I have a little six-year-old who is moderately autistic. She has been in our school for 3 years and has been in inclusion in kinder and now first. The parents think she belongs there. None of her teachers do.
She has a full-time para who is a sweet but very loud lady. There is very little training available for this lady, and although she has gone to a few workshops, she seems frustrated and unable to handle the child. She is new to our school and makes it known that this was not what she signed up to do.
The student has made very little progress academically. She tends to do everything by rote and I'm pretty sure the para gives her most of the answers.
Her behavior has never been good. Initially, there was daily crying and verbal outbursts. They were short and we managed.
Since Halloween, she has been extremely upset every day and has started temper tantrums. On Halloween, she displayed aggression towards another little student who was wearing a brightly colored bow in her hair. The autistic child got out of her seat repeatedly and pulled the other child's hair. I was by myself as my para was at lunch.
Now, she is roaming about the room, tearing things up and ripping things off the wall. She refuses to come to recess and goes flat out in the hallway. She also refuses to leave the playground. There are constant screaming and outbursts when I am teaching.
The other 17 children in my class are obviously suffering. My para is obviously upset. The student is obviously not in the least restrictive environment. And the principal is afraid of the parents. The mother in particular has a history of threatening the school and sending nasty emails to the teachers and the principal. I would think that for all the school is doing to help her child, she would be grateful and kind, but she is hostile and angry.
Please don't tell me what research says about mainstreaming the autistic student. I know. This child needs a behavior system that is highly structured and a much smaller student-to-teacher ratio. I feel like we are doing her a disservice.
This link will take you to an autistic intervention program.
http://www.redandgreenchoices.com/
There's some marvelous sites on the 'net that can give you a better perspective on the situation. From experience you must address the behaviors first - academics will naturally follow. As far as the para goes - it is up to you to set the example. Honestly, you will be probably be teaching both the child AND the para social skills. Be proactive - try to identify what triggers the child. Also, sometimes it helps if you enlist the rest of the class. Explain the best you can what is happening in the classroom and ask them to help you make the child feel comfortable and welcome.
Not much help I know. Each situation is unique. I teach 6 with multiple disorders and believe it or not, it is possible to have order in your classroom. You've just got to go that extra (EXTRA) mile.
I had a similar experience this year as a resource teacher and the child was obviously placed in an inappropriate environment. Inspite of my best efforts, I could not get anyone to listen to me ...until the day I was injured by the child who was then removed and placed in a stricter environment.
So, having had this horrible experience, here are a few ideas I can offer you and I'm really hoping you are in a public school system:
*document everything, both in narration and using a checklist so you can get some numerical data. For example, time on task/off task, hitting or touching other children, and successes. How you modified work, interventions and the results of including dates. Make a chart and put it on a clipboard. Your asst. can help collect data for you.
*call out the SPED forces. I assume you have a resource teacher and school psyc. at your school? Ask them to come in, observe and give you help. Hopefully you have a person in charge of behavioral disorders or an autistic specialist in the district. I would ask to have direct time from the austic specialist put on the IEP and to include training for you and the asst. If you feel the IEP does not meet her needs, ask the SPED teacher to call either a special review or atleast an educator's meeting.
*If you feel that you or other students may be harmed by this student, put it in writing and give a copy to the principal. Be sure the principal knows what is going on in the classroom. I would ask the principal to come and observe your class. You need to know that they support you and what is best for all of your students.
*A couple of things helped my student; increased meds and time out of the class to help with his sensory needs. He would visit the PMD class and get to bounce in the balls, bean bag chair, a swing etc. You might want to talk to the OT about a huggy vest or one of those cushions that gives feedback so she can sit still. Ask if a sensory diet is appropriate and get directions as to how and when. You should probably create a corner in the classroom with a beanbag chair or place she can go to stim if she has to, rather than roaming.This can be a reward for completed work.
