Guest guest Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 Test results back today........Still showing less than 1 percentile year after year! 7 years old.....Going into 1st grade next year....no closer to understanding math concepts including rote counting......comprehension is severe....so frustrated right now! Our schools don't know how to teach kids with autism Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 , I'm so sorry for your disappointment! Move to Dayton. At the beginning of the year, my son couldn't count to 5 or read (he did know the sounds), didn't even know colors, but now he can do addition and subtraction, count to 100 with help or 39 without help, knows his colors and can read. He had a fabulous teacher. I am so happy. Marilyn PUBLIC SCHOOL SUCKS Test results back today........Still showing less than 1 percentile year after year! 7 years old.....Going into 1st grade next year....no closer to understanding math concepts including rote counting......comprehension is severe....so frustrated right now! Our schools don't know how to teach kids with autism Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 It really does boil down to the quality and the commitment of the teacher. I've had teachers I've loved, and teachers that did absolutely nothing for my child. I even pulled him out of a class from a teacher who was horrid. Please don't give up. Request a transfer to a different teacher or different school if you have to. I know every child is different, and you know your kid best. You might have to dig in hard and work with your child to see how he learns best and then teach the teacher how to work with him...I have an 8 year old and he has mastered 1st grade and a little of 2nd grade skills. I also have to realize that he will never be right on schedule with typical kids and that is frustrating, but we can't give up. Our children may come in last, but they will finish the race > > , > I'm so sorry for your disappointment! > Move to Dayton. At the beginning of the year, my son couldn't count to 5 or > read (he did know the sounds), didn't even know colors, but now he can do > addition and subtraction, count to 100 with help or 39 without help, knows > his colors and can read. > He had a fabulous teacher. I am so happy. > > Marilyn > > > > PUBLIC SCHOOL SUCKS > > Test results back today........Still showing less than 1 percentile year > after year! 7 years old.....Going into 1st grade next year....no closer to > understanding math concepts including rote counting......comprehension is > severe....so frustrated right now! Our schools don't know how to teach kids > with autism > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 They actually thought my son was on a kindergarten level in 6th grade in math. Then we found Halo and RPM. My son now uses a numberboard/letterboard at public school using the RPM method and in using this method by 8th grade he was commended on math TAKS at grade level and fully included. Haven uses this method in her home program as well in combination with other techniques and her son has also been successful. My son had no success with touch math or rote learning or ABA discrete trial teaching. Trina Test results back today........Still showing less than 1 percentile year after year! 7 years old.....Going into 1st grade next year....no closer to understanding math concepts including rote counting......comprehension is severe....so frustrated right now! Our schools don't know how to teach kids with autism Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 ,Now you are beginning to get the picture. Please don't wait until he is eleven before you hold them accountable. It would appear your child has made NO progress in their program and has been denied FAPE because a FAPE is defined by the Supreme Court as services and supports that WILL move a child forward and prepare the child for post secondary education, employment, and independent living. Your child has NO time to waste. I fear you cannot trust your district to implement programs, strategies, and supports that will work. They will try to string you along -- they may even tell you how wonderfully he is doing. What do his IEP progress reports look like? What percentage of IEP goals and objectives has he mastered since he has been there? Do you think the grades mesh with the work you've seen sent home? Match it up. It is possible they just did what they felt like and wrote down grades to look good to you. You'd have to do the homework to find out, but my guess is, given his scores on the standardized test, that his IEP progress grades don't mean anything at all. Has he been able to transfer skills from school to home? That is, if they say he has " mastered it " at school, can he demonstrate the skill at home?If you could get them to agree to send a teacher and an aide to HALO for RPM training, then get them to agree to purchase and use Reading Milestones fro a reading program, and I do believe Touch Math works for a lot of special kids and it has worked for mine, but we use RPM along with the RM and TM. I've found that TM can really help when he is having a hard time learning a new concept, but (Ethan's wonderful RPM tutor) folds portions of the paper back so that Ethan has to do more work in his head. If they sent one teacher and one aide for RPM tutoring, they could windup