I am often asked this very simple question by parents of children who come in for assessments of autism and Aspergers. And the answer is: It depends.
It depends on your specific school district, it depends on the funding the school has in total (your child's funding is often put in a big pot by the school district and divided up between several different children with special education needs...yes, it's hard to believe but in many districts this is true), and finally, it depends upon the training and availability of staff.
For the next few posts I'm going to try and walk you through this process as best I can. We will start with information about getting your child services at all. That means having him or her "designated" with a "code." And from their I will talk about what you should expect, and what you might actually get.
The process begins with a diagnosis. Depending upon your child's age he (I will be using he from now on to make this simpler to understand, although I know girls are OFTEN overlooked in this process) needs to diagnosed by an appropriately registered and trained professional. This can be done for free through several provincial services, however there is a waiting list. You start with a referral from your medical doctor. Usually the referral is to your regional autism program, and your MD should know how to do that. Start on this process early, as there is a significant wait and early treatment is important.
Children under 6 need to be assessed by a "team" including a medical doctor, speech pathologist and usually a psychologist. Children over six need only one professional, either a medical doctor or psychologist. Whoever does this needs to use two important assessment tools. These are the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation System) and the ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. YThey may use additional tools, but the MUST use these, and they need to have appropriate training and experience using these. These assessment take a few hours to complete. In addition to these tools/tests the team or individual professional needs to do other investigations as well in order to rule out other possible causes of your child's behaviour of concern. This includes a cognitive test (intelligence), an academic assessment (usually the WIAT or WRAT-4) and speech/language assessments (sometimes the Test of Pragmatic Language or a similar test). Finally, you will need to complete some form of behaviour evaluation such as the ABAS. There may be other tools/tests used, but these are the basics. Depending on the age of your child and the complexity of the assessment the cost can run from $1,800 to $2,400 or higher. It usually takes three, four or five sessions to complete the assessment.
IF the assessment leads to a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's Disorder (the final diagnosis is not made by the numbers and scores but by the professional's overall judgement of your child) you will need to complete an application for funding from the Ministry of Children and Family Development if you are seeking provincial funding. You can click here and download a brochure from the ministry that takes you through all these steps. I would download this in any case.
After the assessment is complete you should get funding form completed by the professional, and he or she will attached a written report that goes with the application. You should also get a report to take to your school. Your report needs to clearly state your child's diagnosis.
The Ministry issues above are unrelated to school services and funding, they are totally separate issues and should not be confused.
Now take a copy of your report and a cover letter requesting that the school's Committee on Special Education or Support Team (different names are used in different district) evaluate your child for coding. Coding is a process where the School Based Support Team, usually, meet and determine what is going to happen about coding and what services your child will get. You should request that you be informed of ALL MEETINGS at which your child is discussed, and make sure you are asked to attend. Do this in writing even if you already know you work and can't attend these meetings. Insist on your right to be informed and attend.
I would give a copy of the report to the school based team or principal, and bring a copy to your school district's Support Services or Special Education department. Get a dated note that says they have received this, or send an email and ask for acknowledgement that it has been received. This things get lost, overlooked and forgotten, don't let that happen!
You should not be asked to attend a Support Meeting where your child is "coded," that is, given a special education designation, (for Autism the coding is G) and at that meeting an IEP or Individual Education Plan should be written. This plan looks at your child's needs and should say how they will be addressed, and how they will measure the effectiveness of their interventions (not how your child is doing!). If there are significant behaviour problems you should also request a Functional Behaviour Analysis take place by someone trained to do it and a formal Positive Behaviour Support Plan be written from that. In later posts I will go into detail about what those look like and what you should expect.
What next? Your child should be getting INDIVIDUALIZED services to help with their deficits and needs. This should include, at the least, someone supervising your child's program who has training and experience in the field of autism. The most appropriate person would be his or her teacher. The province provides training for teachers through workshops during teacher training days, and through certificate programs at POPARD, the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders. Someone woking with your child should have attended these workshops - at a minimum.
