School Placements: Which one is right for my child?

Under the federal law Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), States and public agencies must provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities (in 14 specified categories of disability) between the ages birth to age 18 or up to 22 (depending on the disability). This is the law that governs how early intervention programs collaborate with the public schools to offer a continuum of free and appropriate educational experiences to these children.  In Miami-Dade, developmentally delayed 3 year old children transition to the public schools' Pre-K ESE programs.  The Pre-ESE Program places eligible students into 9 different program models contingent on the child's needs and diagnoses. Students with an ASD diagnoses can be placed in either a highly structured full-day TEACCH classroom (8:10 am to 1:50 pm) or a less structured half-day LEAP classroom.  While enrolled in the school they may be offered weekly group speech and occupational therapy (OT) therapy.

My son was enrolled in a full-day TEACCH classroom for two years at a local elementary public school.  Throughout that two year period, I encountered many challenges starting with the administration of the school.  I don't know what it is but it seems to me that parents have lost their voice in their child's public school education.  In two years, I encountered two different principals at two different schools with the same philosophy in protecting their teachers even when their teachers are wrong. Rather than trying to resolve the issues being addressed to come up with a resolution that would satisfy all parties, both had said, If you don't like it, you can go to another school. What? Are you kidding me? I personally felt that these teachers weren't being held accountable by their school administrators. Add nepotism to the equation, as I believe was a huge factor in how my son's teacher was placed at the school in the first place, and the parents will never be heard.  Maybe it was just my luck, but my son's teacher had an attitude problem. Perhaps it was because she was very young and inexperienced, but the disrespectful cadence that she exhibited on a regular basis just didn't mesh well with my husband and I. When the teacher left on medical leave and a new teacher came in for the interim, we realized it was the teacher all along putting up the administration to make our lives difficult.  Kindness really goes along way, and I am so grateful that that is exactly what we get at my son's new school.  

One problem with my son's public school experience was the limited availability of full-day options in the county.  I needed a school placement closest to my oldest son's school because quite frankly, I can't be in two different places at the same time.  Schools offering the half-day LEAP program were plentiful compared to the full-day TEACCH program.  But what do you do with your child after 12 noon each day? Why do they have so many half-day programs versus full-day program? When young children are placed in a daycare, they are usually there all day while the parents are at work. Certain schools offered free bus transportation, but the thought of that made me frantic.  There was no way that I was going to consider bus transportation for my son, who had been getting out of strollers and seat belts since the age of 2 and who likes to run from you. He requires 24-hour one-to-one supervision which was not an available accommodation on a school bus.

Another problem I encountered with his public school education was that I never once met or spoke to his speech or OT therapist, despite my various requests.  Aren't they supposed to be more involved in the process? Why were they never in attendance at Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings as they had been when he was in the early intervention program? Besides, not knowing the people that are working with my child is a big deal for any parent.

Another challenge I faced was that the teacher refused to potty train my son despite the fact that it was one of his self-help goals entering the Pre-K ESE program.  They removed the goal during the first year. Come to think of it, he did not meet any of his goals at all during his two years at that school. Perhaps he just wasn't ready or he needed a smaller adult-to-student ratio. The adult-to-student ratio in the classroom was 1:3, but from what I understood, one adult was a part-time paraprofessional who was not there all day long.

Another obstacle was the school's lack of knowledge on how I can access ABA therapy services or on ABA therapy principles itself.  When I asked that behavioral therapy be offered to my son, they said it was not an option at that school.  The supervisor at the State's Agency for Persons with Disabilities had told me that the school is supposed to provide behavioral therapy upon request.  Like these challenges and obstacles there were many more, which I may decide to write about in the future. 

As I had mentioned in a previous post, other parents became my main source for information and referrals: camp programs, ABA Therapy, private schooling, etc. Through another parent I learned of an ABA Therapy provider and how to access these services through my insurance.  Similarly, through other parents, I learned of which private schools in the area were reputable and which ones I should avoid altogether. That is how I came to choose a private school for my son's kindergarten year, significantly funded through Florida's McKay Scholarship Program.

The school I chose had an excellent reputation among parents and teachers alike. They provide an individualized educational program specifically designed to meet my son's needs.  Plus they offer daily P.E. designed to teach these students to play sports independently, without adult assistance.  They offer, on an alternating basis per semester, instruction in martial arts, yoga, art and music. (I'm told my son loves yoga).  All the teachers are trained in ABA therapy principles and techniques and some teachers are even practicing, certified ABA therapists.  The adult-to-student ratio in my son's class is an amazingly low 4:3. But above all, the staff are so nice and respectful, and truly put your child's needs first. My son has learned leaps and bounds in just a few short months. It took just two weeks and the supports from his teachers and therapists to get him potty trained. My son is still nonverbal, and may remain nonverbal, but he is learning and capable of learning so much more, and that means the world to me.

I am currently reading the book, The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks The Silence Of Autism, written by Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, a severely autistic and nearly nonverbal man who amazingly was able to communicate through writing. He described himself as a child feeling more like a spirit looking in from the outside of the world, than a human being. It was through learning at the Psychologist's office, e.g. building blocks, matching colors, etc. that he finally began to feel less like a spirit and more like a human being. He also wrote that it was through learning that he was able to stop fixating on certain haunting thoughts. Certain behaviors that I've observed in my child, he describes of having exhibited himself at similar ages. Needless to say, through this reading I'm gaining a new perspective on my son's thought processing and his capacity to learn. It has also validated for me the importance of ABA therapy and appropriate educational experiences for all children with autism.