K.L.
I am a special education teacher in California. I've worked with many, many autistic children from severe to mild. I've worked in special ed. classrooms and regular ed. rooms. I've been a teacher, a mentor and worked at the district office. So . . . my advice to you is to very carefully scrutinize your parent procedural safeguards (your rights) which are handed out at every IEP meeting. You have the right to call an IEP meeting to discuss your concerns. You have the right to refuse to sign an IEP which you feels does not provide your child with FAPE (a free appropriate public education) and you have the right to bring a complaint against your district. Districts hate that! They almost always cave in to parents at that level because it's more expensive to fight than to settle. The first step however, is to be very clear about what it is that your child needs and what it is that you want for him. Not every autistic child needs a special class or a 1:1 aide. I've worked with many autistic children who function very well in the regular classroom as long as their teachers are trained and the child receives the necessary support from the resource specialist and classroom teacher. Others need special classes for mild-moderate handicaps or special autism classes. You need to figure out what your child needs. There are lots of parent support groups for parents with autistic children. Google "autism parent support" and you'll find lots of information. Good luck! Be firm about what you want and need and don't let the district blow you off. They prefer to hope you'll just quietly go away.