When a child is "coded" for autism the school district receives money to help support that child. This is not enough money to do the job so school districts need to take those funds and combine them to create staff positions that are then shared by several children. Yes, some children with more severe behaviour problems get more staff time. You can be aware of this, monitor it, and make sure your child is getting the support they need, but also be sensitive to the fact that there is not enough funding to do what needs to be done, and districts are doing the best they can. You can make sure that funds for children with an autism coding isn't moved over to deal with children with other coding that didn't get enough funds. This does happen.
Once your child is found eligible for autism services in school you should ask to meet with the schools autism team, or with the staff member in charge of students with autism. Often there is a staff member assigned to work as a partner with the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD). This person usually has the title of "POPARD District Partner." Find this person and immediately request a consultation from the POPARD consultant. Always put your request in writing, and send a copy to the Director of Support Services or Special Services in the district.
The POPARD consultant can come to the school, review your child's case, do an observation of your child in the classroom and then meet with the staff and present a written support plan. Often they also come to the school and provide direct training to staff, as well as observation and consultation. Each school district has a specific number of hours of POPARD consultation time, it gets used fast, and there is never enough, so get on this early! If all the time that is allotted by Ministry funding is already use remember, school districts can pay for extra time, consultation and training! These are excellent professionals, highly trained with years of experience. You can find out more about POPARD by clicking here and going to their site. They have an abundance of information and videos demonstrating the services and techniques you should be seeing in your child's class.
So to review: to obtain services for your child with autism or Asperger's Disorder in British Columbia you first need to have your child diagnosed. This can be done either through a referral from your family doctor to an appropriate provincial program (such as Children's hospital) or through a private practitioner if you don't want to wait or simply want to use your own professional. The ministry website for information on this process can be found above. Next, you bring your assessment and diagnostic letter to the school and request a meeting to discuss "coding" for your child. The school should code your child, write an IEP and if necessary a behaviour plan. Finally, you should check to see that the staff working with your child are properly trained and receive appropriate supervision and consultation. Try to get your school's POPARD consultant involved.
In the next few weeks I will discuss the IEP process, writing behaviour plans, and where to go for help with curriculum. I hope this has been helpful.
For information about my private practice you may go to my website at www.relatedminds.com and look for autism services. You can also find out more about my services for children, adolescents and adults with autism or Asperger's Disorder at my PsychologyToday website or my BCAMFT/AAMFT website.
Showing posts with label school tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school tips. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tips for School: Getting your child with Asperger's / Autism Ready for School.
Yes, it's almost time for the school sales, and along with it it's time for parents to start thinking about getting their child ready for school, and making sure their school is ready for their child. Children with Asperger's and autism (ASD) are at special risk at the beginning of the year, as schools are full of changes, excitement and confusion. Nothing our kids deal with very well.
So here we go with some school tips for children with Asperger's or ASD:
1. First, get to know who's who in your school, and your district. Prepare a contact list of everyone you might need to work with during the year. The time to do this is now, while there are no problems, and there is time. Your phone calls and initial contacts will also be more welcomed as your a parent trying to be prepared, rather than a parent with a complaint.
These individuals might include the Director of Special Education or Support Services (whatever your district might call this person), the supervisor of the program your child is in (there may be one in the school, and one in the district office), the chair of the special education or support committee at the school, the head of your school's parent group, your local schools school psychologist, counsellor and of course the school principal, secretary and if its an older child there may be a department head or dean you should know. Also, you may want to get the contact information for your schools Ot or PT, who often can be very useful with developing plans and interventions. Get their phone numbers, and school emails. The emails are very important because you may use those to leave important messages, and especially messages that might need to be revisited later. Remember, if it wasn't in writing, it didn't happen.
2. Has your school set up a consultation with POPARD, the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders? Every school district in BC has a "POPARD Partner" who can arrange for these consultative services. Find out who this person is and see if you can get an appointment. POPARD can provide your child's teacher with excellent feedback, suggestions and most of all, a plan!
2. Gather copies of last years IEP (individual education plans), behaviour plans of FBAs (Functional Behaviour Analysis) school grades, previous correspondence, doctor's diagnosis and psycho-educational assessments. Clearly mark any suggested interventions you find on your child's IEP or behaviour plan. Never go to a meeting without these documents in hand. After every meeting take a few minutes to write up a short summary note for yourself. Especially note who was suppose to do what, by when, and how they were suppose to measure success. I recommend punching holes in them and putting them together in a binder so that they never get lost. (And you thought kids were the only ones who lost important papers!).
