Mainstreamed Question

[Guest guest]

I would address it in the ARD with the option, that if

the teacher or your son see these things, to address

them then. Some of the same children may be in his

class this year.

Inclusion training should be included in Houston ISD,

since they have a huge grant for PR with Inclusion.

I can come speak to the children about inclusion. I

have done that tons of time in schools and churches.

TCDD has People First Language charts- they're free.

There are some fun things you can do to get their

attention and keep it for like 30-45 minutes and get

your point across- especially in elementary school.

Candis

--- wwellen@... wrote:

> I need some input on something please - my son is

> going to be entering 3rd grade this year and this

> will also be his second year mainstreamed. My

> concern is as he gets older and he is in the typical

> population at school is other students harrassing or

> making fun of him. He's a little quirky ; ) Last

> year toward the end of the year some of the students

> were blowing on him and touching him so he'd freak

> out - it was entertainment for them. The teacher

> was very good about it and even sent a note home to

> ALL the parents telling them to talk to their child

> about this. As he gets older I know this is going

> to get worse, should I have the teacher explain to

> the students his disability, not with him in the

> room of course. Should we wait to see what happens

> and then only address it if it comes up. I know

> kids will be kids but since he does these quirky

> things I know someone is going to pick this up and

> start making fun of him. I know I can't stop it

> completely that it happens with typical kids too, I

> guess I just don't know what we should do. Has

> anyone else had any experience with this situation?

> We have an ARD on Wed prior to school starting and

> I'd like to address it.

>

> Thanking you in advace!

>

> Wellen

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

Candis Firchau,

Autism Specialist

Inclusion Community Training Center

The ABC's and T's :

Advocacy, Behavioral Interventions, Counseling

and Training

http://www.inclusioncommunitytrainingcenter.org

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

We faced a similar issue with my son who has Asperger's and ADHD and has

always been mainstreamed. By the time he was in third grade the

Behavior Specialist at his school asked me for permission to talk with

his class (without him in the room). I held off until he was in fourth

grade because I didn't want to stigmatize him any more than he already

was. Looking back, I wish I would have done it in third grade. The

kids made comments to the Behavior Specialist after her presentation

about how they've always known Riley was a little bit different and

didn't know why. She wrote the presentation and let me review it and

suggest changes. She never said what his disabilities were but, rather,

explained that he is a very smart boy (ex. got a 100% on his Reading

TAKS in third grade) that sometimes sees things a little differently

than they do and needs some extra help. She explained why he uses the

computer sometimes for written work and why he has shortened

assignments, etc. She also suggested that a way they could help Riley

is to " be a buddy " to him.

I think that it is important for the peers to have some information to

explain the differences. Otherwise, they are going to make up their own

explanations and that's when teasing will occur. After she did the

presentation to the class, the classroom teacher noticed more empathy

for Riley and the kids were seeking him out to play at recess and

include him at lunch and in small group projects in the classroom. He

is now preparing to enter sixth grade. We just had his birthday party

and a group of kids (both boys and girls) attended that have known him

since first grade. It is my hope that they will continue to be kind to

him and look out for him as he begins middle school. I'm not naive to

think that he won't be open to teasing and bullying. There will

certainly be a lot of kids in middle school that don't know him and may

not understand or appreciate his uniqueness!

Good luck! Amy

_____

Message: 1

Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 11:35:57 -0500

Subject: Mainstreamed Question

I need some input on something please - my son is going to be entering

3rd grade this year and this will also be his second year mainstreamed.

My concern is as he gets older and he is in the typical population at

school is other students harrassing or making fun of him. He's a little

quirky ; ) Last year toward the end of the year some of the students

were blowing on him and touching him so he'd freak out - it was

entertainment for them. The teacher was very good about it and even sent

a note home to ALL the parents telling them to talk to their child about

this. As he gets older I know this is going to get worse, should I have

the teacher explain to the students his disability, not with him in the

room of course. Should we wait to see what happens and then only address

it if it comes up. I know kids will be kids but since he does these

quirky things I know someone is going to pick this up and start making

fun of him. I know I can't stop it completely that it happens with

typical kids too, I guess I just don't know what we should do. Has

anyone else had any experience with this situation? We have an ARD on

Wed prior to school starting and I'd like to address it.

Thanking you in advace!

Wellen