by Barb's voice heard

Created on: September 13, 2008

I am a mother of an autistic child. It took almost three years between doctors, testing at home and at school to get a diagnosis of high end autism for my child. It was then that I, with a parent advocate, who knew the school system and what they would be willing to do with regards to the law and my child, went to work. I brought in the list of testing, doctors, school test scores and my own knowledge of my child, along with a therapist and a doctors recommendations to get the appropriate setting. The school had their commitee too It took diligence and perseverance to reach this goal. You want the child to be able to learn and grow and feel proud of themselves so that they feel successful and can succeed with your goals for them or their goals for themself. You want your child to be safe and healthy mind and body without compromising them. The state government has certain standards they have to abide by. The school system also has to work within their budget. If you need more than they can offer, put it in writing and get a therapist or doctor to write an order. That usually gets their attention. Find out attainable goals that your child can accomplish and put them in writing also. This will help with your least restrictive plan that you want to achieve for your child. This could be a full academic couse in the special education system that will only work for your child. It also could be special education for reading, writing and math and main stream the non SAT curriculem for the rest of the school day. You may have to "write in" special reequirements for the specific needs of the child at the time and then reevaluate them again at a later date. Counseling is also needed for the child to express themselvves and learn how to overcome some of the obstacles they face in everyday life. Get to know the school counselor and they can help keep tabs on the situation also. I have a parent advocate that works with me, knows my child and her needs and gets me the information and help I need. Don't underestimate your child because in a different environment other than home, or with teachers instead of parents, they learn different aspects of learning, communicating and growing.

First I had a teacher who worked with me. Then we went to a 504 plan accomodations. Now we
have a Individual Education plan or IEP that can be changed as needed. Knowing your rights and knowing your child rights is important. Also what your child needs the most and can achieve safely in their environmnet. Learning is more than just reading writing and math. It is learnsing how to communicate, organize, socialize, conflict solving and how to approach confrontations that arise in a safe but self respecting manner. All of these things need to be considered when making these decisions. Good luck and attain those goals for your child. They are worth it and deserving of it.

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