat the situation and say yeah I haven't done my job as a teacher so since I'm forced to put grades into the computer system let's lie about it.
If she's graded on homework, yeah, she will make A-B honor roll but since she's not. Can't be done. I am working with the school to try and get this resolved. Doodle used to test very high at the school and now she doesn't. So right now until the FBA (Functional Behavioral Assessment) comes in we are pretty much at a stand still with everything.
You guys have a great day, I need to get back to work.
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