helping a lot of children and truly producing progress.I am guessing that your son needs (in the school setting) Two hours of RPM a day. Maybe since he is seven an hour and a half. This would allot thirty minutes toward reading, thirty toward writing, and thirty toward math on a daily basis. Your son also needs speech, social skills training, and probably OT, as well?Contact me off list for my # and if you want, we can talk about how we are going to amass the evidence you need to show them in order to get what is needed for your son. Based on your son's scores, the evidence will be in the comparison between IEP scores and the work you have or the district can show that will support those grades. My guess is that there will be a discrepancy. For those who don't know, any falsification or fabrication of grades is a violation of state and federal laws. It, of course, violates the IDEA and is a blatant denial of FAPE, and actually if a parent finds this, they can opt to go to the district attorney in addition to filing DP and file charges against any teacher who engages in this practice. If the DA refuses to pursue, a parent can go to the Justice Department and/or the OCR. It is a violation of the parents' rights under the IDEA as falsification of progress and failing to inform the parent of the child's actual state of progress denies the parent " meaningful participation " under the law. It is punishable by loss of teaching credentials and up to FIVE YEARS imprisonment.There is little accountability to the IDEA in Texas. Most schools wish to rely on " observation " as a criterion for mastery, and this is a horribly subjective method of determining a child's progress. I have a grade sheet (very simple) which I devised that can provide substantive accountability to a child's IEP progress if parents demand that schools use it and provide it to the parent every six weeks. I will send a copy to any parent who requests it with instructions on how to use it. I urge parents to deny " observation " as a criterion for mastery unless: the child is given a test each six weeks on the objectives that were covered that is either videotaped or audio taped and a copy of such provided to the parent; the parents must also inform the school that NO prompted answers may be counted as correct answers. A child must get something right on his/her own in order for it to be valid. A teacher or aide may prompt the child to " continue, " and they may point to the work, but they can do no more than that to see if the child can accomplish the task. Unfortunately, due to the lack of enforced accountability in this state, it is up to the parents to DEMAND accountability. You must REJECT the use of " observation, " Where the ARD states what criterion for mastery will be used, the parents must state: a portfolio containing all work used in the determination of the IEP grade, progress grades denoted in a fraction (NOT a percentage grade) which shows how many items on THAT particular objective were given during the six weeks and how many of those attempts were successful WITHOUT prompting. In addition parents must demand that a test be given each six weeks covering the objectives attempted during that six weeks. If no opportunities were given for a particular objective, then the teacher must note this in the IEP report (and YES, many teachers will give a grade for an objective that was never even covered during the six weeks). finally for criterion of mastery, you must have it written in the IEP that the parent will use yearly standardized testing to determine the validity of progress or the lack thereof. I spent 15 years teaching with thirteen of them in the public system, and the prevailing line of thought is " Here's his IEP. Do what you want, but just don't fail him. " Far too many teachers stick that IEP in a drawer and teach ALL the kids the same thing (which is OSFA and a violation of IDEA), and then when grading time rolls around, they pull grades out of a hat for the IEP. , you have found this out way ahead of many other parents. Many don' t realize what you have until their child is fifteen or so and they've believed all those wonderful " grades, " so they take their child to take the written driving test, and then find out their child was never taught to read. Texas is in the DARK AGES where autism education is concerned. You have to look at it from their point of view. When they hear " Autism " or " Asperger's " all they know is " Rain Man, " and they think educating these children is hopeless, and that we parents just cannot accept that our children are " brain damaged " and can't learn. They feel " so sorry " for us. they are entrenched in the mindset that our children are doomed to remain at home forever or be wards of the state, so they view any quality in education for them as a WASTE of TIME and MONEY. It is up to US to hold them accountable to the law, and by standing up for our own children, we help all these children. If enough parents hold them accountable, they will have no choice but to change their ways. You got me on my soap box again! I just get so angry every time I hear about this kind of thing. If a child is truly making progress it WILL show on standardized testing, unless the child is non-verbal, then it gets a little trickier but can be done. But with RPM methodology, even non verbal children can learn academics. It is a SIN and against the law to deny ANY child an academic education! