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We have just recently gotten a diagnosis of Aspergers for our 12 year old son. He has always been in mainstream schools but starting in seventh grade this year has been very tough. After doing a cycle of pycological eval we learned he has Aspersger Syndrome and Dysgraphia. We have tried to get special services for him through Wake county schools but they're quite reluctant to offer any help beyond "some time in the resource room". Does anyone else in Wake county that is experiencing this same attitude from wake county have any suggestions to handle wake county or does any one have any suggestions as to private schools that specialize in working with the autistic learner?
I just wanted you to know you're not alone! Our 2nd grader was just diagnosed with Asperger's and Dysgraphia. After 3.5 weeks of 2nd grade we pulled him out and I am homeschooling him. The teacher could see that he was bright and thus refused to see he couldn't be awesome at everything. Since writing was the second subject of the day, the rest of the day, every day, was full of punishment and anxiety. I just couldn't send him back to that torture for 7 hours every day.
We just started pediatric occupational therapy today and I really think it's going to be a life changer....and insurance covers it!
Our daughter is job shadowing at A Place to Grow aplacetogrowtherapy.com - Welcome and is forever telling me about what amazing things the OTs are doing with children with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum and Sensory Processing Disorders. They meet with the families and I'll bet they would have some suggestions for dealing with schools as well.
My 19 yr old son has Aspergers & he has made tremendous strides in personal growth. He is going to college & has a part-time job.
We had a IEP from out-of-state that Wake Co. honored. He qualified/required little in the way of services. Middle school was tough, HS easier & now in college, he's found a group of friends that "understand" him. He even has a "girl friend". Makes my heart happy.
Wish I could give you more info on how to navigate Wake Co. for services, however, please know I wish your son & your family all the best.
Do you have an IEP plan for your son? Having that, meeting with the school counselor and principal (and whomever else they have on the "team") may help him get resources from the school (beyond being pulled from the room for quiet areas)
I would also recommend occupational therapy for the dysgraphia, as it will help quite a bit and if you have insurance it should cover it.
The TEACCH program at UNC would probably have some great resources for you. They have programs for people who are on the autism spectrum, as well as the people who are supporting them. Here is a link to their site:
The Hill Center in durham is a great facility that helps students with learning disabilities (at least that was the primary focus when I worked with them) but it can be cost prohibitive for many people.
If it were me, I would get going on the OT, and contact TEAACH regarding their services and resources.
We have had good success at Cary High School for our child, who is diagnosed with Asperger's and related issues. While we were in middle school, Cameron (Cam) Lopes of the Wake County Schools (link to directory: http://www.wcpss.net/special-educati..._directory.pdf) was a great help in getting us set up with services. Her work and the work of numerous others have helped our family immensely. Perhaps she could help connect you with services that fit your family as well!
We have neighbors/friends whose oldest son was diagnosed with Dysgraphia while in elementray school. His classroom teacher and his parents worked with him to overcome this disorder.
He graduated near the top of his high school class, attended a state university on a sports scholarship as baseball pitcher (so much for all fine motor skills affected!), graduated and subsequently earned a Masters degree in History, and is now a teacher himself. His diagnosis and intervention was more than 20 years ago in a school district always considered as "second class" by snotty neighboring districts.
Don't give up or assume your children can't overcome this challenge!
I just wanted you to know you're not alone! Our 2nd grader was just diagnosed with Asperger's and Dysgraphia. After 3.5 weeks of 2nd grade we pulled him out and I am homeschooling him. The teacher could see that he was bright and thus refused to see he couldn't be awesome at everything. Since writing was the second subject of the day, the rest of the day, every day, was full of punishment and anxiety. I just couldn't send him back to that torture for 7 hours every day.
We just started pediatric occupational therapy today and I really think it's going to be a life changer....and insurance covers it!
I have a child in preschool that was recently diagnosed with high functioning autism. I would contact Teacch, as they offer some services. I have gotten a lot of information from the Wake County Autism Society,which offers a support group twice a month for parents.
I would definitely try occupational therapy as that may help with building fine motor skills. I have heard good things about the Fletcher Academy.
Hang in there!
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