*The child does belong to the parents and I don't know how reasonable they are, but asking them for help might be a good thing. They might be able to tell you what calms her at home and how to get the best behavior. Most likely they are very stressed too, but if you can get them working with you and supporting you, you'll be better off.
*Oh yes, reduce the stimulation in your class if possible, lower the lights (use the overhead instead) , play soft music for independent work, you can try headphones, we called them "quiet ears" for reading. You can get them at Walmart in the hunting section to block out loud noises $6. Yes, you need a behavior system, but you should get this support from your SPED team. Do you know about making a visual schedule? Use lots and lots of visuals. You might try books on tape. Ask your asst. to lower her voice and speak softly in the classroom. I hope some of these ideas are helpful and I'm so sorry.
You've listed a lot of the problems that this student is having, but what supports, besides an assistant, are there in place for this student? Visual scheduling? Visual transition supports? Does she speak? If not, or if she is not adept at speaking, does she have another reliable method of communication? Has she had a functional behavior assessment or a behavior intervention plan? Does she have sensory needs that need to be addressed through occupational therapy? I could go on, and on, because behavior support for children with autism is part of my job.
You can't talk about LRE without talking about "all needed supports and services."
Yes, she gets OT but just once a week. Our OT is only on campus on Mondays. Functional communication? None except screaming and crying. She doesn't speak and doesn't have much receptive language. No response to verbal or visual cues. She does sporadically respond to written prompts. I made these up for lack of a better idea: I am going to my cubby now, I am standing in line now, etc.
Behavior intervention plans? Many, and these have been revised since school started. The para is unable to follow through on much of the reward and consequence system that is in place. I have tried to address this with the principal and she refuses to listen. The child's verbal outbursts have actually increased since school began, and I have noted that we never extinguish a behavior; she quickly substitutes a new one in its place.
The behavior specialist - since we are not an ESE school - is working between us and 30 other schools this year. He is wonderful but comes very sporadically. He tries to talk with the para and has observed that she is not following through.
The child is enrolled in the language program at our school and is also labelled SLD. The language teacher sees her about 15 minutes a day and the SLD 60 minutes a week. The mother, I am told, got the county to label the child language-impaired so that she could be at our school. We are not her home school.
I thought that autism implied a language deficit. I don't agree that these are separate disorders.
The problems for me are these: very unsupportive boss, para with minimal skills, angry mom, loud student, and 17 others. Seven of the seventeen others are language delayed. My regular ed kids are suffering. Five of them copied this child's behavior in music class and they all got in trouble for rolling around on the carpet. Their response to me? "She did it, why can't we?"
If it were up to me, I'd be glad to work with this little girl one-on-one every day. But, I have a whole class of others waiting to learn to read.
I have training in MR. But, I haven't worked with special needs children since the 1980s. I have been a reg. ed. teacher.
And if I tell the truth to the mom about the child's progress, she sends nastygrams. I am not allowed to send anything home but a perfect paper or I can get myself in big trouble. I feel like I lie and cover up to hide what is really going on academically and behaviorally.
I don't like my job this year and I can't make it work for this child or the other 17 children.
None of the above dismisses the responsibility of the school district to provide an appropriate placement and LRE for the child. I still feel you need to make the calls followed up by written letters with c.c.'s to the important people. Document in a professional way that you are asking for increased help to properly meet the needs of the child and that it is having a negative impact on the child as well as your class . Even if your boss doesn't support you, a well written statement asking for support and thanking in advance for the support may help gain his/her respect.
I totally understand you not liking your job this year. Hopefully this can be resolved soon.
What's the deal with the para? If the principal isn't concerned about her being incapable of performing her job, can you pull in special education administration to help you? If the para sucks, to be blunt, you're dead in the water because any support ideas just can't be implemented.
I've never heard of a dual diagnosis of SLD and Autism either, and I share your doubts as to whether that is even possible. How the heck can you even assess her skills if the kid has limited communication?
And it's not inclusion or mainstreaming anyway if the kid isn't at their home school.
