Help with upcoming IEP

[Guest guest]

My name is Terri and my 10 year old daughter has a diagnosis of

ADHD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Asperger's. is a

beautiful little girl and to the naked eye looks very normal on the

outside. On the inside though, there is a lot going on with her.

Characteristics:

She has no friends to speak of. She is hyper-active, impulsive, does

not understand cause and effect, does not understand social cues, facial

cues or body language, does not understand the passing of time and

cannot stay on task, she has many sensory issues, she does not feel pain

or cold, she does not sleep well at night due to over-stimulation in the

brain. She also has auditory problems. She is also clinically

depressed, because she knows she is different from other kids her age

and doesn't know how to change that.

School:

She is high functioning, gets average grades and is able to stay in

mainstream school with the help of her meds. The school is telling us

that as long as she is keeping her grades up, they do not need to do

anything else for her. She used to have a lot of behavior issues in

school and was able to get more help with OT, special ed and getting

sensory breaks, but now due to the right meds, she is not displaying the

behaviors anymore. In the structured setting at school, is

keeping herself together pretty well.

I am happy that is doing so well in school, but they are not

helping her with the underlying problems. This year they have removed

from getting any help with Special Ed. She is under a 30 minute

observation per month only. She is not getting any help with social

skills and cues. She is not getting any sensory help. has told

me several times though that there is a lot of noise and it is hard for

her to concentrate while taking tests. She also commented that it is

very loud in the lunch room. hears noise levels several times

louder than the rest of us. She is also not getting any help with

organization.

Home:

Mornings are very stressful. can not consistently stay on task.

She has to be reminded constantly to stay on task and since she does not

understand the passing of time, she does not allow herself the right

amount of time to get herself out the door on time to catch the bus. On

non-school days her behavior is very unpredictable. She is very

impulsive and does not think about the consequences of her actions. She

is very inquisitive and is constantly getting into something or putting

herself at risk of getting hurt.

She does not have any friends, therefore she does not get to interact

with any girls that are her age. 's brother is two months older

than her and in the same grade. He has friends over quite often. I am

finding that hormones are going pretty wild with the boy's and .

She is very vulnerable, so I now have to keep her where I can keep my

eye on her while her brothers friends are over. does not

understand boundaries nor understand what is appropriate behavior. Now,

she literally has no one to play with.

Since she is not getting any sensory breaks at school, pretty

much comes home from school and lets loose, which is fine. But there is

no getting her to do homework. She just can't do it. The school has

complied with this request. But now I am wondering if that is the right

decision.

Do we keep pacifying her by not requiring her to do homework or do we

challenge her to try to do better?

She also does not want to read books. She comprehends very well, but

does not have the patience to sit and read. I am afraid that if she is

not required to do homework, she is not going to be able to keep up with

school starting next year when the requirements are much higher.

Does anyone know what we can ask the school to do to help her make the

transition to 6th grade?

I am so afraid of next year, when she is going to have to change classes

six times a day. I picture her going to her locker and getting

distracted by another student, the commotion of the hallways, bells

ringing and having to figure out what she needs for her next class in

three minutes time. She is not organized and I don't see it happening.

How can I get the school to understand that she needs sensory breaks?

What kind of social skills training can the school do for ?

The school has been given copies of all her diagnosis and professional

recommendations. The school is not looking at any of the

recommendations, nor are they listening to me the person who knows her

the best.

In a letter to the school from her Psychiatrist:

Her symptoms cause significant impairment in functioning, and

appropriate school accommodations and adequate supports are critical for

future success. Without appropriate supportive services and treatment,

she will be at risk for decline in function. She has difficulties with

executive functioning, lacks appropriate social skills, and has

significant sensory issues. She does better with routine and structure,

and would benefit from ongoing activities which foster appropriate

social skills.

Part of my problem is that I don't know what to ask the school to do. I

am assuming that they know what type of help kids with Autism need. But

that is definitely not the case here.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Terri