KINDERGARTEN SON NEEDS MORE SUPPORT

[tabrown13]

Good morning,

My son is 6 years old and just started Kindergarten in August. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 2 years old and with Autism/ADD within the past 2 years. He is listed as Level 2. He is verbal but is a gestalt language learner. He has been in private OT and Speech for years now. He just started Kindergarten at a public school in West Virginia. We have an IEP in place and he was put into a self-contained Level 2 Autism Classroom. The class has 8 total students. 1 teacher (who is not certified) and 1 aide. The aide is out of the classroom with my son to the nurse's office and to toilet him. That means 7 Level 2 students with only the teacher. The aide is already showing signs of stress and we are getting negative notes every day. She practically yelled at my husband at pick up that our son has "been acting like this all day long!!" I mean, he is a Level 2 Autistic kid. Honestly, his behaviors are fairly benign. Some curses, some refusal to do work (work that is inappropriate and that he literally cannot do), some issues with personal boundaries. All things pretty typical I would think. Part of the issue is that we have been in school for not even a month and he has been given the same A-Z tracing papers 20 times. He was literally observed by the OT who said he doesn't have the grasp or visual tracking to do this work. No wonder he is acting out. Either he needs a one to one Aide or his classroom needs more help in general. Im keeping track of everything. What do I do from here? Please help! Thanks so much.

[Carolyn Rowlett]

I would first reach out to the West Virginia Department of Education and ask what the requirements are in this situation in terms of certification and student/teacher ratio.

I would also request an IEP meeting to discuss what is occurring and things that might need to be tweaked in the IEP document.  You could request an FBA to pinpoint what the school is doing or not doing to trigger the behavior.  Of course, the school FBA probably won't find anything wrong with what the school is doing, so then you can request an IEE.  An independent evaluator could suggest things the school should be doing (or not doing).

Finally, you might want to loop in the director of special education so that he/she knows what's happening.

[JSD24]

If he has issues with visual tracking, did the school evaluate that?  If an area hasn't been evaluated, the assumption is the student's abilities are the same as a typical student.  It sounds like the OT might need to help your child or train the para on what to do.  Does he get OT via his IEP?

If he needs a 1:1 aide, you need to have the school gather data and show this is what he needs.  It sounds like you might need to look at what's in the eval they did to see if 'all areas of suspected disability' were evaluated (if the tracking/tracing issues were shared verbally, the para & teacher aren't going to provide extra help - they will follow what's in the IEP).

State requirements are a minimum requirement.  Given your child's needs, they might need a 2nd aide since your child is being removed from the classroom so often.  You might want to ask for an IEP meeting so you can tweak his IEP.

[Lisa Lightner]

It sounds like you’re juggling a lot right now, and I can hear how frustrating this situation must feel. You’re right to notice that some of the “behaviors” they’re reporting aren’t random, they’re connected to work that isn’t appropriate for him developmentally or skill-wise. If the OT already observed that he doesn’t have the grasp or tracking to complete those worksheets, then repeating the same task is just setting him up for frustration. 

A couple of steps you can take:

• Document everything (which you’re already doing). Keep notes on the behaviors, the communication you’re getting from school, and any mismatched work examples.

• Call an IEP meeting sooner rather than later. Bring up the mismatch between his needs (as observed by OT) and the tasks he’s being asked to do. Ask what supports or alternate materials can be used so he can engage successfully.

• Address staffing concerns in terms of access and safety. Instead of only saying “he needs a 1:1 aide,” focus on the why: toileting, medical management, and meaningful access to instruction. You can also ask what the plan is when the aide leaves the room with him, because right now, that leaves the other students without adequate support.

• Reframe behaviors as communication. You’ve already identified this, refusal, cursing, boundary issues are his way of showing the environment isn’t working for him. That language can help shift the team’s mindset away from “acting out” and toward “what does he need?”

It’s still early in the school year, which makes this a good time to ask for adjustments. You’re not asking for anything unreasonable, you’re asking for your child to have appropriate work, adequate support, and a safe environment for everyone in the classroom.

And I have more on 1:1s here: https://adayinourshoes.com/one-on-one-aide-paraprofessional-iep-special-education/