3. As soon as you can meet with the classroom teacher and whoever is the supervisor of your child's program. Remember, the classroom teacher is SUPPOSE to be the person designated to implement an Individual Education Plan (IEP). That's not always the way it is, and often classroom teachers have not even read the child's IEP.
Now, let's address some strategies that should be seen in use in the classroom:
4. Make sure there are classroom rules posted prominently somewhere. If appropriate, have your child repeat the rules back to you to make sure he or she understands them. These rules should be stated in the positive. We do this, or do that. Not in the negative. We don't do this or that. Have them written down separately and included in your child's notebook. For children with Asperger's and autism there should be a set of rules with visual supports. No matter how functional you may feel your child is, there needs to be a continuation of universal visual supports for your child in the classroom.
5. Your child's schedule needs to be posted on the board, on their desk, and if they use a PECS system, on the PECS booklet. While some parents want to get their kids away from visual supports as they grow older, the real key is to get your visual support system to change and be developmentally appropriate for your child. The usefulness of visual supports never goes away, just ask anyone with a date book, iphone or checklist in their pocket!
5. Make sure your child will be seated close to the teacher, and away from distractors such as doors, windows, pencil sharpeners and so on. In no way should your child be seated separately, or made to feel different or pointed out. If there are times your child needs to be seated separately there are positive ways to do this that don't make your child stick out like the kid with problems!
6. The most effective means we have of modifying behaviour with students with Aspergers or Autism is through immediate feedback and consequences. Consequences should be positive and reinforcing rather than punitive and reactionary. Make sure there is a way to monitor how many positive reinforcing statements are made, compared to corrections. If corrections worked, you would have no worries and their would be no IEP for your child.
7. Positive point systems are the most effective means we have to teach new skills to children with Asperger's and autism. Make sure there is one in place in class. It should be a system that always get's your child closer to his or her goal, rather than one that leaves them two points short at the end of the day. (Hey, you earned 98 points! Only two more to go, bet you'll earn those early in the morning!)
8. Make sure your child is allowed physical breaks, is allowed to walk around (with permission) and stand if necessary to do work. Many of these breaks can be built into your child's day with tasks like handing out papers, erasing the board and so on.
9. Use visual cues to help your child follow rules, switch activities and transition throughout the day. Visual supports are less likely to make your child prompt dependent than verbal reminders (which quickly become nagging and turn a child off). Ask to meet with last year's teacher and teacher aide and make up a list of what worked, and what made things better. MAke sure the school does more of those things this year.
10. Make sure there is a "time away" program for your child, that is, a positive time, scheduled if need be, when they can get out of the larger social world and be by themselves to relax and calm down. Time away is not "Time Out," which is used as a punishment or removal or reinforcers with children. Those interventions are inappropriate with children with Asperger's or ASD / autism.
11. Reduce the total workload, and reduce homework! There are numerous papers out there about the need to reduce homework for children on the autism spectrum. The goal is to work hard, not to finish everything. It's to make a good effort, the best effort you can. And that's enough.
12. Make sure when giving instructions the teacher get an initial recognition from your child (hey, look here for a minute. Great. ....) and then repeats back the instructions. This will vastly increase the chances a task will actually get done. And any task with more than 3 steps, should be written down.
13. Reduce (get rid of) copying from the board! This is one of the most difficult tasks there is for a student with Asperger's or high functioning autism. There is simply no reason to insist on this.
14. Use visual timers, not just clocks, to help your child stay focused and understand how long a task will take to complete. There are a number of these available commercially (Time-Timer) or you can make one with a few pieces of tape and coloured paper around your clock.
15. Do not use loss of recess or any social time as a punishment for a student on the ASD spectrum. Why would you remove an activity that will most likely lead to the child doing better the rest of the day?
16. Schedule the difficult tasks and subjects early if you can. The more tired your child is, the more difficulty they will have with focus and attention. Do the hard stuff first, then take it easy. Just like adults do!
17. Use a peer buddy. Yep, someone for your child to look at, follow, get social cues from. He or she should be allowed to look at that student's work as an example, and ask that student questions to clarify.