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 I agree that schools need to be held accountable. But not at the expense of a child not getting what he/she needs. I do not believe that schools will be ready fast enough to help our kids. I know for many this is a crisis situation in that parents don't always have the options to homeschool or run home programs. But if you can, I'd work to get the child physically feeling better. Work on his health. I have no info about your situation, so forgive me if you are already understanding immune function, dietary changes, toxicity etc.... Not only do we need to align the appropriate teaching with the child's needs, we need to get the child in a better health spot. A child who is not inflammed. Honestly until my son was functioning better it didn't matter how talented of a teacher I was....he was gone and in his own world. I don't blame teachers in this situation. I couldn't teach my own son with current practices in the public school combined with his state of health at the time. Our kids need 1:1 and they are inflammed. And currently I don't agree at all with how the mainstream views autism. They see it as a behavioral disorder. ABA has purpose and we certainly benefitted from this, but this was one piece of a giant puzzle in getting our son well. The schools are using highly structured environments and nonsense like computer software for our kids. This will not only NOT help....in many cases it will make the autism worse. I'd look at RDI or Son-Rise and run my own home programs. We did Son-Rise and loved it. Intensive Body Ecology diet, biomed including homeopathy, chiropractic, colon cleansing, and last Brain Balance once the child is functioning higher. Not to say this is the way out for every child....just our story. But rather than spend money and time fighting a system that cannot possibly evolve fast enough, I vote to take matters into your own hands. 1 hour of speech is a joke. Freaking 10 hours of speech is a joke. Feeding a child sugar as a reinforcement is a joke. The bottom line is that the mainstream, medical community, and school systems don't believe our kids can be normal. They think they are genetically defective. They don't believe in our kids and judge the parents. They believe they are LIFELONG disabled. So best bet according to them, is to get your child as functional as possible. This is bullshit. I'm not saying every kid is going to fully recover, but best bet is to shoot for the stars...and see how far the kids can go. Rather than to decide from the start that they are special and need to have special programs designed to KEEP THEM IN THE SYSTEM. None of this is simple. I share my thoughts because there are other roads to travel other than the school system. Now that my kids are both normal and in the mainstream, though I'm a public trained teacher, NEITHER of my kids will enter the public school. We'll live in a tent and I'll homeschool to keep them safe if I have too. All the best!!!! > > , > > Now you are beginning to get the picture. Please don't wait until he is > eleven before you hold them accountable. It would appear your child has > made NO progress in their program and has been denied FAPE because a FAPE is > defined by the Supreme Court as services and supports that WILL move a child > forward and prepare the child for post secondary education, employment, and > independent living. > > Your child has NO time to waste. I fear you cannot trust your district to > implement programs, strategies, and supports that will work. They will try > to string you along -- they may even tell you how wonderfully he is doing. > What do his IEP progress reports look like? What percentage of IEP goals > and objectives has he mastered since he has been there? Do you think the > grades mesh with the work you've seen sent home? Match it up. It is > possible they just did what they felt like and wrote down grades to look > good to you. You'd have to do the homework to find out, but my guess is, > given his scores on the standardized test, that his IEP progress grades > don't mean anything at all. > > Has he been able to transfer skills from school to home? That is, if they > say he has " mastered it " at school, can he demonstrate the skill at home? > > If you could get them to agree to send a teacher and an aide to HALO for RPM > training, then get them to agree to purchase and use Reading Milestones fro > a reading program, and I do believe Touch Math works for a lot of special > kids and it has worked for mine, but we use RPM along with the RM and TM. > I've found that TM can really help when he is having a hard time learning a > new concept, but (Ethan's wonderful RPM tutor) folds portions of > the paper back so that Ethan has to do more work in his head. > > If they sent one teacher and one aide for RPM tutoring, they could windup > helping a lot of children and truly producing progress. > > I am guessing that your son needs (in the school setting) Two hours of RPM > a day. Maybe since he is seven an hour and a half. This would allot thirty > minutes toward reading, thirty toward writing, and thirty toward math on a > daily basis. > > Your son also needs speech, social skills training, and probably OT, as > well? > > Contact