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I don't disagree that parents need to look towards themselves to help their child, don't disagree one bit. Problem is not all children have the good fortune to be born into a close-knit family or to have loving, helpful parents. One child I committed a lot of my after school hours towards helping was born into a family where he was the only one who was not mentally handicapped. His father was in and out of jail and his mother could barely read at the 3rd grade level. He struggled in school not because he was disabled, but because his family was. He needed the school's time and resources. But know what - he didn't qualify for special ed so he received none, unless he got a teacher who found time for him.
Yes, there are a lot of people who simply cannot afford to give them the leg up they need themselves. Or, they don't know how. I home school my son and pay every cent of it myself. Plus, pay taxes for others kids in public school. But, I look at it in this way, hopefully my money is helping someone even if we aren't using it.
It's hard for me to read through this thread because in my opinion we've really lost sight of what's best for our kids. Kids suffer because adults have attitudes, feel cheated, and are over worked. Under treated, over treated depending on who's making the money. Maybe we should fix that first before limiting our sp.ed. programs. It's important to acknowledge our handicapped. For years we have not, they have fought to gain opportunity, it would terrible to move backwards now. For far to long only the kids without disability had options, now we offer more to the rest. Should we really remove this service? I don't feel good about it.
It's a huge problem that stems from above, not from parents and kids trying to get an education despite a problem, these parents are underpaid for working 40/60 hours. If kids are over diagnosed then it's the medical fields problem. If kids are suffering from underfunding in our public schools are system isn't working for everyone. If America can't handle education our kids and paying our teachers then we as Americans should change our system. If teachers can't handle the load then we need to lighten it. We are handing our kids over to them for the majority of the day. They need to handle it. Pulling resources from special ed isn't a solution, it's gross.
Autism spectrum disorders are the new diagnosis de' jour. It will take a while for reliable, peer-reviewed, longitudinal research to catch up, and either validate or repute, the current trend of over diagnosis that classroom educators are saying exists based on anecdotal evidence. Based on past history with other disabilities, the educators' observations with be validated. That should come as no surprise, we are the ones in the trenches.
I will tell you one thing, from an educator's standpoint, Autism and Asperger's do not belong in the same category. By the time they are in school a couple of years, it is like lumping those that wear glasses together with those that are blind.
I guess you are saying my son is blind in this scenario. I just saw my son's speech pathologist that told me autism is actually not only a developmental disability but a very complex learning disorder. There is great potential for my son and I am thankful for the many professionals that believe in him. I really don't want to keep having this conversation because you do not know my son and I need to stay positive for him. Thanks for your info.
I guess you are saying my son is blind in this scenario. I just saw my son's speech pathologist that told me autism is actually not only a developmental disability but a very complex learning disorder. There is great potential for my son and I am thankful for the many professionals that believe in him. I really don't want to keep having this conversation because you do not know my son and I need to stay positive for him. Thanks for your info.
I don't know anything about your son. I am saying a child with autism, as we have traditionally understood it, has a serious, potentially debilitating, life altering, disability that needs intense, substantial, and sustained intervention, which may or may not be able to alter their ability to be independent. A child with Asperger's, with intervention, most likely will be able to live independently. In school, over time they will need less and less intervention, to the point that by high school, if not sooner, they can and should be 100% mainstreamed. Many will eventually go from struggling in school to excelling. One is comparatively much easier to deal with in a regular classroom environment. It is about the level of the disability.
I realize this is emotionally charged for you, and that you are probably still struggling with your son's diagnosis, but try not to take everything so personally. Please assume when I write anything on this forum, unless it says "Yankeemama's kid" that I am not talking about your child but about children in general. Sheesh.
I don't know anything about your son. I am saying a child with autism, as we have traditionally understood it, has a serious, potentially debilitating, life altering, disability that needs intense, substantial, and sustained intervention, which may or may not be able to alter their ability to be independent. A child with Asperger's, with intervention, most likely will be able to live independently. In school, over time they will need less and less intervention, to the point that by high school, if not sooner, they can and should be 100% mainstreamed. Many will eventually go from struggling in school to excelling. One is comparatively much easier to deal with in a regular classroom environment. It is about the level of the disability.
I realize this is emotionally charged for you, and that you are probably still struggling with your son's diagnosis, but try not to take everything so personally. Please assume when I write anything on this forum, unless it says "Yankeemama's kid" that I am not talking about your child but about children in general. Sheesh.
Calling a spectrum disorder the "soup of the day" fad is insulting no matter how you slice it and unnecessary in making any constructive point. What reaction should one have to that? Especially if their son is the soup of the day. I'm offended because I have a child who's "soup of the day" on this thread, Tourettes was once thought to be a devil possession and was dealt with by priests. We've come a long way. Let's not go backwards, doctors just need to get better at diagnosing this, instead of leaving it up to teachers who can be bias or parents who have no recourse or resources. It's not going anywhere, it's not a fad, it's progression like we've had with every other illness over the years.