18. Remember to use visual supports as much as possible. They help with anxiety, switching mental sets, changing tasks and schedule changes. And make sure the staff is trained in using them. If last year the teacher or aide were good at using PECS or other appropriate visual supports, arrange a time to meet with them and this years staff to discuss how they implemented these strategies. Focus on successes, what made things better, and what worked!
19. Visit the school before school starts. Even if your child attended there last year. Visit the building, walk around, find his or hers new rooms, walk from their to the library and cafeteria.
20. Practice the drop off and pick up routine prior to the first day, and try to practice it three or four times. This will make a difficult day go smoother.
If you have time for a little reading before school starts, two books I would suggest are: "The Incredible 5-Point Scle" by Buron and Curtis and "Social Behavior Mapping" by Michelle Winner. Other reading suggestions can be found on my web site.
For more information about child and adolescent parenting you can visit my web page at www.relatedminds.com, for information about services I provide for families and children with Aspergers or autism spectrum disorder, click here, for children with ADHD click here, and for adults with ADHD click here (ADHDHelp.ca) or my Psychology Today Website. You can also call my office at 778.998-7975 to make an appointment for a consultation. My AAMFT listing (Registered Marriage and Family Therapist) can be located by clicking here.
So here we go with some school tips for children with Asperger's or ASD:
1. First, get to know who's who in your school, and your district. Prepare a contact list of everyone you might need to work with during the year. The time to do this is now, while there are no problems, and there is time. Your phone calls and initial contacts will also be more welcomed as your a parent trying to be prepared, rather than a parent with a complaint.
These individuals might include the Director of Special Education or Support Services (whatever your district might call this person), the supervisor of the program your child is in (there may be one in the school, and one in the district office), the chair of the special education or support committee at the school, the head of your school's parent group, your local schools school psychologist, counsellor and of course the school principal, secretary and if its an older child there may be a department head or dean you should know. Also, you may want to get the contact information for your schools Ot or PT, who often can be very useful with developing plans and interventions. Get their phone numbers, and school emails. The emails are very important because you may use those to leave important messages, and especially messages that might need to be revisited later. Remember, if it wasn't in writing, it didn't happen.
2. Has your school set up a consultation with POPARD, the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders? Every school district in BC has a "POPARD Partner" who can arrange for these consultative services. Find out who this person is and see if you can get an appointment. POPARD can provide your child's teacher with excellent feedback, suggestions and most of all, a plan!
2. Gather copies of last years IEP (individual education plans), behaviour plans of FBAs (Functional Behaviour Analysis) school grades, previous correspondence, doctor's diagnosis and psycho-educational assessments. Clearly mark any suggested interventions you find on your child's IEP or behaviour plan. Never go to a meeting without these documents in hand. After every meeting take a few minutes to write up a short summary note for yourself. Especially note who was suppose to do what, by when, and how they were suppose to measure success. I recommend punching holes in them and putting them together in a binder so that they never get lost. (And you thought kids were the only ones who lost important papers!).
3. As soon as you can meet with the classroom teacher and whoever is the supervisor of your child's program. Remember, the classroom teacher is SUPPOSE to be the person designated to implement an Individual Education Plan (IEP). That's not always the way it is, and often classroom teachers have not even read the child's IEP.
Now, let's address some strategies that should be seen in use in the classroom:
4. Make sure there are classroom rules posted prominently somewhere. If appropriate, have your child repeat the rules back to you to make sure he or she understands them. These rules should be stated in the positive. We do this, or do that. Not in the negative. We don't do this or that. Have them written down separately and included in your child's notebook. For children with Asperger's and autism there should be a set of rules with visual supports. No matter how functional you may feel your child is, there needs to be a continuation of universal visual supports for your child in the classroom.
5. Your child's schedule needs to be posted on the board, on their desk, and if they use a PECS system, on the PECS booklet. While some parents want to get their kids away from visual supports as they grow older, the real key is to get your visual support system to change and be developmentally appropriate for your child. The usefulness of visual supports never goes away, just ask anyone with a date book, iphone or checklist in their pocket!
