Dara

New Member
Well, what a year. I dont know when I was last on the board. Here is a brief update: In oCtober, Sammy switched schools too complicated and long to get into now. The new school is very structured and only 11 kids in the class. The problem is that Sammy ahs started acting out in the school. I also now have to pick him up at 12:30 because he was having potty accidents in the afternoon. He is fine when they go as a group but on his own he cant do it. For instance: one day I came to pick him up and he was in the bathroom. He comes out and I said oh you made a pee pee and he said no, I have to go pee pee and went back in the potty. My questions is what the heck was he doing in there? He was asked not to be in the music program next week due to behavior. They wanted to put him in a 3 year old clasroom because of his behavior but we all agree that he is too bright and will be bored. He is ahead of the kids academically but cant function in the classroom so, we are looking into placing him in a speical needs school for kids who dont fall into any category and we are looking into a school that works on helping him function in a normal class... Never a dull moment in our house! Have any of you had any experience with any of these kinds of schools?
 

smallworld

Moderator
Dara, I'm sorry things continue to be so rough in your household. While my kids never attended special-needs preschools, my son is now in a special education program for emotionally fragile high schoolers. It is meeting his needs at this time. Similarly, any program you are looking at should meet Sammy's needs at this time. Have you had a chance to visit the new school? Do you think it's a good fit for Sammy?
 

Nancy423

do I have to be the mom?
both my kids went to a Special Education preschool in the district (qualified for ST) so I know they're out there. My son entered the state's early intervention program at age 2 for speech delay.

Why can't they modify his work to reflect his level of education but keeping him in an enviornment that works for his behavior?
 

Critter Lover

New Member
I have a friend that she put her autistic son in an autistic school and only praises the outcome that she has seen from her son. If my son would have been diagnosed earlier with autism instead of at 17 then I would have definitely put him in a school that understood how to get through these kids to be able to learn. Your child is young enough that it would be definitely be helpful. I would highly suggest you check the schools out and that might help you decide whether your child will excel there or not.

I had to rely on public school system at the time who had no idea autism
was even a part of my child all through his school. They just labeled him either Language delayed, Slow learning disabled and the last one was labeled Educably Mentally disabled. With all the info out there today and what they know....you are sitting in a better situation than I was when my child was 3 yrs old.

Good luck in your decision.

HUGS,
Critter Lover
 

Dara

New Member
We are working with someone who does placement for these schools. She talks to us, observes Sammy and gives us her top 3 choices that would fit Sammy best. The school Sammy is at now is not for special needs and they just dont know how to deal with him. They have never dealt with a special needs kid before and they dont adjust their expectations to fit Sammy. They are a great school for the average cookie cutter kid but Sammy isnt one of those. Everyone tells me to go through the school district. he does not qualify for anything from them. He unfortunately, tests too well one on one. the schools we are looking at are for pre-k to high school, they are for kids who hopefully will be able to be mainstreamed so not for severely autistic ordelayed children. Sammy is seemingly normal until you really get to know him and he is quite quirky which I have never considered to be a bad thing. He just is overly anxious and volitile and does not have the common sense that most children have to make good decisions left to his own. Today was great reassurance that we will be doing the right thing with this. i went to talk to his class about Hanukkah and we sat in circle time and read a short story about it. They were telling me about the disruptive noises he made in circle time and I got to see it first hand. This way, instead of getting in trouble for things like this, he will be in a situation that teaches him how to cope with his feelings and excitementand use it the appropriatly. The past 2 days he has been really weepy and I have asked why are you crying and he says he doesnt know
which I am sure he really doesnt....
 

smallworld

Moderator
I'm glad you're getting some professional help in finding the right school setting for Sammy. When was the last time you tried to get him qualified for a Special Education placement in the SD? With a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis and new testing, he might qualify at this point.
 

jal

Member
Hi Dara, I remeber some of your posts regarding Sammy. My difficult child is 6 and has a diagnosis of BiPolar (BP) and ADHD. We are thinking he actually may be high functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). We went through our school system (we were on them from age 3) but as difficult child did not have any Learning Disability (LD)'s they could not help him with special needs pre-school. We stayed in contact with-them and met before kindergarten. By week 3 they realized he needed an IEP. He got supports and a para and year went pretty well. Come 1st grade they realized they did not have the staff or the services to help him. We got an out of district placement at a program that is housed in a main stream school. This program functions in it's own wing and works to help the kids function in a classroom environment. He is in a class of 8. They have classes for autistic, behavioral/emotional and physically incapacitated children. For my difficult child's program as he successfully works in his environment he will be mainstreamed. Once he can function mainstream he will return to district. I am very pleased with the program and his teacher and therapist. He has only been there over a month but already academically he is learning so much. He is very smart, but also has a lot of sensory issues which prevent him from functioning well in a large class of 16 children. Now with a lot more 1 on 1 the kid's math is exploding and his reading is coming a long. I don't know how he knew it, but just the other day he wrote out 2 million and 11 dollars. He wrote the number and said that's 2million and 11 dollars - perfectly - I was floored and so proud for him.

We were able to chose or deny the program. We weren't pigeoned holed into it. I don't know if not going through your SD means your going to pay out of pocket, but going through ours since they could not provide the environment for him, they had to pick up the cost of tuition and transportation. I am pleased so far with the staff and program.

Good luck to you!
 

Dara

New Member
We just had an IEP for Sammy in September. He just had speech yesterday and they they said next week will be his last week. We have done testing with them but again, one on one, Sammy tests beautifully it is in the classroom with more children is where he has problems. They dont seem to have any schools in our school district for this. Everything is downtown so we will see what happens..
 

Steely

Active Member
How is home going? Is it better?

And husband is he feeling better?

Has the Depakote helped in any way you can see?

I definitely think finding the right school that care really address these sorts of problems is the way to go.
 

Dara

New Member
Home is pretty much the same. Not much change there. husband is struggeling We still dont know what type of MS it is but it looks more like progressive. There are days he cant walk at all. That is really hard on Sammy. husband also has a job with a really long commute and since it is not a family friendly place, his hours stink too so that too is difficult for Sammy. We just had a 23 hour EEG done and Sammy is no longer having seizures. The Neuro wants to ween him off of the Depakote because he thinks it not doing good things for Sammy. We are also doing a sleep study in January because Sammy is in constant motion at night and isnt sleeping well. He is also complaining of ankle pain so he thinks it could be restless leg syndrome. Finding the right school for Sammy may take a lot of stress off of him during the day and might help in many other areas as well. Now I must go and take the dog to the vet because it seems that she might be having some neuro problems as well. I think we are going to move. We need to get out of this house!
 

Steely

Active Member
So sorry things are so rough.

I don't understand, how can they take Sammy off Depakote if he has had a history of seizures. I assume they are going to put him on another seizure medication?

Give hugs to the pup.
I know the feeling about moving. I will move soon, because just too many bad things have happened here.
 
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