DS (9) Just Diagnosed with Aspergers- Need Help with Direction to Take

Hi T.. I'm in Roseville too. Two of my six kids have Aspergers.

The school needs to provide OT by an OT that's certified in sensory integration. If they don't have one on staff, then they need to pay for one outside the school system. That will be a fight though.

Like someone else said, the teacher and school cannot legally exclude your son. BUT that doesn't mean the other children have to abide by that. Kids can be terribly mean and hurtful. It would be great if the teacher were able to facilitate some sensitivity awareness about Aspergers (preferably without your son present so he's not embarassed).

Since he's been dx'd with Aspergers, the school can now put him under an IEP rather than a 504. He qualifies under the main category of autism.

You should call the Warmline Family Resource Center at ###-###-#### and they can give you all kinds of help. Also, talk with them about Regional Center. I don't know if your son is delayed enough to receive services, but it's just another avenue to persue to get you and your son more help.

Lastly, I recently developed a networking web site for parents of special needs children. You can come to http://www.specialneedsfamilysupport.com/ to check it out.

My 10 year old has gotten amazing support from the school. The OT has been pretty mediocre, though. She trys, she's just not that great. We haven't used a private one, though. The classroom teachers have all worked with us. The IEPs have been the biggest help. While the occupational therapy itself hasn't been that helpful, her advice to the classroom teacher through the IEP has been helpful.

We've never experienced discrimination and it is illegal.

My son is also ADHD and Ritalin (20 mg) really helped him in school. He doesn't take it in the summer, but it sure helped with his classwork.

Burger Pediatric in Folsom has some keep therapists and I think they have sme groups also, but I am not positive. Also, AMerican River Speech in Gold RIver, (Rancho Cordova) I am sure they do group therapy and you should also try seeing if you can get in into the UC Davis MIND institute, they are aweome!!! They do usually have a wating list and you may have to get a referral, again I am not positive, but I do know those are 3 great places!!! Good Luck!

You're right that they can't exclude him from activities because of his special needs legally, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen illegally. We have two special needs children in regular education and actually had to file a discrimination complaint with the Federal office of civil rights because of numerous violations with one of our children. It's not easy to get the services children need today, particularly with the state budget cuts. Some districts are better than others.

Your son's diagnosis should not be in his school records. It sounds like your son was assessed outside of the school district. You are not required to provide any reports that you don't want to the district, although it can make it challenging sometimes to get your child the services they need without it. We've withheld reports and use a different approach to getting services, because one of our children has enough diagnoses to start his own classification system (LOL)! The law requires that any special education assessments, reports and IEP (Individual Educational Plans for children who qualify for special education services) are kept in a separate location at the school district office for privacy reasons. What concerns me is that he has a 504, not an IEP. There are almost no protections for children under 504 plans, as compared with IEPs. That's why districts try to stop there. Parents can't appeal 504 plan decisions in the same legally protected ways they can IEPs. If he needs additional help and not just regular classroom modifications, he should have an IEP. It's unusual for a child with Asperger's not to have an IEP. If your son needs OT, the district must provide it. Many districts resist providing it, because it's expensive and most districts have to contract with outside services. You will not get OT generally from a 504. That would require an IEP. One of our children has severe sensory integration problems and at every IEP, the District tries to discontinue the OT and have the OT consult with the classroom teacher occasionally instead. Has your school district done a complete assessment, including OT? Which school district are you in? Who gave you the diagnosis? If you'd prefer to communicate offline, please feel free to email me directly.

S.

Wow...you must have mixed emotions right now between finally knowing what's wrong and realizing he needs more than you might have anticipated. Good job though for sticking to it and finding out.

OT is an issue in the Roseville schools. They haven't been able to keep an OT on staff and most of the autistic spectrum kids aren't getting the services they need. He shouldn't be discriminated against regarding activities, and in fact if he needs special accommodations outside of academics (at recess or PE) they should be making those as well but you should try to get him on an IEP. The school isn't required to provide or monitor anything under the 504 which is why they push parents toward those plans.

I wanted to recommend two resources for you. Roseville has a Warmline you can call to talk to someone about any issues you're having in regard to your child and they can refer you to organizations that will help you. If you need to find a good OT center they should be able to assist. E-mail me if you'd like the number because I don't have it right this minute. I'm sure you can also find it in the phone book.

Also, I'm on the board of the Roseville Special Education Advisory Committee (SEPAC). If you haven't been to one of our parent meetings I suggest attending. We will be offering training and resources for parents of SE children. We will also be meeting with the school board for the first time this month to discuss the concerns parents and teachers have raised to us about the district's special education program. I've gotten so much support and assistance from this group I'm happy I can give back as a board member. George Rook will be presenting on the IEP process at our next parent meeting in September. Please let me know if you want more information.