difficult child may get kicked off the bus!

[butterfly31972]

Today when I went to pick up my son from the bus stop, the new driver of 4 days was complaining that he was not sitting still on the bus, standing in the seat and putting his hands out the window, etc. I was so upset. Last year Ihe rodr the bus and was fine but they had seats with seat belts and a bus monitor.
Now he is in danger of getting kicked off.
I explained that his IEP is Significantly Developmentally Delayed and that we think he is ADHD but the doctor wants to wait on medications cause he is only 5 AND he rode a special meeds bus last year and she said Ok, that makes a d ifference as to how fast he will get kicked off the busand to talk to him ourselves and see if he will do better. I was so embarassed. I know he knows what to do. He is just too and needs 4 or 5 verbal prompts to sit down in his seat which is not safe for the driver. AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! Now I may have to pick him up in carpool
but I am hoping he works it put. He needs to stay mainstreamed if he can!
Thanks for letting me vent!

 

[jannie]

I'm sorry you already hearing complaints....Please check his IEP, is special education transportation part of his IEP...if so, they need to provide additional support on the bus. There should be an aide on the bus that can provide the needed prompting and cueing.....Be strong...demand additional support on the bus....also, you may need to add "student must wear harness (seatbelt) on the bus as part of his IEP...With this clause they must provide seat belts....

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

That's right! They have to accomodate him.

 

[BusynMember]

Your son has the exact same issues mine did at his age, although is speech had started to erupt by then.
I worked as a bus aide on a special needs bus. Regular buses don't have to have seat belts and most don't.
I would go with the special needs bus. I personally would rather my kid be safe than mainstreamed for bus service. My son still gets special needs bus service--they take him to a different school district--and he likes it. He knows all the kids and it is predictable for him. He is fifteen, mainstreamed this year (with supports if he needs help) and I feel his early special education brought him this far.
I would not have wanted him on the regular bus. At the age of your son, he would not have stayed in his seat and I would have been frightened. Regular bus drivers have too many kids to watch ours. Special Needs buses have aides to make sure all the kids are safe and belted (that was my job).

 

[Sheila]

If transportation isn't in his IEP as a related service, he can be kicked off the bus.

If it's not written in the IEP, I'd call an IEP meeting to have transportation included. (This may be one of those minor changes that can be done without a full-blown IEP meeting.)

Sorry -- I hate it when school gets off to a bad start.

 

[Fran]

been there done that. It's so demoralizing to hear complaints every day about out of control behavior. Your instinct at this age is to circle the wagons and protect him.
I hope your son can pull it together or you can get a special needs aide or special needs bus.
I know you want him mainstreamed but he isn't acting within the rules of mainstream. If your son loses an arm because he had it out of the bus, the first question is "why was he on a mainstream bus if his behavior was not appropriate for a bus". A bus driver can't watch the road and watch that many kids.
I agree all buses should have aides. Way too much naughty behavior on buses even with mainstream up through high school.
I hope someday that your son's behavior can be dealt with in a way that doesn't make him feel ostracized(although my son was oblivious to how other's viewed him- still doesn't seem to care much) but until then, safety first for your son and the other children.

It's just the first warning. Work with him and the school. Hopefully it won't continue to be an issue.

 

[nvts]

Hi! You can have a miniwagon with an aide with limited travel time added to his IEP. I think the limited travel time might require a medical (the ADHD and impulsivity could cause him to jump off the bus at the wrong stop) and could slow things down. Adding the miniwagon shouldn't take very long. You've got seat belts and a matron on it.

It's better than dealing with bus suspensions! Trust me - been there done that!

Beth

 

[OpenWindow]

We put transportation into difficult child's IEP. It's the most unsupervised and unpredictable part of his day and he just couldn't handle it. It's also the time when the other kids tease and bully the most. He was moved to the special needs bus for the past 2 years and has done fine. This year they are trying to mainstream him back to the regular bus and it's working out so far.

I say in this case safety first. He can be mainstreamed at school but not on the bus. I'd fight for an aid on the bus, or at the very least the special needs bus. It's much quieter on that bus and so much easier for difficult children. If he starts his day well (on the bus), the rest of his day at school is also much more likely to go well.

Linda

 

[butterfly31972]

Thanks everyone! I considered what you all wrote and decided to go ahead and callthe school for the special needs bus transportation sheet. They said because he has an IEP they should be able to change his transportation arrangements. I was hoping he would be able to be mainstreamed but alas, that is not to be;at least on the bus. He is also being pulled out for special help for 45 minutes for help during the Language Arts time. He cannot seem to focus in a classroom of 20.

 

[Fran]

You are a smart warrior mom to get ahead of this before difficult child is really falling apart and everyone is stressed. Way To Go!

 

[OpenWindow]

I think that's a good choice. in my humble opinion, the bus is the hardest part of the day to get through.

 

[Sheila]

Glad it seems to be working out.

 

[threebabygirls]

I am a school bus driver. I applaud your decision in asking for special needs transportation. Not only are you keeping your son safe, you're helping to keep everyone else's kids safe as well.
My least favorite duty as bus driver is having kids "kicked off." However, it's my job to get EVERYONE (me and my kids included) to school and back safely.

 

[Christy]

Good move. Way to be proactive

 

[TerryJ2]

Butterfly, just wanted to lend my support. You sound like you're on the ball. Way To Go.
It's not easy with-these kids!

 

[butterfly31972]

Thanks everyone! I just want to do the right thing for everyone and not stick my head in the sand!