katemoore

Hi everyone, I’m a parent in Pennsylvania navigating a tough IEP situation for my 6-year-old son, who is autistic. He’s currently in an itinerant autistic support program with a 1:1 aide, PBSP, and social skills instruction. Even though his iep says itinerant, the program is labeled as supplemental and he spends a fair amount of his day in the as room to regulate, have sensory breaks, and finish work. This discrepancy between what is happening and what is written was literally “laughed off” when I brought it up. The district now has proposed a change in placement to itinerant emotional support. They say it will be similar to what he’s getting now — same 1:1, social skills, access to a sensory room — but I’m concerned this is really a step down in services. He still struggles with transitions and emotional regulation due to autism, as well as level 3 behaviors including elopement and aggression. Im not sure if the ES teacher has the training to support that. They also haven’t updated the IEP yet — just issued a NOREP. This whole process has been rocky. Last year: We were told they couldn’t evaluate until full-day 1st grade despite autism being flagged by his therapist. When we did get an eval, they initially didn’t test for autism. They discouraged me from getting a private diagnosis and suddenly agreed to autism evaluation when I brought in an outside developmental pediatrician. They began using the autistic support room as a “regulation space” without informing us, although the timing (right after my outside doctor diagnosis) shows me it was placement in practice. He was suspended for behavior likely linked to his disability before the IEP was in place as retaliation from the principal to not signing the initial iep fast enough. A doctor’s written recommendation for an RBT has been ignored with the explanation that it is “too restrictive” Now I’m being asked to agree to a change I’m not fully comfortable with. I’ve reached out to a lawyer and am considering mediation. Has anyone successfully pushed back in a similar situation? Do you think this kind of placement change can work for a 2e autistic child — or am I right to be cautious? Thanks so much for any input or encouragement. I’m really trying to do what’s best for my son while navigating a system that hasn’t felt very collaborative.

Thank you for your feedback! And thank for the insight on the those two terms, I really hadn’t thought of it that way. I was just using terms our developmental ped had used. Thank you again!

Hello, I’m new to this group. Thank you for adding me! I am also new to special education and ieps as my son was just diagnosed with autism. He is in first grade. We are starting his iep now. He is high functioning, but he has extreme behavioral issues He has been suspended twice for throwing things which hit other students. My question is about Restraint/Seclusion. These are new to me and I’ve been hearing horror stories. In my son’s positive behavior plan, the crisis safety plan clearly states that he can be detained in the “calm down room” if deescalation techniques have not worked. I asked my son if he has ever heard if the calm down room and if he had ever been in there. He gets extremely upset whenever I bring this up, therefore I keep gently trying to figure it out from him. He finally has admitted to me that yes, he has been in there, sometimes with an adult, and sometimes by himself. My question is, if he was placed in the calm down room, apparently multiple times, don’t they have an obligation to notify and document these instances?? I have really bad vibes from both his principal and his caseworker and I really don’t trust them. I believe if I asked this they would straight up lie to me. And by his reaction there is no way I believe he is lying to me. I had to convince him I wasn’t mad at him it was okay to tell me the truth. Has anyone had experience with this? How can I approach the fact that I believe they put my son in seclusion and didn’t notify me? Several times? We have an advocate but she doesn’t seem to want to take up the issue. Do I need a lawyer? I’m literally disgusted thinking about this. Considering homeschooling and we haven’t even implemented the iep yet.