I have a lot of suggestions I could make, but like I said, with a para who isn't doing their job, plus all these other things falling into the cracks. . . .is the student getting speech therapy? Because it would be the SLP's job to oversee communication, and that is usually the biggest issue for kids with ASD. If you can't tell someone what you want, screaming, biting, hitting, and all those other things take the place of what you want to say.
lunalu is right that a child is still entitled to FAPE. I don't necessarily agree that the child doesn't belong in a regular classroom though, because if a student hasn't been in a regular classroom with appropriate supports and services, how would you know?
The student was in a self-contained language preschool for 2 years. It was a small class with a very experienced teacher - an SLP. At the end of preschool, she was NOT recommended for regular kindergarten. The mother ignored the SLP and got the county to 'label' her as language-delayed. The mother insisted (demanded?) that she stay at our school. The mother is an attorney.
The county has now disbanded the self-contained language program, saying that these teachers are not 'highly qualified.'
So, those teachers are now 'consultants' and come in and help their kids within the regular ed classroom. As I stated, I get 30 minutes a day with the SLP helping me and I have 7 language kids.
Anyway, I got off the track. The student was with a WONDERFUL para last year who is becoming a teacher. This para is now interning and couldn't come back. The child was AWFUL all last year. She spent most of her time out of the room being walked around the campus. She was disruptive, crawled around under the furniture, screamed, and upset the other kids every single day. I was right down the hall from the class last year. You could hear this student all over the school. There were 22 in her kindergarten class.
Althought the para I have now is inexperienced, I don't think that is the main thing. The student was observed today during a 20-minute center time while the para was at lunch:
Climbed a 6' bookcase, tried to climb a floor-to-ceiling window, pulled the numbers off the calendar, dumped the big book carrel, stepped on a group of kids who were on the rug working with Legoes, stepped on the big books, the list goes on and on. There were 3 incidences of crying today and she screamed "Sad face" 10 times. There were 2 tantrums on the floor.
I don't think this student has the right placement.
We have autistic classrooms with very small classes and trained teachers and 2-3 paras but not at my school. These programs have every available resource person right there and on site, but not at my school.
An SLP from one of these autistic units did come over one day to observe this child. She thought the placement was wrong.
The approach we are using to help this child is like a patchwork quilt, and it's not working. If I speak the truth, I could get sued by the mom. The mom is in a strong state of denial and tells us she thinks the little girl can do many things that she cannot. It's so sad, but it's also my responsibility to look out for ALL my kids, not just the one.
Gosh, isn't it always our worst fear? What could you get sued for? As long as you are following the IEP and documenting that, I don't think she could sue you personally. Now, would your school consider going through Due Process to get the student in an appropriate placement? probably not. I felt that my school district would sooner feed me to the wolves before taking up against the parent. I'm glad to hear that you have others observing. I hope they are writing them up as formal observations. I still think parental support is key. Can you bring the parent in for a conference with the multidisciplinary team and try to problem solve?
I happened to reach your site on a search for support materials. I'm not a teacher but am a mom of a child with autism. As I read through the string of email, I tried to make a list of all the obstacles to success this child faces and another for all of the opportunities that exist for her to be successful. When I do, I'm convinced that the para is a considerable source of dysfunction to this child's program. I might suggest that you videotape the child during an isolated part of her day "for training purposes" to capture the context. A picture is worth a thousand words. Mom may be a lawyer but in her heart of hearts, she can't accept that she's helping provide any quality of life for her child. The para either has to go, or has to undergo extensive training. Not everyone has the temperment to deal w/kids on the spectrum. And I know a few very verbal children with no speech delays who have been diagnosed on the spectrum. My son receives SLP, OT, SI therapies. He has a great supportive teacher at school, a highly trained interventionist/para paid by the school district to shadow him 6 hours/day, 5 days/week. I advocate well for my child. In the end, your school district has an absolute ethical and legal obligation to help this child succeed and thrive in her educational environment. I'm really sad when I think, even for just a moment, about how a school day-every school day-for this little girl must really, really suck (pardon the vulgarity). But oh, the possibilities! Happy Holidays and keep your spirits up. Your heart is in the right place.
