Need help

November 26, 2002

I have no idea what district you are in or your school policies. My

school district has a " kaleidoscope " program to prevent a classroom full

of non-verbal children. They open the ppcd classroom up to teacher's

typically developing kids, (ages 3-5) and neighborhood typical kids (if

there are not enough teachers' kids) and charge a nominal monthly fee to

attend ppcd preschool. It's wildly popular. I would ask your school to

implement such a program.

Need Help

Our son, Ethan was tested for the ppcd class last Friday. In a

previous meeting they told us that the PPCD class was devoid of

verbal children. Our developmental pediatrician told us that the

best thing for Ethan would be to be around verbal children. They

also told us that there was another autistic child in the PPCD

classromm, but he was non-verbal and severely autistic. Ethan is

high-functioning. When I took him for testing, of course, he did not

do well. He was in a room with lots of toys and a stranger he had

never been around before, so naturally she could not keep his

attention. He wanted to check out all the neat stuff in the room.

What made me mad was that the tester started saying, " Oh, I can see

he is just like the other boy, and he needs just what they other boy

needs. " My son is not " just like " anyone else. All children are

unique. I have a meeting with the PPCD teacher on the sixth, and the

ARD meeting is scheduled for the 16th. I taught in the public

schools for many years, and I know first-hand how pretty screwed

special needs kids can get by the system. I never planned to send

Ethan to public school, but the private schools near here don't have

any services for special kids at all. My thinking is this: let him

go to PPCD where he can get some speech therapy, and I will be there

for all meal times (since the head of the special ed department said,

" Well, I suppose if someone slips him a little something it won't

hurt. " I said, " Would you give a candy bar to a kid who is

diabetic? " ) I will see to it that Ethan gets to spend some time in

the pre-k class with verbal children, and then his dad and I will

drill him at home and either find a private ABA therapist or learn to

do this ourselves. Any advice you all could give me about which way

to go would be appreciated. Ethan is very bright; he just can't talk

very well, but his words are increasing, and he knows some signs. He

is really good at home about following commands.

Thanks,

Haven

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November 26, 2002

Opps. Forgot to add about the food issue. I pack breakfast, snack and

lunch (yes, it's a major pain, but the behavior change is worth

it)....and have personally instructed all classroom staff, nurse's

office and all other paperwork that says my child is on a highly

restricted, but medically necessary diet (if they balk, bring a doctor's

note).

The school knows my child may not eat any food unless I pack it. I've

instructed staff that yes, sneaking a crumb off the floor or someone's

snack at lunch is a no-no. We've also taught my child (who is high

functioning) that she cannot eat a lot of things...because it makes her

sick. She seems to understand.

To keep life simple, I usually send a month or two's worth of " safe "

snacks in sealed tupperwear-like containers in the classroom. They send

empty containers home for refills and I return them back full the next

day. It's no problem at all for the teachers.

To keep my life simple, I have staff heat her food in a microwave when

necessary. They've been wonderful.