Autism and the Nashua Schools

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Abbott on April 18, 2010 at 8:28am

Unfortunately I think all of us feel this way most the time. If you haven’t already, I would set up a meeting with your concerns and the reasons for them. In my experience, I have found the school to take notice when I have concrete concerns with experienced facts vs. just a concern of what might happen. Maybe other parents may know what they have experienced with the transition in to middle school. I bet their experience will hopefully ease some of the concerns you have or help you compile a list to discuss with the school.

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Permalink Reply by Jodie Lucci on April 18, 2010 at 2:05pm

Hi,

I am in a different district and faced the same issues. My son is 9 and a half and had been diagnosed PDD-NOS with severe language impairment (Apraxia as far as I can tell) and suspected ADHD. I learned that it took a lot of communication and enormous effort and by April of every year he was finally getting what I felt was needed (or close). The process began anew every year. It also took a very detailed formal (out of my pocket) evaluation with specific to do steps outlined. And still they didn't implement all of them. I ended up getting a private speech therapist because the school insisted that they were using something that was essentially the same. If I had a do over I would have gotten the evaluation much earlier and gotten an advocate.

I am sure the people at the school were trying hard within their own constraints, I never felt that they were being dismissive or deliberately obstructionist. It' just that it was soo much work and they were not able to give him what he needed anyway.

In the end I decided to homeschool and invested this past year in some dramatic changes. Diet changes(gluten & dairy free, we'd been dairy free for a few years and it helped but not enough), private speech 1x/week, (it had been 2x/week of private last year when he was in school) & speech at the school 3x/week (keeping a good relationship paid off), and psychologist visits to work on the extreme behavior we saw at home and out in the world that didn't show up in the school). I was warned by people working in school systems that peer tolerance/interactions began to disintegrate by 4th grade. This speeded my decision as my brother is developmentally delayed and I remember how unkind his peers were.

We began to see dramatic improvement within 6 weeks of gluten free both in decrease in tantrums and increase in growth both academic and physical, but it wasn't until March ( 6 months of behavior therapy) that there was so much improvement that I feel lighter than air. He is not "cured" but he can actually converse now and strangers even understand him most of the time. And more importantly it no longer feels like a warzone at home and he made it through a busy trip to the mall with not even a hint of a problem!

It is hard to figure out what portion of the advances are developmental and would have happened anyway. My got tells me that the changes were necessary.

I will confess that it has not been easy and I do have help. I'm involved with a very supportive homeschool coop and some of the other moms have kids with similar issues. I work 20-50 hrs/week and while at work either my mother, sister, or husband supervises the kids. I've also been homeschooling the older two (15 & 12) right along, so I didn't have a learning curve in that area to deal with.

Best wishes and good luck,

Jodie

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Permalink Reply by Wendy Buffum on April 21, 2011 at 10:10am

Jodie - Where did you find and advocate and behaviotal theraoy? I am looking for someone to be in my corner and looking for outside help with tantrums and non perferred behaviors.

Any suggestions from anyone would be great!

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Permalink Reply by Lori Rogers on April 22, 2010 at 8:42am

Hi
you should go to the conference tonight at NHSS south high school, the director of speical ed will be there as well as other parents and teachers, you can ask your questions, Middle school stinks for all students, but especially those on the spectrum check out this link 5-7 pm babysitting provided.
http://www.notjustonedisability.com/
Lori

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Permalink Reply by Lori Rogers on April 24, 2010 at 6:50am

Also...If you are not happy with the IEP then do not sign it, or if you are happy with the IEP and it is not being followed, that is a different story. And against the contract. In middle school a weekly progress team meeting can be written in to the IEP and then must be done. Will she have multiple teachers or 1 teacher? Write up a "tip sheet" for your daughter, things that bug her, help, ways to speak to her, challenges and strengths. If she is on a "regular team" with several teachers, they all need to get to know her and her learning style. Anything you can do to make it easier for them to teach her is great! What about sending in a "binder" to each teacher with photos and descriptions from the summer. Not sure if your daughter would want that however....

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Permalink Reply by Paula Ayotte on April 18, 2011 at 9:00pm

How did the school thing work out for you in Nashua? Did she move onto middle.. if she has PDD she shouldve gone to Elm Street I would think.. they have a program there for these kiddos.

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