This sounds like my classroom, for three years now, after being asked by SPED administrators to work with an autistic 6 year old. I accepted the challenge because I was not informed of the abuse that the prior teacher had suffered from the child's mother. Mother transferred the student to our school because of my reputation as a compassionate teacher and student advocate. I recently celebrated my 27th year of teaching. These last three years have been overwhelmingly awful.
I welcomed this family with open arms because I believed that this child could succeed in a regular class setting, with sixty minutes of resource support, daily. She recieves OT and APE weekly. Speech services are delivered five times weekly. In three years, the mother, who is a lawyer, has harrassed 7 paras and administrators with constant threats of sueing. Though our paras are trained, none of them met mother's expectations. She insists that the para do everything for the girl from packing her books to helping her in the bathroom and tieing her shoes. Mother feels that because the child demonstrates strength in reading fluency,she is able to perform other third grade academic tasks. She is unable to focus on text without the para tracking words and turning the pages. In addition to ALL of the other issues that you have mentioned, she wets her pants weekly. She attackes other kids on the playground at least once a month. She has kicked or hit every para. She refuses to learn to tie her shoes and she passes gas frequently during the day.
As the child's case manager, I am responsible for overseeing her academic and social progress. Mother requests IEP meetings on a monthly basis. Did I mention that she serves as an advocate for other parents at our school, and she encourages them to request frequent IEP meetings which last form 2 to 4 hours---on a good day. An outside behavior specialist accompanies parent to each meeting and we constantly revise the student's behavior plan. A district autisim specialist visits the regular classroom, weekly, to provide training for the para and regular teacher------In short I am the "go to girl" for every team member. Since January, I've spent so much time documenting that my other students have recieved very little, fragmented instruction. I spend one forth of every school day, resolving some issue regarding this student, not to mention the one hour of constant outbursts that we endure during his one hour of resource service.
There are two autistic children and one mentally retarded child in my family. Two of the children are enrolled in special classrooms and one autistic child is in the general classroom. I understand the importance of keeping children in the mainstream; unfortunately, some children cannot be placed in the regular setting untill they have met some standard of social and academic achievement. My only escape from this nightmare is a transfer.
Not only your children are getting a disservice by not being able to have your full attention since it is on this particular child, but the child herself is getting a disservice by not being in a 0ne-to-one ratio autism class where the teachers specialize in special needs children. If the mom is so concerned about the mainstream part, autism schools take time out in the day to visit mainstream classes so that the child also adapts to typical children as well. I think this is the principles job to have a meeting with you as the teacher and the parents to recommend the child get into her special education department through the school district. I think the principle could also have the special needs coordinator there present so that the mother gets the proper education and direction for her child.
I am a mother of an autistic boy who has flourished to his fullest potential in an autism specified school. When he was young I also made the mistake of mainstreaming him thinking he just 'needed the social interaction to help him improve'. He now has improved much more in autism schools because they break down education for their level so that they actually learn from it.
If you need more information call your district and ask for the special education department. The coordinator there could direct you in what to do for this child
You yourself do not seem qualifed to be teaching a student with Autism. Ask for help and attend conferences. Maybe then you will see a different light in this child instead of as some behavior problem in your space. She obviously needs a picture schedule and a daily routine to keep her in control of her surroundings....Children with autism sense what people are feeling towards them and maybe she feels your negativity. And please...never say "the autistic child".....the correct term is "child diagnosed with Autism" I am a teacher..and an aunt to twin boys with Autism. I'm not an expert...but, I can tell that you need A LOT of help....If I were the parent of this child in your room I would remove my child because you obviously have no motivation to help my child succeed. Autism is being diagnosed more and more these days....get educated and stop trying to fix a problem by crying about it.... It's because of teachers like you that my twins are having a difficult time finding their own in a world so blind!
11-25-2006, 03:44 PM
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