This is exactly why parents fight as advocates for their kids. If kids are being misdiagnosed then it's the medical fields problem. Parents will most always want what's best for their kids, they can see something wrong and just need the tools.
I hope we don't turn this into a belittling spectrum disorders thread, we have to many of those already. This doesn't even pertain to the issue of funding. Why not cut the waste and keep the programs that make a difference. There is a lot of waste that goes on, and it's not the handicapped kids I'm talking about. Schools are for educating all children, not saving money. If it takes more to educate them properly then it does. The cost of living is rising everywhere in this country, we are going to have to find a way to deal with it.
I don't know anything about your son. I am saying a child with autism, as we have traditionally understood it, has a serious, potentially debilitating, life altering, disability that needs intense, substantial, and sustained intervention, which may or may not be able to alter their ability to be independent. A child with Asperger's, with intervention, most likely will be able to live independently. In school, over time they will need less and less intervention, to the point that by high school, if not sooner, they can and should be 100% mainstreamed. Many will eventually go from struggling in school to excelling. One is comparatively much easier to deal with in a regular classroom environment. It is about the level of the disability.
I realize this is emotionally charged for you, and that you are probably still struggling with your son's diagnosis, but try not to take everything so personally. Please assume when I write anything on this forum, unless it says "Yankeemama's kid" that I am not talking about your child but about children in general. Sheesh.
Yankeemama's kid is part of the group you are trivializing. Why on earth wouldn't that offend her and everyone else with a child in that category? Of course there are varying levels of illness, the blind need provisions and the kids with poor sight need glasses. And yes, both cost money. Our promise to educate everyone costs money. And, it's our bill, even if we don't want to pay it.
May I ask how kids are diagnosed with autism there?
I'm in Canada - it's about 8-12 hours of interviewing/questionnaires/video taping and then who-knows-what discussion behind the scenes between 6 professionals (psychiatrist, psychologist, two pediatricians, speech therapist, and occupational therapist) who have to agree, sort of like a jury. Very difficult diagnosis to obtain here, although it was easy for us as it is quite obvious for our boy.
Yankeemama's kid is part of the group you are trivializing. Why on earth wouldn't that offend her and everyone else with a child in that category? Of course there are varying levels of illness, the blind need provisions and the kids with poor sight need glasses. And yes, both cost money. Our promise to educate everyone costs money. And, it's our bill, even if we don't want to pay it.
And like Oldhag said--it's not about Yankeemama's kid.....
Yankeemama's kid is part of the group you are trivializing. Why on earth wouldn't that offend her and everyone else with a child in that category? Of course there are varying levels of illness, the blind need provisions and the kids with poor sight need glasses. And yes, both cost money. Our promise to educate everyone costs money. And, it's our bill, even if we don't want to pay it.
I am not trivializing it. However, just like there seemed like a time period where everyone and their brother was diagnosed with ADHD, Epstein-Barr, Fibromyalgia, and so forth, it appears to be happening with Autism - especially Aspergers. Actually, the one that really concerns me is how many of my middle school kids are being diagnosed with bi-polar lately. I have taught over 25 years, stuff that used to just mean a kid was quirky are now being labeled a disorder or disease and MEDICATED, often with psychotropic drugs that have really bad side effects. Being different is not always a disease or disorder, sometimes it's just different, but functioning, wiring. Kids that need assistance need it, but resources are not unlimited, and we need to reserve resources for where they can do the most good. That means limiting one-on-one aides to students who really need them, not the 5th grade kid with Aspergers, who performed way above grade level, who once or twice a year had a meltdown, but otherwise was fine. Not only was it a waste of resources, but it wasn't in his best interest for developing independence, yet his mother kept insisting he have one.
To beat a dead horse - it may be our bill, but schools do not have unlimited resources. And just like you have bills, increases in one bill doesn't always correlate with having having extra funds to pay it, so you end up deciding to decrease payments elsewhere or cut something else out. Special education staffs in some schools these days exceed the number of regular classroom teachers. You have schools where they are stuffing 35-40 kids in regular classes because of budget cuts, but next door there will be eight kids in the resource classroom. If a new student arrives at the school, who is in a resource room for reading and math but mainstreamed in the other subjects, they will have to hire a new special ed teacher, but the science teacher now has 41 kids in her class, including that new student who reads three grades levels lower than the grade they are in. The difference is the state will give a waiver for the science class caps but not the special ed classes.
This is all going to come to head, and reform will occur, it will have to. Tax payers aren't willing to give schools a blank check. It really is just a matter of when, not if. It's not that I don't want your child to get the services you want him to have, it's that I want my other 38 kids to also have a chance to be able to reach their full potential.
It is my understanding that in order to obtain an IEP a child has to be struggling academically, not just diagnosed with something.
Our son has a diagnosis of adhd (he is not medicated) and Tourette's syndrome. He is a straight A student and we send him to a private school but it is my understanding that he would not qualify for an IEP anyway right? Not that I think he needs one.
Yes, you are right.
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