5. Make sure your child will be seated close to the teacher, and away from distractors such as doors, windows, pencil sharpeners and so on. In no way should your child be seated separately, or made to feel different or pointed out. If there are times your child needs to be seated separately there are positive ways to do this that don't make your child stick out like the kid with problems!
6. The most effective means we have of modifying behaviour with students with Aspergers or Autism is through immediate feedback and consequences. Consequences should be positive and reinforcing rather than punitive and reactionary. Make sure there is a way to monitor how many positive reinforcing statements are made, compared to corrections. If corrections worked, you would have no worries and their would be no IEP for your child.
7. Positive point systems are the most effective means we have to teach new skills to children with Asperger's and autism. Make sure there is one in place in class. It should be a system that always get's your child closer to his or her goal, rather than one that leaves them two points short at the end of the day. (Hey, you earned 98 points! Only two more to go, bet you'll earn those early in the morning!)
8. Make sure your child is allowed physical breaks, is allowed to walk around (with permission) and stand if necessary to do work. Many of these breaks can be built into your child's day with tasks like handing out papers, erasing the board and so on.
9. Use visual cues to help your child follow rules, switch activities and transition throughout the day. Visual supports are less likely to make your child prompt dependent than verbal reminders (which quickly become nagging and turn a child off). Ask to meet with last year's teacher and teacher aide and make up a list of what worked, and what made things better. MAke sure the school does more of those things this year.
10. Make sure there is a "time away" program for your child, that is, a positive time, scheduled if need be, when they can get out of the larger social world and be by themselves to relax and calm down. Time away is not "Time Out," which is used as a punishment or removal or reinforcers with children. Those interventions are inappropriate with children with Asperger's or ASD / autism.
11. Reduce the total workload, and reduce homework! There are numerous papers out there about the need to reduce homework for children on the autism spectrum. The goal is to work hard, not to finish everything. It's to make a good effort, the best effort you can. And that's enough.
12. Make sure when giving instructions the teacher get an initial recognition from your child (hey, look here for a minute. Great. ....) and then repeats back the instructions. This will vastly increase the chances a task will actually get done. And any task with more than 3 steps, should be written down.
13. Reduce (get rid of) copying from the board! This is one of the most difficult tasks there is for a student with Asperger's or high functioning autism. There is simply no reason to insist on this.
14. Use visual timers, not just clocks, to help your child stay focused and understand how long a task will take to complete. There are a number of these available commercially (Time-Timer) or you can make one with a few pieces of tape and coloured paper around your clock.
15. Do not use loss of recess or any social time as a punishment for a student on the ASD spectrum. Why would you remove an activity that will most likely lead to the child doing better the rest of the day?
16. Schedule the difficult tasks and subjects early if you can. The more tired your child is, the more difficulty they will have with focus and attention. Do the hard stuff first, then take it easy. Just like adults do!
17. Use a peer buddy. Yep, someone for your child to look at, follow, get social cues from. He or she should be allowed to look at that student's work as an example, and ask that student questions to clarify.
18. Remember to use visual supports as much as possible. They help with anxiety, switching mental sets, changing tasks and schedule changes. And make sure the staff is trained in using them. If last year the teacher or aide were good at using PECS or other appropriate visual supports, arrange a time to meet with them and this years staff to discuss how they implemented these strategies. Focus on successes, what made things better, and what worked!
19. Visit the school before school starts. Even if your child attended there last year. Visit the building, walk around, find his or hers new rooms, walk from their to the library and cafeteria.
20. Practice the drop off and pick up routine prior to the first day, and try to practice it three or four times. This will make a difficult day go smoother.
If you have time for a little reading before school starts, two books I would suggest are: "The Incredible 5-Point Scle" by Buron and Curtis and "Social Behavior Mapping" by Michelle Winner. Other reading suggestions can be found on my web site.
For more information about child and adolescent parenting you can visit my web page at www.relatedminds.com, for information about services I provide for families and children with Aspergers or autism spectrum disorder, click here, for children with ADHD click here, and for adults with ADHD click here (ADHDHelp.ca) or my Psychology Today Website. You can also call my office at 778.998-7975 to make an appointment for a consultation. My AAMFT listing (Registered Marriage and Family Therapist) can be located by clicking here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)