Autism - Colchester,CT

I have always been under the impression that a medical diagnosis out weighs the what the school says because they cannot diagnosis your child. My oldest has a medical diagnosis of ADD but the school didn't find him to be inattentive and wouldn't give him an IEP and I had to fight to get a 504 for him to state that he must be tested in a quiet environment, sit towards the front of the room in a desk that faces the black board, etc. I you feel he needs more then fight for it. You can tell them you want a private eval done because you disagree with theirs we will be doing this if our OT, speech pathologist, and ei service coordinator can't talk our school into preschool being the best option for Evan when he turns 3 in April because I know our dr also backs this. My friend's little boy is very high functioning autism and he recieves 5 half days a week of preschool and goes I believe 3 days a week during summer months.

Isn't 3 a little young for school? My kids are 11 and 12 and started preschool at 4 and then I was a little nervous about my son being ready. Is 3 the "new" age for preschool? has it changed that much already? I know neither of my kids would have been ready and they don't have autism. I would think mommy time is far more nourishing and needed at that age.

Please see the private email that I sent you. This school district is VERY difficult to deal with, if you have a special needs child. I am glad that you are able to begin your fight now!
They will do anything to keep their money... sent you some links and information that I hope will be very helpful for you and your son.

Early intervention is best! Many schools now are more inclusive with children with special needs. Maybe see if they will offer more in-regular classroom one on one assistance. I have been doing some research on Autism. Many people believe changing their diet helps and removing toxins from their environment. Many moms from my wellness company believe supplements helped their children verus meds. I could email you some info and testimonials if u would like. Jennie McCarthy's site was useful too! Do some research!

M. - SAHM and WAHM and loving it! I also am going to school for Special Education currently!!

http://www.WorkingGreenMoms.com

S.,
My son was diagnosed at 2 years old. Initially, the prognosis was not good, but early intervention makes all the difference. I say this because I went into my first IEP with a tape recorder and several large folders. I asked if I could make an opening statement and I passed around several articles (printed from google sites) stating the importantce of early intervention. I think it set the tone of the meeting. He started preschool at 3 y.o. for 5 days a week for 4 hours per day. Every school system is different and you really need to make friends and be ready for battle at the same time. Definately get involved with PAC (mentioned by another mom) and find a local autism support group. When I think back, it was the absolute most difficult time in my life, you will need the support. If you are still having a tough time, I can give you the names of several top notch lawyers - some times the only thing they need to do is write a letter with a threatening tone. I wish you the best of luck. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions.
C.

S.,

First you want to start communicating with the school strictly in WRITING. In writing, request that your child have an educational evaluation. The school is MANDATED to do this and have an IEP (individualized education plan) meeting within 45 days of the consent form received (which they will ask you to sign when you send them the request). This should get you started. As an advocate, I would recommend that you get yourself knowledgeable about the special education system and how it works. Your local PAC (parent advisory council) can help. Take a basic rights class. Each district has to have one every year and its FREE. It is usually only a few hours and most of the time in the evening after school and work hours. You can look to hire an advocate if you find that your child is simply not getting their basic spec. ed. rights being met, but at 3 focus on 1 avenue that you make yourself an expert in (say inclusion, or ABA therapy, etc) and REALLY REALLY make yourself an expert on your son and HIS disability. Remember, one person's autism is not the same as another and should never be treated as such. Many MANY school systems try to "cookie cut" so that each child with each disability can fit into their mold. STAY AWAY from this. Lastly, if you do need advocacy help, call the Federation for Children with Special Needs at ###-###-#### or at www.FCSN.org.

Good Luck

Hi, I could be wrong about this, but shouldn't the medical diagnosis trump whatever the school system classifies him as? Your school district sounds like they're not doing their job very well -- my district wanted us to get a definitive diagnosis of Autism as early as possible, because that meant they could do MORE to help my child.

You may need to call for a revised IEP meeting and get documentation from the doctors, etc -- anyone who can back you up. If you have an IEP, and you don't agree with the service delivery, then you can fight it. There are mediators available, but I don't know much about those services, as I've never had to use them.

Keep in mind that a five hour day might be all the schooling he can take for one day, since he's just a little guy. Maybe that's what they're thinking? When my daughter started, she had shortened days for a while to get used to it, then slowly increased her time. Maybe if you suggested that, they would agree to try it?

Good luck!

EDIT: Whoops, you said 5 hours a WEEK? And he's been diagnosed with Autism? They are seriously dropping the ball there, IMO. You need some serious mediation, and fast. My daughter when she was four, started for four hours a day, I think it was, which increased later (and that was with a developmental delay diagnosis). If he has a diagnosis of Autism, five hours a week is not going to cut it at all. Does he get any other schooling or is that it? Does that include services like Speech or OT? They don't do anything beyond what the IEP stipulates, so you need to get a new one in there to make any changes. Wish I could help more.

My son is three and a half and was diagnosed right after his birthday with Autism. I know his school has him classified as something like suspected Autism. I questioned this and they said something like they have to put it like that until he is nine because he is still developing so rapidly? Not sure about that, but they re-did his IEP once we had a diagnosis.
They determined he is not quite material for the specifically Autism class. We have Developmentally Delayed Preschool. He goes half-days 9-1130 five days a week. He has speech twice a week, once individually and once in a group.
He has been going for about two and a half months and has really blossomed. Before he had about 60 words. Now he is using a few sentences, pointing out things to name, knows shapes, can count to 14 and knows his name and working on how to spell it!
I asked for help from various organizations and read over a book about IEPs and asked friends of mine who are teachers. You might check with the people who diagnosed your child and see if they can offer some suggestions. It seems there is a lot of help out there, just kind of hard to find where to go sometimes.
Just don't give up and don't let them push you around. They said to me after diagnosis that if you see a kid with autism you have seen one kid with autism. You are the best resource for your child, and that makes YOU an expert too.

my cuzin has a son who has autism and he goes to school like a regular child hes odviosly not in the same class as them but he has normal school hrs i guess it must just be the program they have at that school have you tryed looking for a different school in your district?? ill try to get more info and right back.

oppps sry didnt relize he is only 3 i dont think he is sapose to be in school but at that age my cuzin had people go to her house and like 2-3 days out the week to work on stuff ill look more into it