me off list for my # and if you want, we can talk about how we are > going to amass the evidence you need to show them in order to get what is > needed for your son. Based on your son's scores, the evidence will be in the > comparison between IEP scores and the work you have or the district can show > that will support those grades. My guess is that there will be a > discrepancy. For those who don't know, any falsification or fabrication of > grades is a violation of state and federal laws. It, of course, violates > the IDEA and is a blatant denial of FAPE, and actually if a parent finds > this, they can opt to go to the district attorney in addition to filing DP > and file charges against any teacher who engages in this practice. If the > DA refuses to pursue, a parent can go to the Justice Department and/or the > OCR. It is a violation of the parents' rights under the IDEA as > falsification of progress and failing to inform the parent of the child's > actual state of progress denies the parent " meaningful participation " under > the law. > > It is punishable by loss of teaching credentials and up to FIVE YEARS > imprisonment. > > There is little accountability to the IDEA in Texas. Most schools wish to > rely on " observation " as a criterion for mastery, and this is a horribly > subjective method of determining a child's progress. > > I have a grade sheet (very simple) which I devised that can provide > substantive accountability to a child's IEP progress if parents demand that > schools use it and provide it to the parent every six weeks. I will send a > copy to any parent who requests it with instructions on how to use it. > > I urge parents to deny " observation " as a criterion for mastery unless: the > child is given a test each six weeks on the objectives that were covered > that is either videotaped or audio taped and a copy of such provided to the > parent; the parents must also inform the school that NO prompted answers may > be counted as correct answers. A child must get something right on his/her > own in order for it to be valid. A teacher or aide may prompt the child to > " continue, " and they may point to the work, but they can do no more than > that to see if the child can accomplish the task. > > Unfortunately, due to the lack of enforced accountability in this state, it > is up to the parents to DEMAND accountability. You must REJECT the use of > " observation, " > > Where the ARD states what criterion for mastery will be used, the parents > must state: a portfolio containing all work used in the determination of > the IEP grade, progress grades denoted in a fraction (NOT a percentage > grade) which shows how many items on THAT particular objective were given > during the six weeks and how many of those attempts were successful WITHOUT > prompting. In addition parents must demand that a test be given each six > weeks covering the objectives attempted during that six weeks. If no > opportunities were given for a particular objective, then the teacher must > note this in the IEP report (and YES, many teachers will give a grade for an > objective that was never even covered during the six weeks). finally for > criterion of mastery, you must have it written in the IEP that the parent > will use yearly standardized testing to determine the validity of progress > or the lack thereof. > > I spent 15 years teaching with thirteen of them in the public system, and > the prevailing line of thought is " Here's his IEP. Do what you want, but > just don't fail him. " Far too many teachers stick that IEP in a drawer and > teach ALL the kids the same thing (which is OSFA and a violation of IDEA), > and then when grading time rolls around, they pull grades out of a hat for > the IEP. > > , you have found this out way ahead of many other parents. Many don' t > realize what you have until their child is fifteen or so and they've > believed all those wonderful " grades, " so they take their child to take the > written driving test, and then find out their child was never taught to > read. > > Texas is in the DARK AGES where autism education is concerned. You have to > look at it from their point of view. When they hear " Autism " or > " Asperger's " all they know is " Rain Man, " and they think educating these > children is hopeless, and that we parents just cannot accept that our > children are " brain damaged " and can't learn. They feel " so sorry " for us. > they are entrenched in the mindset that our children are doomed to remain at > home forever or be wards of the state, so they view any quality in education > for them as a WASTE of TIME and MONEY. It is up to US to hold them > accountable to the law, and by standing up for our own children, we help all > these children. If enough parents hold them accountable, they will have no > choice but to change their ways. > > You got me on my soap box again! I just get so angry every time I hear > about this kind of thing. If a child is truly making progress it WILL show > on standardized testing, unless the child is non-verbal, then it gets a > little trickier but can be done. But with RPM methodology, even non verbal > children can learn academics. It is a SIN and against the law to deny ANY > child an academic education! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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